Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan were both very particular about their characters on the set of Darr and this led to an on set disagreement.
Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan in Yash Chopra’s Darr.
Sunny Deol and Shah Rukh Khan were the lead stars of Yash Chopra’s Darr but an experience on the set of the film led to Sunny deciding that he would never work with YRF again and this also resulted in a decades long cold war between Deol and Shah Rukh Khan as well. Sunny has previously shared that he got so angry on the set of the film that he actually ripped his pants with his bare hands and now, action director Tinu Verma, who was present on set that day has shared what really transpired that day.
In a chat with the YouTube channel Inconversation with Ishan, Tinu shared that Sunny and Shah Rukh were shooting the climax scene of the film where Shah Rukh’s character gets caught as the stalker of the main protagonist. As they were discussing the fight sequence, Sunny said that Shah Rukh can’t attack him from the front as he was a trained naval officer. “Sunny said he can’t attack me from the front because I am a naval officer. Sunny was right in his logic. Shah Rukh said I am not Shakti Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Gulshan Grover that I will attack on the back,” he said.
Tinu shared that director Yash Chopra and associate director Aditya Chopra were both present and soon “the situation got quite tensed.” Tinu shared, “Sunny got so angry eventually that he had his hands in his pocket, and he pushed is hands so hard that his pants tore. Everybody was shocked. Shah Rukh was also there. And then pack-up was announced.”
After the unit came back to the chalet they were staying at, Yash called Tinu and he recalled, “He said you are are my action director, solve this problem for me. I have to shoot tomorrow.” Tinu had a long standing relationship with the Deol family but here he had to abide by Yash Chopra’s command so he came up with a tactful way. Tinu placed the shot in such a manner that Sunny’s character wouldn’t see the knife coming and get stabbed in his stomach, thus satisfying both actors.
Tinu further said that even though Shah Rukh wasn’t a big star then, he was quite stubborn. “He was stubborn. He told Yash ji that I won’t stab him in the back. It’s because of that confident attitude that Shah Rukh is Baadshah,” he said.
Previously on Aapi Ki Adalat, Sunny had shared, “I had a heated discussion with Yash Chopra regarding that scene. I tried explaining that I am a commando officer in the film. My character is an expert and fit, then how can this boy beat me easily? He can beat me if I can’t see him. If he can stab me while I am looking at him, then I won’t be called a commando.” He added, “Soon, out of anger, I didn’t even realise that I had ripped my pants with my hands.” Sunny and SRK didn’t speak for 16 years after the film released, but Sunny said that wasn’t deliberate. “It’s not that I didn’t talk but I just cut myself off and I anyway don’t socialise much. So we never met, toh baat karne ki baat he nahi hai,” he recalled.
