Bobby Deol has found a new career high by playing dark and powerful characters. But this success has brought its own problem. After playing a string of antagonists in recent years, the actor admits that filmmakers have started approaching him with similar roles. He recently spoke about being boxed into a villain image and his efforts to find different kinds of characters.
The actor, who reinvented his career with projects like Aashram and Animal, says he is aware of being stereotyped. Instead of simply accepting every villain role offered to him, the 57-year-old actor is now actively looking for characters that show a different side of his acting.
Bobby Deol’s Career Comeback with Negative Roles
Bobby Deol’s journey back to the spotlight began with Prakash Jha’s web series Aashram. In the show, he played Baba Nirala, a con man and criminal hiding behind the mask of a self-proclaimed godman. The series offered audiences a version of Bobby completely different from the romantic and action hero they had watched during the 1990s and 2000s.
Then came Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal in 2023. Despite limited screen time, Bobby’s turn as Abrar Haque opposite Ranbir Kapoor became one of the film’s major talking points. His powerful performance as the mute psychopath firmly put him back in the spotlight.
Since then, Bobby has taken on more antagonist roles in projects including Kanguva, Daaku Maharaaj, Hari Hara Veera Mallu, Alpha, and Jana Nayagan.
Bobby Deol on Being Stereotyped as Villain
Speaking on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Festival in Delhi, Bobby addressed how quickly the industry starts associating actors with a particular kind of character once something works.
“If an actor becomes successful in a particular kind of role, they keep getting similar roles. That’s what happens in the industry.”
Bobby acknowledged that being typecast often comes with the territory when an actor finds success in a particular kind of role. He said it is quite natural that when an actor becomes successful in any character, they get stereotyped afterwards.
Bobby Deol’s Efforts to Break the Villain Image
Bobby isn’t complaining about playing villains. His concern is repetition.
“I try really hard to break out of that. I’ve just done a film called Bandar, which was very different.”
Bandar, directed by Anurag Kashyap, saw Bobby play an aging film star accused of rape by his former girlfriend. The film released in theatres in June and received positive reviews from critics. It gave him a character far removed from the larger-than-life villains audiences have recently associated him with.
Bobby also believes that playing antagonists doesn’t mean repeating the same performance.
“Even within antagonist roles, there are different kinds of antagonists, with different shades. So I enjoy playing those.”
The actor added that some of his upcoming streaming projects will allow him to move into different territory.
“I’m also going to do a few web series that will be different.”
Bobby Deol’s Upcoming Projects
Bobby Deol will next be seen in the Prime Video series Teen Kauwe. The spy drama, currently in production, also features Sidhant Gupta, Fatima Sana Shaikh, and Pavail Gulati in key roles.
Asked if there was any genre he would be uncomfortable exploring as an actor, Bobby said he doesn’t “understand over-the-top comedy, slapstick comedy so much”. “I feel very uncomfortable doing that. And those kinds of movies, they have to be written really well. So that’s a big chance you take when you do something like that,” the actor added.
Bobby’s other two projects of the year were Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and Sharvari, and Jana Nayagan, in which he starred alongside Tamil Nadu CM C Joseph Vijay. In both movies, he played the antagonist.
Related:
Bobby Deol’s Journey from Hero to Villain
Bobby made his leading-man debut with Barsaat in 1995. He went on to star in films such as Gupt, Soldier, Badal, Bichhoo, Ajnabee, and Humraaz. But as offers eventually became less frequent, Bobby spent years away from the kind of prominent roles that had defined his earlier career.
His return unfolded gradually before Aashram dramatically changed how filmmakers viewed him. Instead of trying to recreate his 1990s leading-man image, Bobby began embracing darker characters that showed his range as an actor.
Also Read: Bandar OTT Release: Bobby Deol and Anurag Kashyap’s Controversial Film Arrives on ZEE5
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