Sunny is mainly known for movies in the action genre. Sunny Deol had a superhit debut in his home production Betaab (1983). He went through a lean phase for a couple of years until Arjun (1985). What followed were a bunch of hits in Paap Ki Duniya (1988), Tridev (1989), Chaalbaaz (1989), Vishwatma, Vardi, Ghayal etc. His defining moment as an actor came with another home production Ghayal, a film that won him the National award for the Best actor along with the Filmfare Award for the Best Actor. Apart from that he has also appeared in some above average movies like Joshiley, Sultnaut, Sohni Mahiwal, Samundar, He was critically acclaimed for his hit movie Dacait which was directed by Rahul Rawail. Yateem is another movie which shows his capability as an actor.