place in the sun a position of favour or advantage.

☞ In 1897 the German Chancellor, Prince Bernhard Von Bülow, made a speech in the Reichstag in which he declared: 'we desire to throw no one into the shade [in East Asia], but we also demand our place in the sun'. As a result, the expression has become associated with German nationalism; it is in fact recorded much earlier and is traceable to the writings of the French mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal (1623–62).

2002India Weekly I think it is a great feeling, to know that after years of derision from the world, the Hindi film industry is achieving its place in the sun.