A few days prior to Dharmendra’s hospitalization and subsequent passing on November 24, 2025, a footage had emerged of his older son, Sunny Deol, requesting with folded hands while criticizing paparazzi for recording events at their Juhu home. He remarked, “Do you have parents and kids at your place? No shame at all? Filming like total idiots.” The outburst drew widespread criticism, even from industry insiders.
Sunny Deol’s clash with the paparazzi during Dharmendra’s hospitalization and passing
Recently, senior paparazzo Varinder Chawla reacted to the episode during Siddharth Kannan’s podcast. He said, “Let me clear one thing: Sunny paaji (brother) is also an angry person like Jaya Bachchan. That’s what his nature is like. There are so many Indians who love Dharam ji. The paparazzi were at least 20 to 30 feet away from their home. They were just doing their jobs. They wanted to show to the audience how many Bollywood celebrities are visiting such a loved human being, and how much love and respect they have for him. This wasn’t happening for the first time. We’ve been doing it for ages.”
Varinder Chawla addresses the hospital leak
Deol’s outburst was also triggered by a video showing his family weeping beside Dharmendra’s hospital bed, reportedly leaked by a staff member. He revealed, “Dharmendra’s leaked video from the hospital wasn’t our fault. I don’t know what your problems are internally, but you take it out on us? Everyone just dumps their frustrations on us”.
Call for polite PR request
Chawla emphasized that Deol could have politely asked for space during his distress instead of using harsh words. “You have a PR team who’s in touch with us, right? We posted the family’s statement on Dharmendra’s health that came from them, right? I did it myself. You could’ve just requested through your PR that you’re a bit emotionally down and need privacy, we would’ve stepped aside. When have we not?,” said Varinder.
Response to Karan Johar ‘s story
Chawla revealed that prior to seeing the clip of Sunny lashing out at paparazzi, he had already spotted Karan Johar’s Instagram Story calling for media to show restraint. “I immediately called up my team and asked them to not go to Dharmendra’s residence any longer. Let them have some privacy. I immediately put it on my Instagram Story also that I’d asked my team not to go there any more. My team didn’t go there again till the news of Dharmendra’s death came along,” added Chawla.
Jaya Bachchan’s paparazzi critique
Veteran actress Jaya Bachchan declared around then that she maintains no connection whatsoever with paparazzi. “Who are these people? Are they trained to be representing the people of this country? You call them media? I come from media, my father was a journalist. I have immense, tremendous respect for such people,” she told Mojo Story.“But yeh jo bahar gande, tight pant pehnke, hath mein mobile leke (they were cheap tight pants and have a mobile in their hand), they think just because they have a mobile, they can take your picture and say what they want. And, the kind of comments they pass! What kind of people are these people? Kahan se aate hain, kis tarah ka education hai? Kya background hai? They will represent us? Just because they can get through to YouTube or whatever social platform?,” Jaya had added.
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