'Gadar 2,' 'RRKPK,' 'Animal': Charting Deol family's blockbuster 2023
If there is one family in Bollywood that has not one but numerous reasons to celebrate this year, it is the Deol family. Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, and Bobby Deol each had a release in 2023, and as luck (and tenacity) would have it, all films were commercially successful. Now that the year is almost over, let's rewind a little and focus on the Deols.
Dharmendra
Let's begin with Dharmendra, the Deol family's patriarch, as well as its binding thread. This year, he made an appearance in Karan Johar's family drama Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, where he essayed Kanwal Lund, Rocky's (Ranveer Singh) grandfather. What tugged the most at audiences' heartstrings was his poetic love story with Rani's (Alia Bhatt) grandmother, Jamini Chatterjee, played by Shabana Azmi.
Sunny Deol
Gadar 2's phenomenal box office success is the stuff dreams are made of! A comeback like no other, Gadar 2 catapulted Sunny to superstardom like never before. The nostalgia factor associated with Gadar (2001) facilitated Gadar 2's dominance at the box office. Sunny proved that his supremacy wasn't just restricted to the 1980s and the '90s, and he is still very much a crowdpuller!
Bobby Deol
To not speak a word, feature in select scenes, flaunt his chiseled body in the climax, impress with his dance moves, and steal all the limelight—only Bobby could have done that! His role as Abrar in Sandeep Reddy Vanga's blockbuster Animal, co-starring Ranbir Kapoor, is one to remember for ages, and the adulation he received even moved Bobby to tears publicly. No surprises there.
Honorable mention: Abhay Deol
Dharmendra's nephew Abhay Deol is also not far behind when it comes to having an incredible 2023. He hit it out of the park with Netflix's series Trial By Fire, directed by Randeep Jha and Prashant Nair and based on the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire tragedy in Delhi. He played the protagonist, Shekhar Krishnamoorthy, alongside Rajshri Deshpande (Neelam Krishnamoorthy), who co-authored the eponymous book.
