I feel restless : Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol has completed five years in the film industry.
Despite a fantastic launch like Barsaat, his career never
really went the way it was expected to. Although a star,
he never became the craze of the nation… But this year,
he promises, will be different. Back to his family forte --
action films -- Bobby stars in a series of adventure movies
to make a mark… With Guddu Dhanoa's Bichchoo doing well
and Abbas-Mustan's Ajnabee on the verge of completion,
Bobby Deol seems to have the formula right… or does he?
Would you say you are happy with your career?
Bobby Deol : (Ponders) Not at all. I think happiness is a state of mind
you reach
when you achieve a lot. I feel restless. Sometimes when I look back I feel
I have
done so little and there's so much to achieve. And at others, I get upset
when my
films don't do well… and I've just had four of those! I have mixed feelings
about
my career.
Barsaat was supposed to put you in the top bracket but things
really didn't go that well. Where did you go wrong?
Bobby Deol :I went wrong in the choice of my movies. They
say luck plays an important role in the success or failure of a
star. I was lucky to be born in the Deol family but I don't think
luck favored me too much in my profession. But you can't have
everything! Also, the media hyped me up a lot and the
expectations became too high… It was a combination of all
these factors!
Despite denying it, you seem to be working only with directors your brother
has a
rapport with like Guddu Dhanoa or Raj Kanwar. Would you agree?
Bobby Deol :No I wouldn't... I agree I have worked a lot with Guddu Dhanoa
and
Raj Kanwar but there have been Abbas-Mustan, Vinod Chopra, Kundan Shah
and
now Indra Kumar… My brother hasn't worked with any of these filmmakers.
Guddu
knows me through my brother and that's why certain projects with him worked
out…
Your dream in life was to be a star, you say. But didn't anyone ever discourage
you from being an actor?
Bobby Deol :(Thinks) Never. It was an understood thing. Films are our family
business, so to speak. My father loved the profession and gave it his all.
And just
as all fathers like their sons to continue in the same profession, my father
too
wanted me to be an actor. That's where my dream came from.
Your recent films like Badal, Bichchoo and the forthcoming ones like Ajnabee,have
you playing the action hero which is dissimilar to the romantic image you
stated
with. Is this a new strategy?
Bobby Deol :There is definite bias against action films among you people
and I
don't understand why. Is it a comedown for an actor to do action films?
Most of
my romantic films did not do well because of bad scripts and so I'm doing
certain
other kinds of movies. That's all… there's no strategy!
How does Tanya, your wife, react to your hits and flops?
Bobby Deol :(Smiles) She reflects my emotions and
supports me. She gives me a lot of strength when I'm low.
She's the best thing to have happened to me. At times,
she feels low when my films don't do well and at such
times I console her. It's a great relationship!
Do you feel envious when you see a Hritik Roshan or an
Abhishek Bachchan being in the limelight? Do you feel threatened?
Bobby Deol :Why should I? I think we all have our own places. After all,
how many
films can one actor do anyway? You need more people. When I see Abhishek
or
Hritik, I smile because I know what they are going through… their anxieties
and
their nervousness. It's the name of the game. Hype, expectations and then
the
pressure to live up to those expectations…