He enjoys a huge fan club and many would be idolising him, but for Sunny Deol his "protective" father Dharmendra, Bollywood's 'He Man' of the 1960s and 1970s, is his all-time favourite hero.

"My dad is very protective about our family. In fact, we all are protective about each other, but he cannot bear if anything goes wrong to anyone," Sunny told.

"My dad has been my hero since my childhood. Parents rub on to their children. You have that identity with little bit of your father, mother and granny. What a man turns out to be is a reflection of what he has absorbed from the family," he added.

Launched by his father with hit movie Betaab in 1983, Sunny proved his mettle with films like Ghayal, Damini and Gadar - Ek Prem Katha.

Despite completing three decades in showbiz, Sunny still shies away from media.