Veteran Bollywood actor Sunny Deol, known for his raw authenticity both on and off the screen, has taken a strong stance against what he calls the growing “illusion-making machinery” in the film industry — specifically, the deliberate inflation of box office numbers and the increasingly common trend of corporate bookings to project films as commercial successes.
In a candid interaction during a recent media event, Sunny didn’t mince his words when discussing the evolving, and often misleading, marketing strategies used by some production houses and PR teams to build artificial hype around films. “It’s become more about perception than performance,” the Gadar 2 actor remarked, visibly frustrated. “We’ve reached a point where numbers are being manufactured, and people seem okay with it. I just want to ask — What kind of people are they who think this is acceptable?”
Sunny’s comments come at a time when debates around inflated box office figures have been swirling on social media, with critics, analysts, and fans increasingly questioning the credibility of the reported earnings of certain films. Some films, despite visibly underwhelming audience reception and empty theatre shows, continue to claim record-breaking collections — a discrepancy that Sunny believes is damaging not just to the audience’s trust, but also to the industry’s creative integrity.
He further explained how the mechanism of corporate bulk bookings — where companies book entire shows or multiple seats regardless of whether people actually attend — has become a new tactic to boost early box office numbers and create a false sense of success. “You have production houses buying out their own shows, influencers praising films they haven’t even seen, and headlines screaming about Day 1 records that don’t match the ground reality,” he said. “This isn’t just misleading, it’s disrespectful to genuine artists who let their work speak for itself.”
Drawing from his own journey in cinema — a career built on powerful performances and hard-earned audience love — Sunny reflected on a time when success was organic and slow-burning. “Back in the day, we waited for word of mouth to build. We had no social media trends or fabricated figures. If a film worked, it was because people connected with it. Not because someone paid to make it trend.”
The actor, who witnessed a massive resurgence with Gadar 2, emphasized that longevity and emotional resonance are what define a film’s true impact. “You can fool people for a day, maybe a weekend. But if your film doesn’t have soul, no amount of fake bookings will keep it alive beyond that.”
Sunny’s brutally honest take struck a chord with many in the industry and among fans who echoed similar sentiments online. Several trade experts have also pointed out the long-term consequences of such artificial inflation — including a loss of audience trust, skewed expectations for smaller films, and increasing pressure on actors and filmmakers to “fake it till you make it.”
While Sunny didn’t name any particular films or banners, his remarks clearly reflect a growing frustration among veteran actors and filmmakers who value substance over optics.
He wrapped up by saying, “Filmmaking is an art. It’s not a numbers game, it’s a story game. Let the work speak. Let the audience decide. If we have to buy our way into success, then we’ve already failed at what cinema is supposed to be.”
