Bobby Deol on playing a hitman in Love Hostel, revamping his career through OTT and upcoming projects

That is one coldblooded mass murderer you play in Love Hostel . How difficult was it for you to get into the head of someone so evil and vicious? Well, when I heard the subject and character I really enjoyed what I heard. After that, it was all about workshops and mastering my lines so that I had a full understanding of this character’s mind. You know, I am most spontaneous when I am on the set. So the preparation was tough for me. I had to use a lot of prosthetics and since this character chews tobacco(I don’t) I had to put cotton in my mouth to look as I do. Was that the most challenging part of playing the character? This whole look of the character was designed by my director Shankar Ramen. The most challenging part of playing Dagar was I had to learn Haryanvi. I had to get it right, Or it would have not worked. Of late you are playing some negative characters. Is this a conscious career decision?

It is not a conscious career decision to play negative characters, but a conscious decision to play interesting characters.

I don’t look at characters as positive or negative. When I watch films there is always one character that stays with you. I want to play that character. That’s why I enjoyed doing diverse characters like the ones in Class Of 83, Ashram  and now Love Hostel. Prakash Jha’s Ashram proved a gamechanger for you? How has it changed the course of your career? Well, an actor’s life is always uncertain. Even if you achieve some success and recognition. To find challenging roles is tough. Still, I am trying. I am doing Sandeep Vanga’s Animal with Ranbir Kapoor, Parineeti Chopra. I’ll be working with Anil Kapoor again after Race 3. It got delayed because of Covid. We start shooting in the middle of this year. Then I am doing the family film _Apne 2_ which I am very excited about. [caption id=“attachment_9002801” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Bobby Deol in Aashram Chapter 2. YouTube[/caption] When does Apne 2 start shooting? The script is being worked on. Hopefully, we’ll start shooting by the end of the year. Looking back, you had some huge hits to your credit plus a massive fan base. Then why did you disappear for a long while? That’s what my fans used to ask me whenever I would travel. They would ask why I wasn’t being seen on the screen. And I couldn’t tell them it was because I wasn’t getting good roles. But my fans stood by me. They gave me the strength to keep looking for the right roles. Thankfully, I found the roles I liked. My new films have given me some new fans. I am thankful I am still here. Yeah, I am in a good space right now. Would you say the OTT platform has proved a blessing for you? I think the OTT platform has done a lot of good for a lot of actors. Yes, I think it has helped actors like me as well, who were not getting good opportunities lately. I am doing interesting work. And people have the time at home to watch me in films or in the longer format the web series at their own pace. Even as a viewer I enjoy the variety I get on the OTT platform. I think the OTT is the best thing to happen to our film industry. How different is the experience of shooting for the OTT as compared with a feature film? It is no different. It’s the same as a feature film. Tell me about your role in Sandeep Vanga’s film? I can’t talk about Animal right now. You know how it is these days. There are watertight contracts and non-disclosure clauses Would you like your son to be an actor? Right now I want my son to study. He is doing his business management. After he completes his course, as his father I will support him in whatever plans he has in his life. Finally, if you had to change anything in your life and career so far, what would it be? (Laughs) Well, everyone makes mistakes. But you don’t get a chance to correct them. My life has been a learning experience and I value both the mistakes and the right decisions. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based journalist. He’s been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram