Sunny Deol’s son Karan Deol, who is all set to make his Bollywood debut with Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas, opened up on being bullied in school. The 28-year-old star kid revealed that he was often “ridiculed and bullied” by seniors, classmates and teachers during his growing up years. He added that he was identified as nothing else but Sunny Deol’s son. But he did manage to break free from his superstar dad’s image.

“The first memory I have of school, was when I was in first grade. We had a sports competition and I was taking part in a race. I was standing there, when suddenly a few older boys surrounded me. One of them lifted me up, and in front of everyone, smacked me down. He then asked me, ‘Are you sure you’re Sunny Deol’s son? You can’t even fight back’. I was so embarrassed,” Karan Deol said.

Teachers were no help either. Karan said, “Once when I didn’t do well in an assignment, in the middle of the class, a teacher came up to me and said, ‘You’re only capable of writing your dad’s cheques, and nothing else’.”
Karan said that his mother Pooja Deol was his biggest support throughout this time. And the turning point came in his life when he decided to participate in a talent competition and rap in front of the entire school.

“I realised that this was a chance to prove myself. I spent night after night, preparing a rap because that’s the only thing I knew I was good at. On the day, I remember walking up on that stage, and there was a sea of people, with all eyes on me. But I took a deep breath, and performed my heart out. All the years of being bullied, of being ridiculed, of being identified as nothing else but ‘Sunny Deol’s son’, came out when I was up on that stage. The audience was cheering me on too. I felt so liberated; like I’d finally broken free from the shackles,” said the star kid.

Karan said that that very moment changed his life. “I realised that sometimes, it doesn’t take people, and situations, to make your life better. It takes a strong belief in yourself, the power to see yourself for who you are, and not the way others want you to be. You’re not made to fit into moulds, you’re made to create your own identity – one that’s unlike anybody else’s,” added Karan.