Bollywood icon Sunny Deol has spoken movingly about his battle with dyslexia.
The Gadar 2 actor revealed he’s had the learning disorder from a young age and often finds it difficult to memorise lines while on set.
The star told The India Express that he cannot read or write properly, and shed light on the challenges he faced while still at school.
“Earlier, we didn’t know what it was, and people would think…’ki yeh duffer aadmi hai’ [he’s an idiot],” Doel said.
Dyslexia is a common learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling.
It is estimated that 1 in 10 people have it, with roughly 780 million living with the learning difficulty globally.
On set, Doel said he reads his lines multiple times before he goes in front of a camera.
Sunny Doel opens up about his battle with dyslexia— (AFP via Getty Images)
“I always get my dialogues in Hindi, and I take my time to read it,” he added. “I read them many times and make them my own. That is my prep for the part.”
Earlier this year, speaking to Ranveer Allahbadia, Doel also shared how he would often get “slapped” for not getting high grades during his studies.
He said: “Back then, we didn’t even know what that meant! Thappad padte the, duffer hai, padhai nahi aati [I would get slapped, called duffer for not being able to study].
“Even now when it comes to reading, sometimes the words seem all jumbled up. Often people say to use a teleprompter [at public gathering] but I refuse! I am like, ‘You tell me what to say, I will try to say it.’”
Doel’s latest movie, Gadar 2, became the highest-grossing Hindi film. The period drama was directed by Anil Sharma and also features Ameesha Patel.
The movie is a sequel to the hit film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, which was released in 2001.
