Sunny Deol Meets Chris Minns, And The Internet Can’t Get Enough Of This Unexpected Crossover
Mumbai: What happens when Bollywood’s action star Sunny Deol meets an Australian political leader? The internet, quite naturally, has a lot to say.
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns recently met Sunny Deol during his India visit and shared a picture with the actor. Minns, who was in India from August 31 to September 3, called Deol a “true legend of Bollywood cinema.” The picture soon caught the attention of fans online, with many jokingly calling it one of the most unexpected crossovers they had seen.
But there was more to Minns India visit than a celebrity photo.
The New South Wales Premier was in the country as part of efforts to strengthen ties between India and the Australian state. During his time in Mumbai, he also visited filmmaker Sajid Nadiadwala’s production house, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment.
The visit led to a major announcement for the film industry. Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment has entered into a three film deal to shoot upcoming projects in Australia. The productions will be made through Sydney based TEMPLE, with the agreement expected to bring Indian film production and Australian crews and businesses closer together.
One of the projects announced as part of the deal is Heyy Babyy 2, a sequel to the 2007 comedy Heyy Babyy. The original film starred Akshay Kumar, Vidya Balan, Riteish Deshmukh and Fardeen Khan and was filmed in Australia. The sequel will therefore take the franchise back to a country that already has a connection with the first film.
Minns also spoke about the benefits of bringing major Indian productions to New South Wales. Apart from putting Australian locations on screen, such projects can create opportunities for local technicians, artists, production workers and other businesses connected to filmmaking.
Sajid Nadiadwala, meanwhile, has spoken positively about working in Australia and said his earlier experiences there played a role in the decision to return with more productions.
As for Sunny Deol, fans should not jump to conclusions just yet. There is currently no official confirmation that Deol is part of Heyy Babyy 2 or either of the other two films covered by the deal. His meeting with Minns appears to have been a separate interaction.
Still, the photograph was enough to get social media talking and for a few hours, Bollywood and Australian politics produced a crossover nobody saw coming.
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