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The original heavyweight of Bollywood turns 56 and shows no signs of stopping

Born on October 19, 1956, Sunny Deol is the original heavyweight of Bollywood, and one of the most respected actors around today. Of the second generation of Deols, Sunny made his debut in the 1983 hit film Betaab, and has been part of hit after hit in every decade since.

And it has never been easy for him, as right after his debut he faced a lull in his career that only came to an end after he proved his mettle by displaying superior acting skills in the 1985 movie Arjun, which established him as a major action star in the industry.

His acting abilities came fully into view when he played the angst-ridden, alcoholic lawyer in Damini; that role won him a National Award and a Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. The achievement proved that Sunny paaji, as he is fondly known, can do much more than just fight and throw punches onscreen with his famed ‘dhai kilo ka haath’!

One of the most genuine people in tinseltown, he is known as a person who shows extreme compassion towards fellow actors as well as his staff, and he has been the actor with the least amount of controversy around him.

And although the decade started out for him well with Gadar going on to become the highest grossing film in the history of Bollywood, in 2001 he faced a lull. That now seems to have changed and Sunny is back, this time doing comedy, and has adjusted to it well – as was evident in the 2011 laugh riot called Yamla Pagla Deewana.

The next year looks great for him with a sequel to Yamla Pagla Deewana in the making and a sequel to Ghayal in the pipeline too. We wish the original action hero of Bollywood a great comeback and a successful year ahead! And, of course, happy birthday!