Before ‘Gadar 2’ changed the course of Sunny Deol’s career, the actor had endured a difficult professional and financial phase. His decision to produce and direct films came with considerable financial risks, and the underperformance of projects such as ‘Ghayal Returns’, ‘Dillagi’ and ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’ reportedly left him under mounting financial pressure.In 2023, shortly after ‘Gadar 2’ became a massive box-office success, a bank issued an e-auction notice for Sunny’s Juhu property over outstanding dues and interest amounting to Rs 55.99 crore. The notice was later withdrawn after the actor agreed to settle the amount. The loan was reportedly connected to ‘Ghayal Returns’, the 2016 action film that Sunny directed and starred in.Now, Sunny has candidly reflected on that challenging period, revealing that despite being in debt, he never allowed financial difficulties to take away from his happiness or dictate his choices.The actor said on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, “I can’t do so many things for money. But to be very honest, I’m very happy. Even when I was in debt, I was very happy. I was living my life.”Sunny further clarified that the debt was entirely related to his own financial commitments and that he had not borrowed money from anyone personally.“The money I owed was all mine. I didn’t borrow it from anyone. I didn’t owe anyone anything. I just had to sell my own assets and pay back,” he said.The financial strain came during a period when Sunny was also attempting to establish himself as a filmmaker. ‘Ghayal Returns’ was his second directorial venture after ‘Dillagi’, which featured him alongside his brother Bobby Deol. He later directed ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’, which marked the acting debut of his son Karan Deol. However, none of his three directorial ventures managed to make a significant impact at the box office.Looking back at his career, Sunny also spoke about the dramatic shift that followed the success of his films in the early 2000s. He particularly remembered 2001, when ‘Gadar’ released alongside Aamir Khan’s ‘Lagaan’ and went on to become a major blockbuster. He also pointed to the success of ‘Indian’, which released later that year.“Along with Gadar, I also delivered Indian, which was a much bigger hit than Lagaan and all the other films of that time. It did two to three times of Lagaan’s business. Gadar did much more than that,” Sunny claimed.Despite delivering major hits, Sunny said he soon found himself struggling to get the kind of subjects and filmmakers he wanted to work with. He attributed part of the change to the arrival of corporate studios and the evolving structure of the Hindi film industry.“Suddenly, corporates came in, and the film industry’s format began changing. But after that, I don’t know why I wasn’t getting the right subjects and makers,” he said.The actor also recalled the difficulties surrounding his 2005 film ‘Jo Bole So Nihaal’, which was withdrawn after protests and political controversy. According to Sunny, incidents like these also affected the trajectory of his career.However, the massive success of ‘Gadar 2’ in 2023 marked a major turnaround, bringing Sunny back into the commercial spotlight after years of struggle. He is currently seen in ‘Batwara 1947’, a Partition drama featuring Preity Zinta, Ali Fazal, Shabana Azmi and Karan Deol.