According to Hindustan Times, Bollywood actor-turned-politician Sunny Deol is embroiled in a financial scandal. Film producer Sorav Gupta accuses him of cheating, extortion, and forgery. Gupta has filed a police complaint against Deol.
“The police issued Deol a notice on April 30. His office sent a letter saying he was out of town on the day he was to present himself,” Gupta confirmed to the publication.
Gupta, a real estate developer turned producer, claimed he signed Deol as the lead for a project in 2016 and agreed to pay INR 40 million. In a press conference, Gupta asserted that Deol received an advance for the film but abandoned his commitments without returning the money.
“We gave him INR 10 million in advance, but instead of starting my film, he opted to shoot for Poster Boys (2017) instead,” Gupta told Hindustan Times. “He kept asking for money, and I have paid INR 25.5 million into Sunny’s account. He also made me give money to another director, book Filmistaan studio, and hire an executive producer.”
Gupta asserted that Deol continued to take money without working on his film, which never materialized. According to him, Deol promised to start work on Gupta’s project but did not respond after the commercial success of Gadar 2 (2023), in which Deol played a major role.
Additionally, Gupta alleged that Deol made unwarranted changes to the agreement with his company in 2023. “We saw that he increased his fees from INR 40 million to INR 80 million and increased his profit to INR 20 million,” he stated.
Filmmaker Suneel Darshan, known for his work on Janwar (1999) and Andaaz (2003), supported Gupta’s claims at the same press conference. He noted that he, too, faced similar financial struggles when working with Deol.
“Sunny Deol acquired rights from my movie Ajay (1999) for overseas distribution and only made a partial payment,” alleged Darshan. “The balance payment never came through. Later, Sunny requested me to work on a project with him, saying, ‘Have faith in me, help me out,’ and got me to pay him again.”
An anonymous source within the film industry added that Deol had been a “known troublemaker” for years. The source claimed Deol signed on to a film titled Ram Janmbhumi for an agreed amount of INR 50 million, leading a producer to create a large set in Mumbai. “Later, he refused to come to the sets and demanded a fee of INR 250 million because he had delivered a blockbuster (Gadar 2),” the source claimed.
Deol was approached for comment but remained unavailable. A newcomer to Bollywood in 1983, Deol enjoyed success as an action hero before his career downturned in the early 2000s. However, he has experienced a resurgence since Gadar 2, the highest-grossing film of his career.
