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Dharmendra made Sunny Deol redo Betaab dubbing; recalled slapping him only once in life: ‘Had two fingers imprinted on my face’

Dharmendra once revealed that he wasn’t entirely happy with Sunny Deol dubbing in Betaab and even made him redo the entire dubbing. He also talked about the time he slapped his elder son.

Sunny Deol recalled the time he was slapped by father DharmendraSunny Deol recalled the time he was slapped by father Dharmendra. (Pic: Express Archive)

It’s never easy to carry forward the legacy of a superstar while carving one’s own identity in the film industry, but Sunny Deol has managed to do just that. Since his debut in the 1983 hit Betaab, the actor has often credited his father, Dharmendra, for guiding and supporting him through his journey. However, Dharmendra once revealed that he wasn’t entirely happy with Sunny’s early work and even made him redo the entire dubbing of Betaab.

Dharmendra made Sunny redo Betaab dubbing

During an appearance on The RKB Show, Dharmendra recalled, “I saw the trial show of his first film Betaab and dubbing was completed. After seeing the trial show, I got so angry. I came home and I asked ‘Kahan hai Sunny sahib? Nikalo use (Where is Sunny? Bring him out).’ I took him along with me, and I made him redo the whole dubbing. He used to get very tired.”

Sharing his own experience from his early days, Dharmendra added, “I remember my first dubbing. I had torn my shirt because I was like, ‘Why do I have to do this dubbing after acting in front of the camera?’ In dubbing, all those emotions don’t come forth. It is difficult, but until and unless you put soul into it… if you don’t put soul in dubbing, then there is nothing.”

The veteran actor revealed that he stayed with Sunny till late nights during the dubbing sessions. “I used to stay with him till 11pm–12am at night during Betaab dubbing sessions. Sometimes, when I would pretend to leave for home, I would be hiding and watching Sunny. I could hear him tell the technician, ‘Kal karenge.’”

Dharmendra recalled slapping Sunny

When Sunny was asked how he felt when Dharmendra made him redo the dubbing for Betaab, he said, “It was like going to school and the headmaster sitting there.” Dharmendra defended himself, saying, “I treated him very nicely but my father, even when Sunny was small, he had slapped me.”

The veteran star admitted he had only slapped Sunny once in his life when he was a child. “Once I had slapped Sunny. He was small at that time, and I had gotten him a shotgun, and he had broken all the windows of the neighbour’s house. That was the only time I slapped him, but I kept calling back at home to ask how is he after going to the studio.” Sunny recalled the incident vividly and said, “At the time when Papa hit me, I had two fingers imprinted on my face.”

Sunny Deol and Dharmendra. (Photo: Instagram/SunnyDeol)

Sunny Deol did daredevil stunts but hid it from Dharmendra

Sunny had badly injured his back while playing football during his college days in England, which forced him to take extra precautions later in life. However, that didn’t stop him from performing dangerous stunts himself in films.

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When Dharmendra was asked whether he ever stopped Sunny from doing such stunts, he said, “We get to know about his stunts only after watching the films. Only then we know he has jumped from a height or done bungee jumping.”

Director Anil Sharma, who has worked with Sunny in multiple blockbusters like Gadar and Gadar 2, recalled one particularly risky stunt. “In the film Hero, he had to jump from 11,000 feet and he was ready to do it, but I was not sure. I was very tense, but he told me not to tell Dharmendra ji about the stunt. He said, ‘Papa ko yeh baat pata nahin chalna chahiye (Dad can’t know about this).’” Dharmendra chimed in with a smile, “Sometimes in Jatt people, guts work more than their brains.”

Sunny further shared how he often replaced stuntmen in his films by performing the stunts himself. “When I did Betaab, I had 6–7 stuntmen who were changed, and I used to do those stunts. Because I was a sports guy, I was able to do them easily, and they couldn’t do it. I used to jump from the roof right down with no boxes on the ground to support me, and that’s why my back is gone.”

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