He has always been something of an enigma.

If the world knows him as a shy person, close friends know him as benevolent. If the world knows him as quiet and reserved, friends have seen his maganinmity.

For those who know him, he has always been a father figure -- always a giver -- affectionate and caring. In a rare introspective mood, Sunny Deol turns casts an introspective look at life and career. Lata Khubchandani comes away with a few insights:

Evey hero has had tags, whether action, comedy or tragedy. That is how it has always been.

It harms you in that it limits you to only those kind of roles. If you want to move on to anything different, there is that much baggage to offload.

But then, looking at the positive side, it also creates a niche for you. And that is a sign of success. Commercially, this is a hindrance, because getting out of a slot is unacceptable to the masses.

But again, images are built on slots. And in films, image plays a big part in your success.

When I came into the industry in 1983, there weren't many teenagers around. Which was why you had senior people playing college students. That was the kind of audience we had.

And then my batch of newcomers came in, one after the other. Unfortunately, we couldn't sustain, because we were not quite reaching out to young people. Films of that genre were not being made.

So we had to try out different things, always a risk.

I ventured out with Yateem, Betaab, Arjun, Dacait.

I was ready to take on different things. But they were just not happening. Actually if those films were made now they would have been a lot more happening. Today, the scene is a lot more experimental. In those days, it wasn't so.

Also, those days, I would work on one film at a time so that I could concentrate on it. I did not want to do more. Not that that helped.

The others were doing so many that their dates were never available. That left me sitting around, waiting for the film to happen.

But now things have changed.

More people are doing what I started. Things are moving now.

I have been fortunate, though. If one of my films was not appreciated, the next one was. That has been the pattern of my career throughout.

Until I became very serious and started Ghayal. This was when my career started turning.

People started saying, 'Okay, he can act'.

Then, Ghayal happened in 1990. It was the turning point in my career.

In my last two films, I had a softer image. Both Dillagi and Pyar Koi Khel Nahin didn't do well. Had they been successful, people would have said, yes this works. But they weren't.

Now when I look back at my earlier films, I have no regrets. Though I wish they had done better commercially.

People said that I should not do such films and that I should stick to action. My fan mail tells me a different story. People have liked me in those roles. And they would love to see me in these kind of roles.

How many times can someone try to do something that has not worked?

I am not going to be stuck with just action films. True, action is a key ingredient. But in-between, I will do a couple of films where I will venture into something different. Something I enjoy.

I have always considered the director very important . But I also have always given a lot of input for my roles. That was why I got into direction.

I consider that (direction) another turning point in my career.There is a lot of me in the characters I have played. I have been like a bouncing board -- giving a lot of suggestions in whatever I have done.

Basically, I am a shy guy. Now, in the industry, that might seem a contradiction. But I happen to think that those who are very outspoken or very shy actually make the best actors because they have got depth in them.

Today, I am really excited. There are so many subjects I can make films on.

I have been working on a historical character based on the life of Prithviraj and Samyukta. It will be a big film. I am just waiting for things settle down financially...

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