Flashback Friday: Was This Why Sunny Deol & Rajkumar Santoshi Fell out?

Anything can happen in Bollywood, friends can turn foes overnight and foes can become inseparable friends. One example of friends turning foes is the iconic pair of actor Sunny Deol and filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi. Back in 1990, Deol’s father Dharmendra gave him his first big break with the action potboiler, Ghayal. The film not only became the second biggest blockbuster of the year, it also redefined the Angry Young Man persona and made Deol one of the most reliable and robust action stars of the country. Santoshi became a voice people wanted to hear more often. His style and sensibilities were both rustic and relevant.

With Damini, his second collaboration with Deol, Santoshi created a chilling courtroom drama, which boldly and bravely highlighted the brutal realities of clandestine voyeurism and the dominance of patriarchy, and how women are always submissive and the weaker sex and how the male supremacy will always be the stench of the Indian families. The filmmaker knew how to squeeze heroism out of his hero, a lawyer who has given up practice due to the profession’s amoralities, and is now an alcoholic. The film led to the coining of the cult line- Dhai Kilo Ka Haath, something that’s associated with Deol even today.

Their third and last film together came in 1996’s Ghatak, a much more melodramatic version of The Good v/s The Evil. With the success of this actioner, Deol and Santoshi became a force to reckon with. And the actor wanted to collaborate and make more films with the filmmaker. Santoshi also worked with Deol’s younger brother Bobby Deol in his debut movie, Barsaat, in 1995. And call it the Santoshi touch or something else, but that film too clicked with the audiences and became a runaway hit. But as we stated right at the beginning of the article, Bollywood’s relationships harp on unpredictability, the duo had an unfortunate and unexpected fallout and it’s reported Deol even slapped Santoshi on one occasion. So what exactly transpired between once very close friends?

The real reason of the fight isn’t exactly known but rumors in the grapevine suggest Deol wanted to make a film on the inspiring life of the late freedom fighter Bhagat Singh and wanted Santoshi to direct the same. It was at the same time Boney Kapoor was producing the espionage thriller Pukar to revive and resuscitate his brother Anil Kapoor’s ailing career. He wanted Santoshi to helm the ambitious project and offered him a hefty amount which was more than what he normally charged for direction. This was an offer he just couldn’t say no to. This cracked the duo’s relation that Deol vowed not to work with him again.

Moreover, he went to Guddu Dhanoa, who made films like Ziddi and Salaakhen with him, and gave him the responsibility to direct the Bhagat Singh biopic with him and Bobby in the leads. Titled 23^rd March, 1931 Shaheed, Deol released the film on the same day as Santoshi’s version with Ajay Devgn, called The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, on June 7, 2002, exactly 17 years ago. Both the biopics failed at the box-office, but Devgn’s walked away with all the acclaim and appreciation, also giving him his second National Award after Zakhm.

But now it seems the actor-director have let bygones be bygones and are planning to collaborate for their fourth film after 23 years. Since Deol is now a politician, we have to wait for their next film for a little longer. But All’s well that ends well.