“Hamara Hindustan zindabad tha, zindabad hai, aur zindabad rahega” is one of Sunny Deol’s most iconic dialogue from the film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha. With Gadar 2 nearing its completion, Sunny Deol is back in the headlines.
Despite being 65, the actor turned politician looks no bit old, nor do his iconic dialogues. Every gathering among friends from the 1990s-to 2000s would invariably have someone or the other mouth some of Deol’s iconic dialogue in any conversation. His dialogues attained such cult status that they have become common lingo for the millennials.
Unlike his younger brother Bobby, Sunny Deol has been successful in carving out a niche audience for himself that still watches one of his films at every family gathering. He has delivered some outstanding performances throughout his career. His acting, along with his distinctive style of dancing, displaying his violent side, and delivering sentences that everybody can connect to, has aided the actor’s success. Let’s take a look at films that developed his cult status in the ’90s and see what made Ajay Singh Deol, ‘the Sunny Deol’.
“Jab yeh dhai kilo ka haath kisi pe padta hai toh aadmi uthta nahi, uth jaata hai,” you can not be a ’90s kid if you haven’t heard of this dialogue from Damini. When Damini witnesses her housemaid being raped by her brother-in-law and his friends. She strives to get justice for the helpless housemaid with the help of her husband and Govind, a lawyer played by Sunny Deol. It was Sunny’s roaring voice and his high pitch speeches at the court that resonated with every member of the middle class. The film became so successful that people started calling rape survivors as ‘Damini’.
Did you even enjoy your childhood in the 90s if you didn’t hear dialogues like “Utaar ke phenk do ye wardi aur pehen lo Balwant Rai ke naam ka patta apne gale mein…Balwant Rai ke kutton” from Ghayal? Ghayal did to Sunny what Zanjeer did to Amitabh Bachchan, made him a superstar. Sunny’s immaculate dialogue delivery makes people watch the film time and again.
Does not matter if you are a millennial or not, Border is one film that everyone has seen. Based on the 1971 war where Sunny Deol plays the role of Brig Kuldip Singh Chandpuri. His character portrays a plethora of emotions ranging from patriotism to grief. You cry, laugh, mourn and be thankful at the same time because of the great artistry presented by Deol in his acting.
The 90s for sure belonged to him and without a doubt, he was Amitabh Bachchan of the 90s as he enjoyed the same fame. He proved that he was the one producers could trust for the role of a holier than thou angry young man. His livid expressions and pizzazz definitely had the audience on hold.
