‘The money I owed was all mine. I didn’t borrow it from anyone. I didn’t owe anyone anything. I just had to sell my own assets and pay back.’
Photograph: Kind courtesy Sunny Deol/Instagram
Key Points
- Sunny Deol was Rs 55.99 crore in debt before the success of his blockbuster film Gadar 2.
- The debt stemmed from his investments in film productions, including Ghayal Once Again and Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, which did not perform well.
- Despite the financial difficulties, Deol stated he remained happy and never let money dictate his life.
Sunny Deol has spoken about the financial difficulties he faced before the success of Gadar 2.
He revealed that he was once in debt for Rs 55.99 crore, but said he never let money affect his happiness or the way he lived.
In 2023, soon after Gadar 2 became a blockbuster, a bank issued an e-auction notice for Sunny Deol’s Juhu villa in Mumbai over unpaid dues and interest worth Rs 55.99 crore.
However, the notice was later withdrawn after the actor agreed to settle the amount.
Maintaining Happiness Amidst Debt
Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Sunny said, ‘I can’t do so many things for money. But to be very honest, I’m very happy. Even when I was in debt, I was very happy. I was living my life.’
He also clarified that the debt was linked to his investments and not money borrowed from other people.
‘The money I owed was all mine. I didn’t borrow it from anyone. I didn’t owe anyone anything. I just had to sell my own assets and pay back,’ he said.
Filmmaking Ventures and Box Office Performance
The loan was taken while producing Ghayal Once Again, the 2016 action film that Sunny directed and starred in. The film did not perform well at the box office.
Ghayal Once Again was Sunny’s second directorial after Dillagi (1999), which featured him and his brother Bobby Deol.
He later directed Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas (2019), which launched his son Karan Deol.
However, none of these films became box-office successes, leading to financial losses.
Reflecting on Post-Gadar Career
During the podcast, the 68-year-old actor also spoke about his career after the success of Gadar in 2001.
He said he found it difficult to get the right scripts and filmmakers despite delivering successful films.
Recalling that period, Sunny claimed that both Gadar and Indian performed better than Lagaan at the box office.
‘Along with Gadar I also delivered Indian, which was a much bigger hit than Lagaan and all the other films of that time. It did two to three times of Lagaan‘s business. Gadar did much more than that,’ Sunny claimed.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
