Sunny Deol: The curious case of the ‘other women’

Behind the angry face resides a successful playboy.

Although actor Sunny Deol made his debut as a romantic hero alongside Amrita Singh, he soon set a completely different image of himself in Bollywood — an outraged, heavy-on-muscles, action hero. With films like Ghayal, Ghatak and Gadar — Ek Prem Katha, he proved his mettle as Bollywood’s real macho man, time and again. He fit into that character with such ease that people literally stopped accepting him in light-hearted, love stories — evident from the 1999 box office bummer, Dillagi.

But while people seemed to appreciate what was on the surface, elder Deol exhibited a somewhat opposite personality in real life with a string of controversial affairs, according to the Times of India. Despite being married to Pooja Deol, the actor continued associating with his female co-stars at a much more intimate level. First on his list of ladyloves was Saif Ali Khan’s ex-wife, actor Amrita Singh. However, the relationship did not last long enough as Amrita was quick to move on once the reality of Sunny’s marriage was revealed.

Next up was the sultry and ever-so-gorgeous Dimple Kapadia and this affair turned into something way more substantial and serious. According to dnaindia.com, the two eloped and got married! However, there weren’t any reports of a formal second wedding, unlike his father Dharmendra. Nonetheless, it is said that the actor had given Kapadia the status of a wife. The relationship that lasted about 11 years obviously did not stand the test of time as Kapadia later married veteran actor Rajesh Khanna. The playboy also made a move on co-star Raveena Tandon. It appears that the actor just couldn’t help being a chick magnet!

Eventually, the long-suffering wife Pooja put an end to her husband’s constant affairs. The couple is still married and has two sons — Karan Deol and Rajvir Deol. Despite affairs, major box office disappointments and a continuing back problem, the now 57-year-old actor continues to charm his fans once in a while. He will next be seen in three projects; Bhaiyyaji Superhitt, Singh Sahab the Great and Ghayal Returns.

Bollywood’s famous ‘second wives’

1.             Sridevi: The actor stepped into film-maker Boney Kapoor’s life while he was still married to late Mona Kapoor. The two did not get a formal divorce.

2.             Shabana Azmi: Luckily for her, Javed Akhtar’s two kids, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, seem to be at ease with Azmi’s presence. Hers is one of the most successful second marriages in B-town, despite heavy criticism.

3.             Hema Malini: Like father, like son — while Sunny never really made it official, papa Deol was quite open about his relationship. The couple fell in love while shooting for all-time blockbuster Sholay and converted to Islam only to get married, as Dharmendra’s first wife refused to divorce him.

4.            Kiran Rao: Actor Aamir Khan stunned fans when he got a divorce from his long-time wife Reena Dutta and got married to film-maker Kiran Rao. However, his ex-wife is still an integral part of his life and remains part of every important event.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 21^st, 2013.

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