New Delhi, August 27: After the success of his movie Gadar 2, Sunny Deol is making headlines everywhere. The beeline in his office started again after nearly two decades of recording it.
After all, heroes like Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn and Aamir Khan are all knocking on the 60s and have been ruling the Indian film industry. Unfortunately, lately their careers have been choppy. Consistency is lacking in the box office results of their films.
And when filmmakers consider letting go, they make a successful film that gives them another two years of extension in their career. Of course, this success has the added advantage of inflated box office numbers. Not to mention the audience, but even other filmmakers get fooled by these things!
Along with Sunny’s success in ‘Gadar 2’, there was bad news for him. His family’s property in Mumbai’s prime Juhu location, Sunny Villa, was put up for auction by the Bank of Baroda Liquidation, for loan redemption by public notice in major newspapers. Of course, the notice was withdrawn within 24 hours.
Sunny Villa has seen a glorious past. So here’s some lowdown on the property. Sunny Villa, spread over an area of approximately 600 square metres, was a very lively and eventful place.
Sunny Villa is located in a prime location among the prime real estate in Juhu. It accommodates a recording studio and editing suite, as well as a preview stage, above which is Sunny’s office and personal suite. On the ground floor there is an outdoor cafeteria and offices in the front.
Sunny Villa saw its golden days until the end of 2000. The recording studio was in high demand, and reservations were rarely available. The front area has always been crowded with people from all walks of life. It felt like a big celebration of the most iconic figures in the film business. It was a melting pot.
At least two films that I know of have been planned and produced using the Sunny Villa outbuilding. These were producers who had neither a permanent address nor an office. They worked using the building. There are no tables or chairs, all business has been handled as “khadi khadi”. Not only did they plan their films, they also completed them.
One of these movies was Deewana, the movie that catapulted Shahrukh Khan to superstardom! Three aspiring producers met for the first time, planned and completed their film. The other film was Andaz Apna Apna directed by Rajkumar Santoshi of Vinay Sinha. There may have been a few more.
Sunny Deol was an in-demand actor, who started with his local production ‘Betaab’ in 1983 to great success, then boosted his career with another love story ‘Sohni Mehwal’. He has created sporadic hits like ‘Tridev’, ‘Ghayal’, ‘Narsimha’ and ‘Damini’.
In 1989, he had as many as eight new releases and in 1993, seven titles. It seems that there is no problem with the money flow.
The problem with male actors in those days was that their hands were always open to welcome whatever money came in. This was the era of “token money”. Every filmmaker has chased down a successful star and made their intentions known by giving those actors a sum of cash as a token. No history, no receipt, no text.
Most of the time, these tokens never turn into a solid commitment. There was no refund system. Claims for refunds, should the project not be implemented, fell on deaf ears.
But ignoring the ear will not work for the Bank of Baroda.
Success has come to Sunny Deol after a long time with ‘Gadar 2’. They say in a human life cycle, luck doubles. This is the belief of the Indian horoscopes. So, fate gives you a chance to avoid past mistakes and erase them as well.
Sunny Deol gave an interview to the Hollywood magazine ‘Variety’. It’s not his fault that publications like ‘Variety’ never showed interest in Indian cinema. Now that they’ve noticed our film industry, it’s the first step to getting Hollywood’s attention.
But, there is a “RRR” story. The makers of the film were sure that they were competitors among others and did their best to promote the film in the Hollywood film circles.
They set up screenings and made sure some of the big celebrities saw and praised the movie. You need to hire a PR agency in Hollywood (can’t compare to the way PR works in India). The film must be pressed.
No media, including street signs, has been spared by the makers of “RRR”. After all, they were selling a non-Hollywood product. Now, this costs a lot of money, all in dollars.
Interviewed by Variety’s Naman Ramchandran, speaking of Gadar 2, Sunny Deol said, “He has become an Indian Marvel hero.” Maybe he meant to become one.
Well, the gateway to Hollywood will need more than just one interview. But if he succeeds, he’s the one who fits into the Marvel Hero slot.
Source: IANS
Disclaimer: This story has not been edited by the WBSETCL team and is auto-generated from syndicated feed.
