How a Viral Cricket Photo Inspired Bobby Deol’s Role in ‘Animal’

New Delhi:

To carry forward Dharmendra’s acting legacy, his younger son Bobby Deol entered Bollywood as an actor in the 90s. In the initial stages of his career, he was quite successful, delivering several hit films. Then came a phase in Bobby Deol’s career when his films flopped. The audience’s taste also changed; they wanted something new, something Bobby didn’t quite fit into. Because of this, Bobby Deol’s career graph declined and he disappeared from Bollywood.

But the actor made a solid comeback in the year 2023 with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal. But do you know it was a viral image of the actor that convinced Vanga to cast Bobby for Abrar’s role?

Why did Vanga sign Bobby for Animal?

In 2023, Bobby Deol played the negative role of Abrar in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film Animal. Ranbir Kapoor was in the lead role in the film, but Bobby Deol stole the show with his 15-minute negative role. The character of Abrar created a place for him in Bollywood again and the audience also appreciated his acting. 

In an interview, Bobby Deol revealed that Sandeep Reddy Vanga had seen a picture of him taken during the Celebrity Cricket League. It was because of this one picture that he got the role of Abrar in Animal. ‘Sandeep showed me a picture from the Celebrity Cricket League and said that he wanted me for his film. He really liked my expression in the picture. That photo was from a time when I was struggling a lot, almost without work,’ the actor said. 

Before Animal, Bobby Deol had done a series on OTT, Aashram, in which he played the role of Baba Nirala, but his comeback to films was with Animal.

Debut in South Indian Cinema after Animal

Bobby was so well-liked in his negative role in Animal that he started receiving offers not only from Bollywood but also from South Indian cinema. He appeared in big South Indian hits like Kanguva and Hari Hara Veera Mallu. He made his debut in South Indian cinema in his 2.0 phase as an actor. This year too, he was supposed to appear in Vijay Thalapathy’s film Jan Nayagan, but the release date is currently under legal dispute.

Bobby and Anurag Kashyap’s film

Bobby Deol didn’t just gain recognition for negative roles in his 2.0 phase. He was also a part of Anurag Kashyap’s film Bandar. This film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year. Bobby Deol gave a brilliant performance, which was highly praised by critics.

The actor was last seen in Aryan Khan’s debut series The Ba***ds Of Bollywood.

Also Read: Lokesh Kanagaraj breaks silence on his exit from Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth’s ‘Thalaivar 173’

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