Bobby Deol has finally redeemed himself after 30 years of delivering, by and large, back-to-back flops. With the OTT series Aashram, he reminded a new generation of viewers that he was more than just ‘DJ Bobby’, and with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal, he has become ‘Lord Bobby’—at least on social media. It’s little wonder then that the actor, now 54, wept in his car on Sunday in front of fans and paparazzi.
Even though he plays the mute villain, Abrar Haque, in Animal with very little screen time, he proved his mettle as an actor not ready to be written off. And fans want more. While Ranbir Kapoor may be the star of the film, it is Bobby Deol who has fans screaming in appreciation.
People are hailing Animal as Deol’s rebirth.
It’s almost as if playing an antagonist is Deol’s calling. In Aashram, he plays the corrupt godman Baba Nirala. Then came Love Hostel (2022), where he played an ex-convict and a hitman who is after the lead couple. But the icing has been Animal, which completes his hat-trick of morally grey characters. Not everyone wants a hero.
The lows in droves
Bobby Deol’s career peaked early, with films like his debut Barsaat (1995) and thrillers like Gupt (1997) and Soldier (1998). But the turn of the century was his downfall. In a Bollywood obsessed with hyper-masculine stars like Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar, Deol fumbled.
He simply couldn’t fit into the traditional hero mould. By the early 2000s, he was an established flop.
In the 2007 movie Nanhe Jaisalmer, a young boy loves the actor Bobby Deol so much that he makes him his imaginary friend. In the film, Deol plays himself. But critics panned it, and fans hated it. It was declared a disaster.
Deol’s career has seen more troughs than crests, with the lowest point in 2016 when he was DJing at a nightclub in Delhi. The tickets for the event were sold out. The actor kept playing the songs from his film Gupt on a loop, which angered the audience. They even wanted a refund. Deol later said that he had no idea about mixing tracks and was conned into performing at the event.
His DJing skills, or the lack of them, were what made him famous and proved to be a treasure trove of memes. There is even a page on X, called Bobbywood, where regular memes are shared, based on scenes from his early movies.
Not just another Deol
There was no reprieve for the actor after the DJ debacle. Films like Poster Boys (2017) bombed, and his only redemption was in the form of Race 3, a year later, which featured an ensemble cast of Salman Khan, Daisy Shah, and Anil Kapoor. He did two other multicast films, including Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se (2018) with elder brother Sunny Deol and father Dharmendra, and Housefull 4 (2019).
His Netflix film Class of ’83 (2020) received mixed reviews, with praise for his character. But over the decade, Deol had changed. He was no longer playing a romantic hero, or even trying to look like he was still in his 30s. There was a sharper, edgier look to him–in his acting, and his physique.
But what led to the current reincarnation of the actor was the MX Player show, Aashram. The third season, which came out in 2022, raked in a viewership of 34.3 million. That’s when the tables turned.
With Animal, it is not simply about looking the fittest he has been in decades, but also carving a niche and reputation, which is not relying simply on being one of the three Deols. Bobby has brought sexy back on his terms.
Views are personal.