Sunny Deol’s 1985 film ‘Arjun’ featured over 1000 people and was inspired by a real news story

Bollywood actor Sunny Deol starred in the 1985 film ‘Arjun,’ directed by Rahul Rawail, which became known for its large-scale production and strong storyline. Unlike his later hits ‘Border’ or ‘Gadar,’ this film brought together more than 1000 people during its making and was directly inspired by real events.

'Arjun'- The film born from a newspaper article

The story of ‘Arjun’ was penned by veteran writer Javed Akhtar after he came across a newspaper article in The Times of India’s Sunday edition about a Mumbai gangster. The film went on to highlight issues of crime, corruption, and injustice, with Sunny Deol playing the titular character, Arjun. The cast also included Dimple Kapadia, Paresh Rawal, Anupam Kher, and Supriya Pathak.

Filming with over 1000 people

One of the most notable production challenges involved filming a major sequence featuring a massive crowd holding umbrellas. The scene required around 2000 people, but the team had only 1000 available. To overcome this, the director used an innovative approach, handing two umbrellas to each participant to make the crowd appear larger. Shooting the sequence in heavy rain added to the difficulties, as camera lenses frequently got wet while actors had to perform action scenes with swords in hand.

Success of the movie ‘Arjun’

Despite these hurdles, the director and team managed to complete the sequence successfully, making it one of the most memorable moments of the film. The large-scale crowd management and resourceful techniques became a talking point in the industry.

‘Arjun’ went on to achieve cult status and remains a significant entry in Sunny Deol’s filmography. The success of ‘Arjun’ further established Sunny Deol as a leading actor in Bollywood and added to his reputation for playing strong, action-oriented roles.