Sunny Deol wants 200 cr for the hit "Below the Belt!"
It is not the price demanded for the forthcoming films, for which Deol is teaming up with Rajkumar Santoshi. It is the restitution his lawyer Ashok Sarogi thinks he can get from Big 92.7 FM radio station for mocking his "lead hero/macho man" image!
KNOWN MORE as superhero Dharmendra's son, Sunny Deol has done fairly well in Bollywood. Apart from not pushing his producers and distributors into debt, he has got the National award for the Best actor for his role in the film Ghayal. That is quite an achievement compared to most other inheritors of superstar legacies, such as that of Big B and Vinod Khanna. The reason: Fans expect the same performance of the lions from the cubs and get disappointed at what they get. If Hritik or Vivek Oberoi had some luck, it must be remembered that their fathers were not such phenomena of their time. Apart from being compared with Dharmendra in every role, the unlucky stars of Sunny Deol lay in the ascending stars of his co-actors. For example, Sharukh Khan, a nonentity those days, stole all the limelight for his performance as the psychotic villain in Darr, even though Sunny had done stellar work. His worst misfortune was when he broke up with Raj Kumar Santoshi, who had made three films Ghayal, Damini and Ghatak with him. When Santoshi planned a classical, period film on Bhagat Singh, the Deols wanted Dharmendra's younger son Bobby Deol to do the lead role. Sunny wanted his brother to cash in on his brand identity built around a potent combination of anti-Muslim, anti-Pakistan rhetoric. He felt that the film must be fashioned after his hit film Gadar – one of the most rabidly communal and jingoistic films of the time – aimed at building the brand image for Bobby. But Santoshi was unimpressed by the younger Deol's talent and commitment to portray the martyr as realistically as possible. Bobby Deol had confessed that he never read a single word on Bhagat Singh and only knew him from the tales his grandmother told him!
Due to the creative differences, both went separate ways and worked on their own versions. Things soared further when Santoshi could score a decent box-office run for his non-commercial, period version starring Ajay Devgan. The Deol version showcased only the hero, Bobby Deol, at the expense of all else, including Sunny's portrayal of Chandrashekhar Azad. Apart from being historically inaccurate, it was loud, tasteless and pop-patriotic. The film portrayed the revolutionary militant with a global world view – he wrote from his death cell what made him an atheist – as a moronic believer in rabid Hinduism and straitjacket nationalism. More hot exchanges followed after cine-going audience was not satisfied with it, despite being made by the Punjab-da-putar team.
Seven years after parting ways, Deols and Santoshi have reportedly patched up and are planning to work together on several projects. Sunny Deol confirmed the news and said, “We are ready with four subjects. We have worked on Ghayal, Ghatak and Damini and they have all been individual films and not part one, two or three, so we are not doing any remakes as such. We are capable of delivering good cinema.” The first one, expected to go on floors by end of 2009, is learnt to be high-voltage emotional drama. Apparently after Sunny’s directorial stints, the creative misgivings have evaporated.
The $40 million price is not what Sunny Deol is demanding for one or all of these projects. His lawyer Ashok Sarogi thinks that is what he can get for his client from Anil Ambani-controlled Reliance Big Entertainment for mocking at the family! Interestingly, Sarogi was the lawyer who fought a defamation case against Sharukh Khan, Saroj Khan and co-producers of Om Shanti Om on behalf of Manoj Kumar. He said Sunny has lost out on many film offers from different producers because of the erosion in his image and the damages could go up to Rs 200 crore!
The lawyer has served notice on Anil Ambani, Tarun Katyal, Ashutosh Khanna and Reliance Big Entertainment to make amends and stop airing a spoof ‘Son Sunny’, as filler on Big 92.7 FM radio station. The skit mocks Dharmendra as well as the sons. Sarogi declared, “If the channel doesn’t respond in the next one week, we are going to take them to court.” Criminal proceedings under section 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code could invite imprisonment up to two years, if convicted. He said they will take further action once they hear from the respondents.
According to the lawyer, a film artiste – particularly the artiste who is “holding an image of lead hero/macho man” – cannot be portrayed as funny/comic figure before people at large. He accused the radio channel of doing it “casually and/or regularly such that he becomes a laughing stock!” Sunny Deol himself vented his ire in a news conference: “I am not against mimicry. Several people mimic several actors. But when you hit below the belt and when it is not done in good humour, one should put an end to it.” Asked why he is raking up the issue now after the filler has become quite popular, he replied: “I thought they would stop after a point. But now it has reached a point where they have crossed all limits. . . My entire family has listened to the show and found it objectionable. I am sure you too will if you listen!” He said his father – Dharmendra, whose role of a drunkard buffoon luring a tongawali Basanti (real life wife Hema Malini) in Sholay remains evergreen – too thought it was high time to retaliate.
A scribe asked Deol whether he is using the issue as a cheap publicity gimmick to promote his upcoming movie after a string of flops. The actor retaliated: “We have had many issues in the past but we have never raised our voice.” It is quite possible that publicity was not in the minds of the Deols for engaging Sarogi. But one cannot be very sure of Reliance. Interestingly, Big 92.7 FM has chosen to keep mum and has not responded to the notice. The company is known for its innovative publicity strategies to catch eyeballs and earlobes for itself and its clients!
 | Previous Post |
| Next Post |  |
.Agreed. Deols did great disservice to the peoples of the two Punjabs. Bhagat Singh falls in the rank of heroes like Vivekananda or Aurobindo Ghosh. He was shown as contemporary of rank opportunists and betrayers - like Sant Fateh Singh and Zail Singh and Bindranwale and Manmohan.
.Agreed. Deols did great disservice to the peoples of the two Punjabs. Bhagat Singh falls in the rank of heroes like Vivekananda or Aurobindo Ghosh. He was shown as contemporary of rank opportunists and betrayers - like Sant Fateh Singh and Zail Singh and Bindranwale and Manmohan.
Login
 Login through Social ID
|
