‘My work will spe Sunny Deol’s
Son Karan talks up his debut film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, a love story that sees him bond with fellow newbie Sahher Bambba over some high-octane adventure sports
enid@khaleejtimes.com
Some would argue that it’s a cakewalk being a star kid in Bollywood. One all-important phone call to the right person (a top filmmaker in the industry) and you have an audition with a 100 percent chance of getting the role. Or, in a lot of cases, your own family helms your debut film. Now hundreds of up and coming actors with no ‘connections’ may never get these chances. Maybe it’s unfair that you get ahead purely because of who you are. But you still have to prove yourself. You have to make a film work through your talent. You have to deal with often overwhelming expectations. So how do you still come out shining?
Karan Deol, whose debut film Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas releases today in the UAE, is currently in a situation somewhat like the one described above. He belongs to a legendary acting dynasty. His grandfather is Dharmendra, a screen icon who starred in over 300 films during the course of an almost 60-year-career, including the iconic Sholay. His father is Sunny Deol who made an impactful debut with 1983’s Betaab and went on to become a successful actor who was most famous for his action avatar in films like Ghayal, Ghatak and Jeet.
For a budding actor, those are some seriously high standards to live up to. In a chat with City Times, Karan says he’s “nervous, excited, happy” about the release of Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas. “I have a lot of mixed feelings. Obviously there will be comparisons because I’m Sunny Deol’s son. I don’t really think of it, because the more you think of these things the more you succumb to the pressure. You can not think of it and be your own person. I’m trying to walk out of the shadow of being Sunny Deol’s son and hopefully my work will speak for itself.”
An adventurous love story
Pal Pal Dil Ke Pass is being directed by Sunny Deol and also stars newcomer Sahher Bambba. Karan elaborates on his role in the love story set in the snowy, hilly regions of Himachal Pradesh in India.
“I play someone who runs an adventure camp and who leads solo and group expeditions to different mountain peaks. I am a happy-go-lucky guy who’s in love with nature, and in love with life, and likes to live life on the edge; doing things like rappelling, river crossing gives me an adrenaline rush kind of high.”
The trailer for Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas features some highenergy outdoor activities like rock climbing, watersports and ziplining, setting the film apart from more conventional love stories.
What was filming those scenes like? “Pretty intense,” Karan says. “While filming at a 400-feet drop from the edge of a cliff - when I looked down and then looked at myself I thought, ‘Rocky (his nickname), what the hell did you get yourself into?’ And while coming down rappelling, I think, okay, smile, you have to be happy, you can’t be scared. And by the end of the take when the cameras were cut it was a sense of relief and a sense of achievement also.”
For me to be a part of the third generation of Deols – Karan’s debut – was a big deal.” Sahher Bambba
Acting dreams
Seeing as he comes from