Clearing the air on the matter, Deol says, “I don’t have an objection to mimicry—saying our lines and dialogues is fine but the jokes they make are cheap and degrading. I won’t stand for my father, one of the most loved actors and a fine person, being insulted.”

“So far, we have never reacted to such instances, but the jokes just kept getting vulgar and below the line and therefore the decision. Nobody cares for what they should not be doing till you stop them. You don’t want to spend your time and energy chasing these things but there are ethics that should be followed”

On the movies front, their banner Vijeta Films has not met with much success recently, their last noteworthy effort being Imtiaz Ali’s maiden project Socha Na Tha with Abhay Deol and Ayesha Takia. Chamku, their recent outing toplining Bobby Deol and Priyanka Chopra with the complex Naxalite problem as its subject did not impress. But Sunny Deol, the eldest of Deol siblings is optimistic. “Somewhere down the line, investors and financiers lost confidence in us. Now I am working on very good subjects, films that will be films along the lines of Ghayal and Gadar with a universal appeal and contemporary edge. I am sure we can turn it around.”

At present, he is busy with The Man (a working title) also his directorial debut. Tightlipped about the film, he says it’s too early to give away details except that it will be a complete entertainer. However, one thing you are assured of is “nothing about the film will be offensive to anyone”.

For now, there is Fox–a thriller with Sunny playing a police officer that’s due to release. There is also Neeraj Pathak’s Right Ya Wrong that’s awaited.

Ask him why, after earning his stripes as the homegrown equivalent of Rambo, he has fallen back in the action sweepstakes and he says, “The kind of movies that I have done were one-of-a-kind even then. Gadar, though the critics favoured Lagaan, did better business than Lagaan. The only acknowledgement that came our way was the box-office collection, which was huge. Maybe perception is a bigger consideration to those investing in the movie business today. Niche subjects that appeal to a smaller urbane audience perhaps look like a better proposition. The point everyone is missing is that in every new business–numbers count. The telecommunication business, for instance, is booming because the user base is spread across the rich and poor. Movies, till now, considered the cheapest form of entertainment are so expensive that more and more people are being left out of it.”

While the old favourites–Rajkumar Santoshi and Anil Sharma continue to be part of the fold, Deol is not averse to forging ties with newer directors on the block. Movies from the new crop that he’s really liked are Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D, Neeraj Pandey’s A Wednesday and Nishikant Kamat’s Dombivili Fast (Marathi). Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle’s India story with a heart, he thought was good but the praise lavished on it was ‘excessive.’ The trick, he says, is in not lifting sequences blindly from Hollywood films as they don’t sit well with Indian culture. “You drink alcohol to feel high. One watches movies to be entertained–the audience should come away feeling good.”

As for GenNext actors, he thinks cousin Dimpy (Abhay Deol) is the one to watch out for. “Dimpy is the only one doing films that he likes regardless of the perception and he’s made it work for him,” he says with pride.