With a heavily-bearded salt-and-pepper look and unkempt hair, Bobby Deol looks menacing as he plays a ruthless mercenary who is on the hunt for star-crossed lovers played by Vikrant Massey and Sanya Malhotra in the upcoming thriller, Love Hostel. His look has been creating a lot of buzz on social media. Deol says that the best reaction came from his sons sons, Aryaman and Dharam. “Many people were taken aback as they never imagined that I looked so fearful and evil. But the best reaction came from my sons who told me that you look ‘sick’, which is the new terminology for cool. And I was like, what do you mean by sick, kya main bimaar lag raha hai (Laughs)? So it’s just how the new generation talks, which I feel really funny.”
To get into the character, the Ashram actor had several discussions with director Shanker Raman. “A lot of credit goes to Shankar and we got along really well. He is like a saint and you can never think that he can make such gritty films. We discussed the look several times. Like my character chews tobacco so I would have to keep a piece of cotton in my mouth. That’s why the texture of my voice sounds a bit harsh. I also had to pick up the Haryanvi dialect. It would take me around two to three hours to get into the look of my character every day.”
In the past few years, Deol has tried to reinvent himself in films like Housefull 4, Race 3, Class of ’83 and his critically and commercially acclaimed web series, Ashram. The actor says that his idea is to constantly push the boundaries for himself. “I am trying to do roles which are completely out of my comfort zone. I am not looking at any characters as grey or positive. I am searching for roles which are interesting. I am challenging myself as an actor and pushing myself beyond the limits of what I can do and trying to do my best. I want roles which people never expect me to see in. There was a lull in my career. But today, my career has moved from a bad phase to again a decent phase, and now I think it’s a great phase for me,” he says.
In the past, Deol has spoken about a slump in his career and how he did not wanting to disappoint his family. The actor says that with some interesting work coming in, he is just motivated to work harder. He says, “Your family is your strength. And if you are down and out, it affects them. But now they have seen me change and putting a lot of effort towards my work. They have become so excited and there is so much joy around me. Everyone is excited that I am doing different kind of cinema. Even my brother, father, mother and my sisters are enjoying this side of me and are excited for me.”
