This actor seemed all but forgotten in Bollywood till one Hindi film helmed by a south director resurrected his career. Bobby Deol, now 55, made his big debut in 1995 with Barsaat, but never managed to achieve the kind of stardom his superstar father Dharmendra enjoyed. Despite a few hits, the Hindi industry had signed him off as a flop hero after the 2000s. With no work in sight, the actor himself admitted once that he was depressed and became an alcoholic when producers stopped signing him on.
Then, in 2020 came Prakash Jha's crime web series Aashram, which offered Deol a rare chance to revive his career through the role of 'Kashipur Waale Baba', aka 'Nirala' or Monty Singh. It was a turning point. Deol said goodbye to the cutesy, charming persona that the audience was familiar with but which never quite won him success, and played a sharply built, menacing 'Baba Nirala' with such elan that there was no turning back. Aashram gave Bobby Deol hope, and finally, Sandeep Reddy Vanga's controversial film Animal (2023) officially announced the arrival his villain era, putting him firmly back in the spotlight.
'Something Snapped In Me'
Essaying the role of the dreaded mute antagonist, Abrar Haque, in Animal, Bobby Deol captured the imagination of the audience like never before. Haque was a revelation against Deol's previous roles. As he took on the big screen all guns blazing - literally - with a chiselled physique, gruff beard and a sinister stare, Deol proved that no one could write him off.
This was not the first time Deol has played a baddie on screen. In 2000, he played the antagonist in both Badal and Bichhoo, but both movies couldn't quite boost his career. Talking about how he got his mojo back, Deol said on Koffee with Karan last year, "I heard my son saying, 'you know Mom, Papa sits at home and you go to work every day'. Something snapped in me. I just said, no I can't. It was a slow process, when I got out of it, it took me time to get into the right mind frame to become okay. It can't happen overnight. My brother, my dad, my mom, my sisters, they were always there. You cannot always do anything while holding someone's hand. You have to walk on your two feet. Then things started changing. I mean I have gone and met so many people, I said to myself, I will go and meet people, tell them I want to work with you all."
As a star kid, the Race actor has not had it easy. When Animal was declared one of the biggest Bollywood blockbusters, Deol was seen at an event weeping in his car as paparazzi and fans surrounded him. He couldn't believe the love and adulation finally coming his way after the obscurity that had practically erased him from public memory.
South's New Favourite?
Deol's dark era has caught the attention of South cinema too, which has always loved a good villain, especially from Bollywood. This year, Deol will be seen in Tamil star Suriya's pan-India fantasy action film Kanguva as the antagonist 'Udhiran'. The first look of the Hindi actor from the film has created a strong buzz and received wide praise from fans on social media. In fact, Suriya recently said how having Deol on board as the villain helped him make the film's climax "bigger". The actor will also be part of Thalapathy Vijay's last Tamil film to directed by H. Vinoth.
As for Tollywood, Bobby has already been signed on for Pawan Kalyan's Hari Hara Veera Mallu and Nandamuri Balakrishna's NBK 109. In Hari Hara Veera Mallu, a period film, Deol is reportedly playing baddie Alamgir Aurangzeb. Given that it stars Pawan Kalyan too, the movie is most likely to be another feather in Bobby's cap.
Closer home in B-Town, the actor has been roped in for an Anurag Kashyap flick and also for YRF Spy Universe's Alpha, in which he will be facing off against Alia Bhatt.
It took 30 years for Deol to finally make a mark in the industry. "The audience's desire to watch more of me is what I have always craved as an actor," he said recently. Success delayed, but not denied.
(The author is a senior entertainment journalist and film critic)
Disclaimer: These are the personal views of the author