Sunny Deol spills the beans on father Dharmendra's bond with late Manoj Kumar: 'When they were struggling there was...'

Bollywood star Sunny Deol on Monday said his father Dharmendra, and late actor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar shared a beautiful bond. Deol was in the national capital to promote his upcoming film Jaat. During a press conference, the 67-year-old actor spoke about the friendship between Dharmendra (89) and Kumar, who passed away on April 4 at the age of 87.

Calling the late actor a father figure, Deol said that as a child, he would see Kumar and his father hanging out together. "He (Manoj Kumar) was always like a father figure to me. My father had a connection with him," Deol said. 

"Dad was telling me that back then, when they were struggling, there was no money... Whenever Manoj ji had some, he would get clothes and tell my father, 'Dharam, you also take some'. Such a beautiful bond they had from that time onwards," Deol said.

The actor also said that his father, who recently underwent eye surgery, is doing fine. "He is fine ('ekdum theek hai'). It was a small cataract operation, nothing like that... He is fine," he said.

Sunny Deol, also called Dharmendra, his hero from whom he has learned a lot, "Whatever I am, I have learned from my father. He has always been a hero to me. I don't think there is a better actor out there who has done such a variety of characters."

Deol added that he has seen his father go through a down phase, something that he also went through in his career. One should not bother about it and move ahead instead, he said.

Jaat, directed by Gopichand Malineni, is slated to hit the big screen on April 10. Produced by People Media Factory and Mythri Movie Makers, the film also stars Randeep Hooda.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by DNA staff and is published from PTI)

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