Ikka co-star recalls Sunny Deol shooting after Dharmendra’s death: ‘Kya professionalism hai’

Legendary actor Dharmendra’s death left the entire nation in shock last year. His son, actor Sunny Deol grieved with the tragic loss in his own way – by putting his head into work. Actor Sanjeeda Shaikh, who shared the screen space with Sunny in Ikka recently, revealed that the actor returned to the shoot of the film after his father’s death. In a recent interview, she also opened up about the lessons she learned from senior actors like Sunny and Akshaye Khanna.

During a chat with Hindustan Times, Sanjeeda recalled Sunny shooting for the final leg of Ikka after Dharmendra’s death. “I remember Sunny sir coming for the shoot. Dharam sir had just passed. And I would say ‘kya professionalism hai yaar!’ Iss level pe aa ke toh bol bhi sakte hain na ki ‘Yaar ek hafta, das din shoot band rakho, main nahi aata aaj set par kyunki I don’t feel like shooting.’ (At his level, he could have said, ‘Please keep the shoot closed for a week or ten days, I’m not coming to the set today because I don’t feel like shooting.) But no, that man used to come to the set, do his work, and leave. Toh bahut kuch seekhne ko milta hai (I learnt a lot from him),” she shared.

ALSO READ | Sunny Deol says Batwara 1947 isn’t Gadar; Santoshi calls character ‘better than Iron Man’

The professional values that the actor learned from her senior co-stars was a bonus. She added, “All of them, they just come and do their work so professionally. These are accomplished actors. They don’t come to the set with any burden. They are so great that you learn a lot just by watching them ki aap jitna humble rahoge na, utna hi zyada tikoge industry mein. (that the more humble you remain, the longer you will last in the industry).”

Besides Sunny Deol, Sanjeeda Shaikh, and Akshaye Khanna, Ikka also featured Dia Mirza and Tillotama Shome in pivotal roles. Directed by Siddharth P. Malhotra, the film was released on Netflix on July 10.

Dharmendra’s death

Veteran actor Dharmendra died at the age of 89 on November 24, 2025, at his home in Mumbai. He succumbed to a brief illness after being hospitalized for respiratory complications. On his late father’s 90th birth anniversary in December, Sunny had shared an emotional post on Instagram. Along with an old video of Dharmendra enjoying in the mountains, he wrote an emotional caption which read, “Today is my father’s birthday. Papa is always with me, inside me, love you papa. Miss you.”