“I’m so thankful to him (Shah Rukh). I remember speaking to him and he was in Dubai for the promotions (of Jawan). I thought he wouldn’t come but he came straight from there. He was there for a little while. I didn’t get a chance to meet or speak to him after that (party) but whenever I do it would be beautiful,” Sunny told PTI in an interview.

Shah Rukh Khan and Sunny Deol pose together at Gadar 2’s success bash. (Pics: Varinder Chawla)

“We as actors have certain things (that happen) over a period of time. When we are younger, we are a bit different, and as time goes by, we start maturing and we start understanding what life is in reality. All of us have changed quite a lot. That’s the beautiful thing about it. Time is a healer of everything,” the 66-year-old actor added.

About Salman, Sunny said he recently met his Jeet co-star, who also shares a close bond with his brother Bobby Deol and father Dharmendra.

“We spent nearly two-three hours in Goa. We were laughing and joking about just in general, we were happy with how things are. We also spoke about doing something together. He (Salman) was very happy. I remember he had called me once and how emotional he was and he said how much he loves me. That’s the kind of connection we have,” he added.

Sunny will next start working on Lahore, 1947, produced by Aamir Khan Productions. The Partition drama will be directed by Rajkumar Santoshi.

“Aamir was there at the party too and he said, ‘I want to meet you tomorrow’. Then we got down to discussing a film (Lahore, 1947). It was a really emotional and beautiful moment. God has been great,” he said.

While Sunny and Aamir haven’t co-starred in a film yet, they have worked with Santoshi in separate projects.

“We will be starting it (shoot) very shortly. We are trying to put up a set and then we will take it off. That’s a film that Raj and I were going everywhere to do but it was not happening. This is what happens when something works (Gadar 2) then the doors open. That’s the reality of life, we can’t change that,” he added.

According to Sunny, it was his childhood friend Karim’s idea that he should host a party for Gadar 2 success.

Besides Shah Rukh, Salman, and Aamir, celebrities including Ajay Devgn, Kajol, Sanjay Dutt, Suniel Shetty, Anil Kapoor, Shilpa Shetty, Vicky Kaushal, Varun Dhawan, Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Arjun Kapoor, Sara Ali Khan, and Aditya Roy Kapur attended the event.

Sunny expressed happiness about receiving all the love and appreciation from his colleagues for Gadar 2, the sequel to the 2001’s film Gadar.

“There were a lot of positive vibes, I had called everyone from younger to senior people from the industry. I called everyone with whom I worked and even those with whom I hadn’t worked. They all came with positive thoughts, good feelings and all the happiness. I could feel the vibe.

“It was very sweet… I remember telling Salman that ‘You call me every time and I would never come (to the party) but you came (for my party)’. When there’s genuine happiness, it feels good,” he added.

Juhi Chawla, who starred as Kiran with the Darr, called it one of the most important projects of her career.

Juhi shared in a statement, “Darr is one of the highlights of my career. One of the most important films I have done. Before Darr, I worked with Yash Chopra ji in Chandni and it was just a tiny bit. At that time, I was very new but still he cast me opposite Vinod Khanna ji and I had that little guest appearance. That was the first time I faced the camera with Yash ji directing me, which was just two and half days of work.”

Shah Rukh Khan and Juhi Chawla in film Darr. (Photo: Express Archive)

She added, “After that, I worked in Pam Chopra ji’s production which was also a YRF film – Aaina. And I have said this before, Aaina was the first time where I was called to Honey ji’s house, who sat me down and went through the entire script with me. The second time that I ever heard a script again was when Yash ji sat me down in the Gadda room at their home. I was just amazed as I was an upcoming artist, who was still finding her feet and here was this great director whose movies I had watched as a child, and then when I became an actress, I was sitting in front of him, while he nicely took me through the whole film.”

Juhi says she was thrilled to hear that Shah Rukh Khan would be playing the anti-hero in Darr. “When I heard that Yash ji was going to cast Aamir for the role that Shah Rukh did, I was so happy, because I’d worked with Aamir in our initial films and with him I’m so comfortable. Then I heard that Aamir is not doing it, then I think it went to Ajay Devgn and some other young heroes but they wouldn’t do it, then finally it was Shah Rukh. But I can’t tell you how special it was,” she sharred.

Juhi added, “At that time, I was this wide-eyed young girl who was going through life and going through the whole experience… I didn’t know what I was really doing or where I was heading. Just experiencing these big highs and being overwhelmed with it, also being nervous but then also finding my little joys with SRK – because I had done Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman with him by then, so at least there was that comfort level. It was a great big adventure.”

(With input from PTI)