I was happy even with Rs 55 crore debt: Sunny Deol on financial strains

Actor Sunny Deol has opened up about the financial struggles he faced during the difficult phase of his career, including the debt he accumulated after directing and producing films. The actor opened up about the 55.99 crore debt that once put his Mumbai property under an e-auction notice, revealing that the amount owed was linked to his own financial commitments. The actor, however, said he never let money dictate his choices and remained content even during the period when he was in debt.In 2023, shortly after Gadar 2 opened to a massive response, a bank issued an e-auction notice against Sunny's villa, his Juhu property, over outstanding dues and interest amounting to Rs 55.99 crore. The notice was later withdrawn after Sunny agreed to settle the amount.Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, Sunny said, “I can’t do so many things for money. But to be very honest, I’m very happy. Even when I was in debt, I was very happy. I was living my life.”Clarifying the nature of the debt, the actor said he did not owe money to anyone personally and was responsible for the financial commitments himself. “The money I owed was all mine. I didn’t borrow it from anyone. I didn’t owe anyone anything. I just had to sell my own assets and pay back,” he said.After Sunny agreed to clear the outstanding dues, the bank withdrew the e-auction notice. The actor had taken the loan while producing Ghayal Returns, the 2016 action film that he also directed and starred in. Ghayal Returns marked the second of Sunny’s three directorial ventures. He had earlier directed the 1999 romantic drama Dillagi, which starred him alongside his younger brother Bobby Deol, and later helmed the 2019 romantic film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, which marked the acting debut of his son Karan Deol.However, none of the three films performed well at the box office, putting significant financial pressure on the actor.During the same podcast, the 68-year-old actor reflected on the period when he struggled to find the right subjects and filmmakers after the success of his early-2000s films. Looking back at 2001, Sunny pointed out that Gadar, which released alongside Aamir Khan’s Lagaan, emerged as a massive success, earning around Rs 77 crore domestically. He also highlighted the performance of Indian, which released later that year and collected approximately Rs 43 crore in India, compared with Lagaan’s Rs 34 crore.“Along with Gadar, I also delivered Indian, which was a much bigger hit than Lagaan and all the other films of that time. It did two to three times of Lagaan’s business. Gadar did much more than that,” Sunny claimed.However, despite these successes, Sunny said his career trajectory changed with the arrival of corporate studios and a shift in the way films were being made.“Suddenly, corporates came in, and the film industry’s format began changing. But after that, I don’t know why I wasn’t getting the right subjects and makers,” he said.Sunny also recalled the difficulties surrounding his 2005 film Jo Bole So Nihaal, which was withdrawn following protests and political controversy. He said such incidents also affected the course of his career.Meanwhile, Sunny is currently seen in Batwara 1947 alongside Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, Shaban Azmi and Karan Deol. The Partition drama clashed with Emraan Hashmi’s Awarapan 2 at the box office.- EndsPublished By: Prachi aryaPublished On: Aug 17, 2026 19:58 IST