Director-producer Suneel Darshan, who has never hesitated to speak about his industry fallouts, recently revisited his strained equation with actor Sunny Deol. The filmmaker, whose debut directorial Ajay (1996) featured Sunny, revealed that their rift stemmed from financial disputes and broken promises.‘He was supposed to pay me, but never did’Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Suneel said, “I had a very bad experience with Sunny while working on Ajay. He had acquired the overseas distribution rights and was supposed to pay me a certain amount. He said the banks were shut for Christmas in the UK and promised to pay later. But when the opportunity came, he said he didn’t have the money. He asked me to help him as a close friend, and I did. If he doesn’t have a bad memory, he should remember it.”Broken promises and a court battleSuneel recalled that Sunny assured him of returning the money with interest or collaborating on a new film. “I approached him with a story which became Jaanwar (1999). He turned it down, saying he wasn’t comfortable. Soon after, incidents happened that left me shocked, and we never worked together again,” he said.
When the matter escalated to court, Sunny reportedly offered to resolve it by doing a film with him instead of repayment. “Much against my wishes, I gave in. But he flouted the terms. After investing a year’s worth of effort and money, I realised the intent was suspicious. I walked out and approached a division bench court. The case is still pending,” Suneel shared.‘I believed in Sunny Deol’Darshan, who said he had known Sunny even before his acting career began, admitted to being deeply disappointed. “When you put someone on a pedestal and then that image falls, it is more than just a momentary loss,” he concluded.
