Last month marked the 25th anniversary of the release of Ghayal. This Diwali, Sunny Deol will return to theatres as Ajay Mehra in the sequel that he has directed and produced. Sunny hopes that “everyone who has loved me as an actor will also know me as a competent director”. The 57-year-old was busy editing Ghayal 2 at Sunny Super Sound, in Juhu, when t2 dropped in to meet him.

On a very rainy morning, Sunny sipped on green tea and talked about Ghayal and Ghayal 2.

It’s been 25 years since Ghayal!

Yes. Time has really flown past. When we started work on Ghayal 2, I thought it must have been only 10-15 years.

What is your abiding memory of Ghayal?

It has to be how we made the film. It was a huge task. When Raj (Kumar Santoshi) narrated the script to me, I had liked it but the producer he had come with ran away. I took the film to many known producers of that time, but no one was interested. They said people are not interested in vendetta films. But I was very sure of the script so I went to Dad (Dharmendra) and told him that I want to produce it. It took almost two-and-a-half years to make this film. I was shooting for so many other films at the same time.

This was a film where we were up against many odds. There were suggestions from directors I was working with at that time. People kept telling us to add unnecessary comedy tracks.

Ghayal went on to be a huge hit and also win many awards. What do you think worked for the film?

Frankly, I am the last person to figure out what an audience connects or doesn’t connect with. Most of my films, even those that have become iconic today, I have no clue what touched a chord with the audience. I like making films without planning and plotting things that the audience will like.

You made two really powerful films, Ghayal and Damini, with Raj Kumar Santoshi. What was your collaboration with him like?

Raj was an assistant director when he came to me with the script for Ghayal. We gelled immediately and that’s how we decided to work together. But that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have arguments about the film. Both of us had no idea whether this film will or won’t work. So we were both groping in the dark. With Damini, I wasn’t a part of the main cast, but I had heard the story and I was keen on working with Raj again. So, he narrated the role of Meenakshi’s (Seshadri) lawyer to me. It turned out to be another memorable role. We did Ghatak (1996) after that which also did really well. Unfortunately, we didn’t work together after that.

You’ve wrapped up Ghayal 2. Why was this the right time for you to revisit Ghayal?

I have been trying to make a sequel for a long time, but things weren’t falling into place. I couldn’t get directors who were on the same page with me. Nor could I find the perfect story. Eventually, I decided to direct the sequel myself because I had already announced that I was making Ghayal 2. I am very stubborn. When I start something, I have to see it through. Once this film releases later this year, I’ll know if my stubbornness worked or not (laughs).
I know there are people who think that iconic films should be left alone and not tampered with. I agree with them mostly but in this case, I know there is more to the story of Ghayal that needs to be told.

Like the original, you had trouble getting Ghayal 2 off the floors...

Yes. It was basically at the script level. As a producer, I wasn’t getting what I wanted from the story. Ghayal has been so close to me as an actor as well that I couldn’t bear to not do justice to it. What we have worked with finally, I think, is the best that we could have done for this film.

Cinematic sensibilities have changed a lot since the ’90s…

Yeah, but there were remakes of south (Indian) films in the ’90s and they are still happening. There are still films that are based on Mumbai. What’s changed is that we are getting directors who have seen a little more of India, so you are getting the flavours of small towns. I am hoping that I come across some young directors who have a script that interests me.

It’s been 16 years since Dillagi, your only film as director. Was it easy for you to get back in the director’s chair?

I directed Dillagi only because Gurinder Chadha couldn’t. The film was stuck. And that’s how I became a director. The film did reasonably well, so I figured that I could direct. But I was so busy as an actor that I never got a chance to direct again.

With Ghayal 2, it was a similar situation. The difference in the two situations is that then I was directing because I had to and this time it’s a choice I have made. I have discovered a lot about myself in the process.

Would you want to direct more?

Oh ya! I want to. It’s not necessary that I direct myself. I am going to direct my son (Karan) next. If Ghayal 2 does well, I’d want to reach out to the world with my films. Why can’t Hollywood watch our films? That’s my goal! (Laughs)

Karishma Upadhyay
I am a Sunny Deol fan because.... Tell t2@abp.in