'Border 2': Sunny Deol pays tribute to late father; introduces himself as ‘Dharmendra ji ka beta’

'Border 2' hit theatres on Friday, January 23, and the film is already making waves at the box office. Within hours of its release, the film has already shot past the Rs 5 crore mark, from just the collections coming in from its morning shows.

Sunny Deol pays tribute to Dharmendra

Those flocking to theatres to catch early screenings were surprised to see a touching personal tribute to late Bollywood legend Dharmendra. Fans of the actor were touched to see his son, Sunny Deol's nod to his late father, by introducing himself as 'Sunny Deol (Dharmendra ji ka beta)' in the title credits.

Sunny Deol reveals how Dharmendra inspired 'Border'

Dharmendra passed away in November, days before his 90th birthday. Following his father's demise, Deol had spoken about his deep emotional connection to the 'Border' franchise and how Dharmendra's work inspired him to begin work on the sequel. Acknowledging the influence his father’s war film 'Haqeeqat' had on his own cinematic journey, he said in a statement to BSF jawans, “I did Border because when I watched my father’s film Haqeeqat, I loved it deeply. I was a child then. So, when I became an actor, I decided to make a film similar to my father’s movie.”

Also See: Border 2 Movie Review

He went on to add, "I spoke to J.P. Dutta, and we decided to make a film on the Longewala subject, which is extremely close to our hearts and lives in the hearts of all of you."

Sunny Deol on the impact of 'Border' franchise

The actor also reflected on the impact the war film had on the audience, particularly his young viewers and said that he never anticipated it would inspire people to join the armed forces. “Wherever I go, I never knew that we would give so much confidence to so many young people that they would choose to join the armed forces. Whenever I meet them, they tell me that after watching my film, they decided to join the army,” Deol said.

Also See: Border 2 movie review and box office collection live update

'Border 2' box office predictions

Coming in just in time for the extended Republic Day weekend, 'Border 2' is already off to a good start at the box office, earning an estimated Rs 5 crore from just its morning shows. With the national holiday there to back the film up, the movie is expected to score big on its opening weekend. It, however, remains to be seen if the film has what it takes to beat the records set by Deol's 'Gadar 2' that made a splash with a Rs 40 crore opening day at the box office.

The film features an ensemble cast including Varun Dhawan, Diljit Dosanjh and Ahan Shetty.Get the latest entertainment updates from the Times of India, along with the latest Hindi movies, upcoming Hindi movies in 2026 , and Telugu movies.”