From RARKPK, Gadar 2 and Animal, 2023 was the year of the Deols

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

December 22, 2023 - 7:33 PM IST

2023 has been a fantastic year for the Deols, one of the most popular, respected and loved families of the industry. Dharmendra, who is 88, has starred in the hit, Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani, in a pivotal, if short, role. The film, which also did even better business overseas, proved lucky for the industry as it chronologically led a chain of hits in the third quarter of this year.

From RARKPK, Gadar 2 and Animal, 2023 was the year of the Deols

One of these, just a fortnight later, was Gadar 2, a mammoth blockbuster featuring Dharmendra’s elder son, Sunny Deol. And now, in December, in a small but impactful role, the third Deol—younger beta Bobby Deol—gets his day in the sun—as the villain in Animal.

In short, it’s nothing less than a whopping triple comeback, engineered seemingly by Destiny! “I agree that something called Destiny is there!” mused trade analyst Komal Nahata. “And it’s all about acting in the right kind of film. If these three films had flopped, and their performances had been even better, they wouldn’t have reached anywhere! So, such things are related to success, and success to content!”

Taran Adarsh added, “I remember when Dharam-ji launched Sunny with a bang in the 1983 Betaab. He was at the top then and he competed with his son after this! In 1995, he launched Bobby Deol in Barsaat¸ and though the film did just decent business, Bobby became a top star too along with Sunny. History repeats itself!” A father competing with a son professionally was a hitherto unknown thing in Hindi cinema then.

Trade analyst Kumar Mohan has a philosophical take on this renewed spurt with success. “The Deols are the best human beings and treat people very nicely!” he raved. “They have never insulted anyone, have enjoyed success, and despite that are not known for tantrums, any negativity or other starry behavior. Time has a way of rotating, and this year, they have all been appreciated because they have played their respective ages.”

About the one dark spot in the Deol picture this year, the failure of Dono, featuring Sunny’s younger son, Rajveer Deol, Kumar said, “Every film cannot be a hit. Getting a first film to be a success is not really important and there are so many examples to prove this. Rajveer will make it!” Added Komal, “A significant problem with Dono was the title given to it. It said nothing about the film, though it was produced by a big banner, the Rajshris. Titles must be thought of carefully!” Taran, while agreeing with this, also says that most people were unaware of the film!

As for the Deols’ triple triumphs, here is what these trade experts had to say.

Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani
“When I was watching Dharam-ji in Rocky…, his performance throughout, especially in his last scene where he admonishes his son not to break up the family, I could not control my tears!” said Taran. “It was not the length of the role but the impact it had. Conversely, an actor can be there throughout a film but may not make any impression. The josh that Dharmendra showed at 88 was enviable!”

Gadar 2
The recall value for Gadar 2 was tremendous, feels Taran. “There was also great repeat value for Gadar—Ek Prem Katha 21 years ago too, you cannot deny that. Gadar is now an emotion, not just a film!” Komal added that for Sunny, Gadar 2 is a comeback of “gigantic proportions!” As of now, Gadar 2 ranks at no. 2 in the year’s blockbusters, he said, and in terms of return on investment, leads among them, as its budget was far less than that of Jawan and Pathaan, which rank as of now in the first and third positions. Of course, Animal too is showing a massive hold on audiences and can outrank one or all of these movies.

Animal
Bobby Deol has also returned to centerstage after very long. “After ages, he had made an impact on OTT in 2020 with Aashram, and now it is Animal. He can have a career in negative roles as well,” opined Komal. When we pointed out that Bobby had also done a negative role way back in 2007 with Naqaab, he agreed, but said, quite rightly, that in those days, it was “fashionable to plays such roles, from Shah Rukh Khan downwards.”

The Box-Office & Future Prospects

Between the three of them, their films have already netted over Rs. 1100 crores at the 2023 box-office in India only and their worldwide gross as of December 10, stands at Rs. 2500 crore-plus! Dharmendra’s and Sunny’s films are still hot on streaming platforms while Animal is creating new records every day, having already reached, as of December 10, Rs. 434 crores plus, which was the lifetime collection of KGF2 last year, in a record 10 days!

And, as Komal pointed out, in a hit-obsessed industry, nothing succeeds like success. Dharmendra is now doing the Shahid Kapoor-Kriti Sanon-Dimple Kapadia film, as yet untitled, which releases on February 14. He will also be a part of Sriram Raghavan’s biopic of Lieutenant Arun Khetarpal, starring Agastya Nanda. Apne 2 is also on the anvil, and buzz is that he will play Bobby Deol’s father in Housefull 5.

Sunny Deol is now cast in Aamir Khan’s own production, Lahore 1947, reuniting with his Ghayal director Rajkumar Santoshi 27 years after they last collaborated on Ghatak. Aamir had done a song cameo in Santoshi’s Damini while Sunny had made a scene-stealing special appearance in the film.

Now no longer considered a pariah, Sunny is also sifting through offers, while Apne 2 remains signed. Talks are obviously there about Gadar 3. As for Bobby, Komal said that he is flooded with assignments as well, besides Apne 2 and, reportedly, Housefull 5. He is going negative again as Aurangzeb in the Telugu Pawan Kalyan film, Hari Hara Veera Mallu.

The world of the Deols is full of plenty again. And to quote an old saying, “Wonderful things have a wonderful way of happening to wonderful people.”
Kumar Mohan would agree.

Also Read: Animal actress Mansi Taxak reacts to the scene where Aziz sexually assaults her; says, “Forget my character, even I would have said yes in that moment”