Bobby Deol on Poster Boys, his absence from films & how he deals with trolls!

Whether you see him in films quite often or not, but you cannot forget the irresistibly charming star Bobby Deol who once ruled the roost in Bollywood. Barsaat, Gupt, Soldier, Baadal, Ajnabee and Humraaz are some of his most notable films which still find a huge audience upon their television broadcasts. While Bobby added some great commercial films to his bouquet in the 90s and early 2000s, the second decade of the century did not bring him much professional success. Last seen in the 2013 film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2, the actor stayed away from the arc light for over four years, in absence of work. With upcoming comedy film Poster Boys, he is coming back into action this week. In an interview with Eastern Eye in Mumbai, the actor talks candidly about his forthcoming film, rumours about him turning DJ, why he laid so low all these years and a lot more.

Why your film is titled as Poster Boys and what it is all about?

It’s called Poster Boys because three people are photographed without their permission and those pictures have been printed on and are doing the rounds. The film doesn’t preach about vasectomy, which is still considered a taboo subject to talk about, but it does talk about the problem one has to face after undergoing the procedure. It definitely has a comic angle as everybody is reluctant to talk about it. So when I heard about it I found the topic to be very exciting. I have always done films where I always play the rich guy and I badly wanted to play a poor guy. When I say that people say I don't look like a poor guy. The only time I must have played the small town boy was in Kareeb. I was happy as I was playing a small town guy who speaks pure Hindi. Nowadays, people hardly speak Hindi as it is always a mixture of English and Hindi,  it has the slang of Bihar, Punjab and everything. I was very excited for this project as I had not worked for 4 long years. But then that has only made me a better and stronger person. That has made me more resilient and positive. When you are positive, it reflects in your work. It was very challenging and exciting.

What made you do this film apart from the fact that you always wanted to play a poor guy?

I did this film as it has my brother (Sunny Deol) playing an important role in it. The posters have caught up people in awe, which show Sunny Deol and the word "Nasbandi” written all over.

How did you prepare for your role in the movie?

I indulged in a lot of acting workshops. I was asked to chant Gayatri Mantra which made my speech and diction clearer. I worked very hard and we finished the film in record 37 days. It was a smooth journey and was great fun. We had to work for long hours. It was all work and no play. I used to get up at 3 in the morning, workout and then go for the shoot. The film brought in a lot of changes in my life and has made me more positive.

You have grown a beard…

I wanted to do films that were dark and different as I love doing such type of movie. I wasn’t getting any work because people had become more choosy about actors and actresses. I wasn’t getting any great subjects to work on. These are the kind of genres which are made in Hollywood. I was trying to experiment with my looks and the director wanted me to grow a beard. He wanted me to get candid with the look, get comfortable with it. It’s odd when you have a beard as you are always playing around it. But then things didn’t work out.

How do you deal with social media trolls and all?

I didn’t let social media affect me. It is something that brings you down, takes you up and makes fun of you. There was this whole thing about me playing a DJ but that was a rumour. I was just called for an event. They said you have to play the DJ but I said I am not familiar with it. They said that I had to just stand there while they would just play the music. For one month, I was being trolled and I understood that somebody who doesn’t like me must have done that. But that is okay because everybody gets trolled and I took things in the lighter way. I then joined Twitter as there were many fake Twitter accounts running in my name. That’s really sad and how could anybody do it to someone? I just want people to know that I have a Twitter account called “@thedeol”. I always refrain from voicing my opinions and it just consists of my photographs. I have few friends who say please tweet for us and so I tweet for them. And then I am on Instagram where I keep putting pictures. I am the official photographer of the family who keeps on taking pictures.

Didn’t you make any efforts to track down the imposters who had made your fake profiles?

I contacted the cyber crime officials and asked them to look into the matter. Also, initially it was the power of the pen and now it is the power of social media. There isn’t anything you can do about it. I gave an interview seven months back and didn’t expect anyone to read it. But the opposite happened. The interview went viral across all the social media platforms. So it was so nice to know that people really wanted to read about me.

I don’t like to pity myself. I was honest and that’s what I wrote. The interview speaks about the pitfalls I had gone through. But as human beings, we have this tendency where we get carried away with the insults, failures and many other things in our lives. I take everything in my stride and feel that it is a beautiful bright day.

Coming back to Poster Boys, do you consider yourself lucky to have bagged a film in the era where content driven films like Toilet: Ek Prem Katha and Shubh Mangal Savdhan continue drawing audiences to the theatre?

You can’t feel lucky till something works. We never made this film because there is a trend going on. I am not going to live on luck. I want to work hard. It never happens and you must be aware of it.

We haven’t seen you working with any of the top heroines in your career. Why is it so?

I never believe in the concept of working with top heroines or top stars. I would love to work with every heroine possible. Also, the actors or the actresses should be ready to work in the film and it also depends on the requirement. Speaking about the Yamla Pagla Deewana franchise, the actresses will not want to work in the film as they may not get the required recognition for their role. We want people who would want to do the film from the bottom of their hearts and not because the film has top actors or actresses. I feel as long as the content of the film is nice, the person playing the character will definitely look nice.

The trailer of Poster Boys looks splendid. There is one particular dialogue by you which has got everyone laughing. How did you go about mouthing such tough dialogue in pure Hindi?

I don’t want to flaunt but the scene where I speak the whole dialogue was easier as I had done a lot of workshops. Doing workshops before taking up any projects is really very important. And before mouthing those lines, I made sure I knew them well and understand them. The only time I did a retake was when I really was not satisfied with my performance in the scene and when there were some technical issues. Other than that, everything was very smooth. In one of the scenes my specs accidentally fell off and the director wanted that scene to be included in the film. It was a great fun. Also, I had to look like a small town guy but when you actually visit small towns there are many people who really don’t look like small town people. You will find people with blue and green eyes, some really good looking people exist there. Things are changing. People there have become trendier than the ones in the cities. Everybody there has this “Virat Kohli” haircut. Things have changed for better.

When you really believe and understand a character it reflects. My mom’s birthday was a couple of days back and a fan of mine had sent us a big cake from Punjab. We have been fortunate enough as people love me and my family to the core. His friend, who had come to deliver the cake, came dressed up as my character in the film and I felt that it was very sweet of him to do that.

You are playing a small town guy for the first time, something which you have never done before. Do you think that you have got your act right?

When I first read the script, I was anxious as hell. But the workshops helped me to get into the skin of the character. But it doesn’t matter as there are people who live in small towns but when you see or observe their mannerisms it feels like they hail from cities. I have worked my tail off for the film. Let’s see how things turn out. I will have to wait for your response.

Did you experience any kind of hangover of your father Dharmendra’s character from the film Chupke Chupke as he also played a professor there?

No, I did not experience any sort of hangover. In fact, my character in the film is naïve, sincere and honest. My dad’s character in Chupke Chupke is kind of notorious and romantic. There is a sea of a difference in our characters.

Who is that one director you are longing to work with?

A good script and the director who has his heart involved in it is all that I need. Any director who brings that has me in their film. I just cannot take one name as you have so many good filmmakers out there. As long as they want to work with me, the combination will work with me. Abbas Mustan are somebody who I have worked the maximum with and they are like a family to me. But of late we have not worked on any projects. Also, when you're not in circulation, it becomes a difficult to bag the roles.

Poster Boys is the remake of a Marathi film. Did you see the original film before signing the project?

I didn’t feel there was any need to see it as the script was very clear. When south films are offered to you, you see the original film. No one can narrate it because they are from the south.

You have worked with some well-established directors in the past, whereas this film is directed by Shreyas Talpade who is making his directorial debut with the movie? Were there any apprehensions before signing the project?

I was going to work with Imtiaz Ali in Socha Na Tha. He was a first time director. I was ready to work him without knowing the box office fate of the film. The same happened with Vivek (Singh Chauhan) who was supposed to direct me in Changez. In Dillagi, Sunny bhaiya got the best out of me. That is one of my favourite films. I was confident that Shreyas will bring the best out of me.

Any other projects that you have signed?

I am already working on Yamla Pagla Deewana 3. Besides that, there are a couple of projects. But since I haven't signed them officially, I wouldn't like to talk about them.