Actor Sunny Deol has been the undisputed go-to man when it came to action films with high doses of patriotism in the past. Cases in point: Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001), Indian (2001), Maa Tujhe Salaam (2002), Hero: Love Story Of A Spy (2003) and Jaal: The Trap (2003).
During the trailer launch of Deol’s next film Blank, he was asked to share his thoughts on films on national issues in today’s times. “The most important thing is, are we all patriotic or not? Do you love our mother, country? We should not treat it as some kind of a saleable thing. That’s what I have done. Whenever I have done such roles, I have believed in the character.”
Deol plays an anti-terror squad officer in Blank who is faced with the mammoth task of tracking down a terror outfit which has planted a bomb on Karan Kapadia’s character.
The 62-year-old actor added that the characters he has played on screen gel with his real-life persona. “Mostly I have done films where the characters have been strong and [they are] trying for something. That’s my nature also. I go till the end. I am not the kind of a person who gives up. So, somehow that reflection comes across [in my characters],” he said.
Deol also recounted how, according to him, the meaning of patriotism has changed over the times. “It was never a saleable thing that we did. But now definitely the whole world has changed. Everything is becoming marketing. So everything must have a decent value. That’s what’s happening right now. They just make something according to the season,” he said.