In the world of the glitz that the tinsel town of the Hindi movie industry has to offer us, it is very rare to strike up true and strong connections with each other. The relationship that is shared among the actors is either fraught with extreme rivalry or marred with a fake concern for each other, which is all the more disappointing. This is what has been pointed out by Sunny Deol in a recent interview that was being held regarding the promotion of his upcoming movie, ‘Gadar Part 2’. When asked about his perceptions of the bonding that exists in the Hindi movie industry, he candidly spoke about the lack of real bondage that would exist at one point in time in Bollywood. Quite boldly, almost like that of his ‘Tara Singh’ avatar from his movie ‘Gadar Part 2’, he lashed out at the existence of falsehood in relationships among the various actors, despite them sharing the same industry for years, and highlighted on the real need for some kind of genuineness and authenticity that would help them to forge strong bonds with each other.

All are Phony Friends

Sunny Deol has strongly highlighted the fact that despite them having a family in the Hindi movie industry, neither he nor any members of his family have ever been in any kind of ‘family camping’. He felt that this move focuses more on the distribution of opportunities to work among the members of the family and deprives people of having the real potential to display their proficiency in the field of acting.

When asked about this issue more by the interviewer Puja TalWar, Sunny Deol did not even attempt to mince his words for a split second to share his side of the story regarding this phoney friendship that he so assertively claims has become an inseparable part of the Hindi movie industry. He told the interviewer that, when he decided to help his younger brother and actor Bobby Deol to launch his career in the Hindi film industry in the era of the 90s, none of the known or otherwise ‘friendly’ directors and makers of movies with, whom he had been sharing a strong connection, stepped up to be by his side and help him launch his younger brother. It was then his longtime friend Rajkumar Santoshi under, whom he has worked on several super hit projects such as ‘Ghayal’ and ‘Damini’, who came forward to help him out. He cast Bobby Deol in one of his films that was titled ‘Barsaat’ and that film, though not much successful going by its records that it managed to make at the box office, turned out to be a turning point in the career of Bobby Deol. As his skills in acting got praised in the film, he started getting much recognition, acceptance and fame from the industry finally and, now, is as established an actor as his brother today.

Prevention Exists in the Hindi Movie Industry

It is no new news for the fans of the Hindi movie industry that it is an intensively competitive field, where there exists no space for the display of any kind of personal emotion. Sunny Deol has quite aptly pointed out that sometimes egos and personal desires to experience progress knowingly or unknowingly overshadow the concept of striking strong bondage and friendship with each other. In such an atmosphere, it becomes really difficult to strike up true bonding as individual ambitions have the power to win over nurturing relations. This event severs the basic respect that everybody should be having for each other, feels the ‘Ironman’ of the Hindi movie industry.

“Everybody comes and hugs you and meets you as they love you so much, but all of that is fake. So many people call me paaji, I say, please don’t call me paaji because you don’t understand the meaning of paaji. There is a respect for older brother.” He added, “There are so many things that have been going on, will keep going on because they are such good actors in life, maybe not on the screen,” retorts Sunny Deol.

Call for a Refurbishments

Sunny Deol’s criticism of the lack of true respect, love and bondage among colleagues from the same industry has signalled a call for a total change in the way the actors just perceive each other as competitors. He encourages them to be more and more authentic and respectful in their approach towards one another and be by the side of each other in times of trouble. He strictly slams the superficiality of support and care that has almost become a norm in the Hindi movie industry nowadays. In the same breath, he even lamented the loss of true bonding that the actors would be having for each other at one point in time in the movie industry. He felt that having a strong relationship with everybody will not just help maintain harmony in the atmosphere but also help the person climb up the ladder of success easily. In case there is a potential fall, the person will have someone to hold him back. The building up of a deeper relationship will help in the creation of a more involved and enriching atmosphere in the Bollywood industry.

“Unfortunately, you work with someone, and then they move on. That is the truth of this film industry,” was the jeremiad of Sunny ‘Tara Singh’ Deol, when Puja Tan War asked him about the association he shared with his former directors with, whom he had worked in several of his films. He said that though he had worked with acclaimed directors such as Sanjay Rawail and J.P. Dutta as their films displayed “passion, earnestly and honesty”, they were the ones to back out first when h had needed them the most.

Thus, the candid comments of Sunny Deol on the ideas of friendship and falsehood that exists within it is something that everybody should be mulling about. All of us need to introspect on the authenticity of association that takes place in the industry despite the competition and personal desires to progress over one another. Through the fostering of strong connectivity, a strong system of support and brotherhood can be created that would stand over the glitz of the film industry.