It was hard getting a producer for 'Yamla Pagla Deewana': Sunny Deol

Actor Sunny Deol says he faced tough time in getting a producer for his film Yamla Pagla Deewana because the film fraternity felt a project starring him with brother Bobby Deol and father Dharmendra was not a profitable venture.

"I was determined to go ahead as my father deserved a great film in his 50th year in the industry and I did not care if the fraternity did not think so," Sunny told PTI.

The actor said both he and director Samir Karnik decided to go ahead and later Nitin Manmohan joined as producer of the film.

Sunny recalled that the scripting took over one and half years.

"The initial idea I had was about a film starring Bobby and me. As we worked on the script with Samir and the writers, the possibility of a father-son story emerged and again the script was re-worked. We were looking for a script for three of us and did not want to do the same kind of genre we did on Apne. We wanted to do a light comedy and hence the project started rolling," he added.

Sunny also said that another film project starring the father and sons directed by Sangeeth Sivan was shelved at the last minute as a big banner backed out.

"Corporates have changed the scenario of filmmaking. They don't take into account the actors capacity and his past worth. They focus on whether he sells on a Friday. I was looking for partners to produce the film. But, the producer backed out when we were about to go on floors," he said.

However, Sunny said with Yamla Pagla Deewana promos generating positive feedback, he is confident that his Fridays are going to be good. "I feel times are going to get better. If my Friday is good then my year will go good after this film," he said.

Yamla Pagla Deewana releases on January 14.

Sunny said he will start working on the project with Sangeeth Sivan after the release of Yamla Pagla Deewana.

His home banner Vijeta Films will henceforth work only on co-productions, Sunny said.

"I am not good at handling the production side. My forte is the creative aspect. We will tie-up with other companies for producing movies," he said.

When asked sharing screen space with his father for a comedy film, Sunny said the beauty of being an actor is that we get to portray characters which we are not in real life. "Our characters in the film are very outspoken. We are not like that in real life," he added.

Speaking about his character, Sunny said it was the role of a well settled man who lives in Canada with his Canadian wife and two children.

"Apart from being a light comedy film, Yamla Pagla Deewana was also about relationships and not just about con men played by Dharmendra and Bobby Deol. I bring the emotional element in the film as I come down to India to find my father and brother," he added.

Sunny felt Bobby comes across very well in the film. "His mischievous and vulnerable smile suits his character," he added.

Sunny recalled that his interactions with his father were limited as a child since he was busy shooting. "Besides, there is also a fear factor in children about fathers. I would rather not have him around and have fun. But, we used to travel a lot on family holidays," he added.

Shooting with father and brother in Punjab was time for family bonding, Sunny said. "We live together in the same house. But, hardly get time to spend together because of work commitments," he added.

However, Sunny says he dislikes retreating to the confines of one's room after pack-up during outdoor schedules. "This is one thing I have not liked during my acting career.We hardly get a chance to go out because there are lot of people. At the same time, there is no other profession where you live in the hearts of a billion people," he said.

Sunny said he plans to re-work on his directorial project Man starring himself with Shilpa Shetty. "I have shot 40% of the film. But I have to re-work it. My priority is only Yamla Pagla Deewana now," he said.

Speaking about his son Karan, Sunny said he plans to launch his 19-year-old son after three years. "He has joined Rahul Rawail's acting school where I want him to learn all aspects of filmmaking. I worked with Rahul Rawail, JP Dutta and was always inquisitive about the filmmaking process. If I had learnt it the professional way, I could have been better," he added.