Bobby Deol says his acting career suffered due to wrong choices: ‘When I did not have any work I took acting classes’

Bobby Deol saw a resurgence in his career after the release of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal. The actor will be seen next in The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Actor Bobby Deol caught everyone's attention with his power-packed performance in Animal. Since then, the actor has immersed himself in various projects. He will be seen next in The Ba***ds of Bollywood, Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan's directorial debut. He also plays an intense role in Anurag Kashyap's Bandar, which had its World Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Bobby Deol during the preview launch of Aryan Khan's directorial debut on Netflix The Ba***ds of Bollywood. (PTI Photo)(PTI08_20_2025_000439A)(PTI)

What Bobby said

At TIFF, Bobby got candid about his career in an interview with Screen and said, “Today, I have become more brave and fearless. I have moved away from what my image used to be. The web shows I acted in were very helpful in this regard. In between when I did not have any work, I took acting classes. I asked myself: why did my career have a good start? That’s because people saw something in me. However, because of my wrong choices, my career suffered. I worked on regaining faith in myself as well as being disciplined. If you are disciplined, you can put more effort into your work without feeling the pressure.”

‘One tends to get typecast’

He added, “In this industry, one tends to get typecast. It is tough to break that mould. OTT gave me that chance to come out of it. Playing an antagonist character and getting appreciation is something I had not imagined. However, every antagonist has to be different — be it my character in Aashram or Animal.”

Bobby made his acting debut as a lead in the 1995 romantic film Barsaat. He went on to star in Soldier, Badal, Gupt, Race 3, Jhoom Barabar Jhoom and Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo, among other films.

In Bandar, Bobby leads the ensemble cast alongside actors Sanya Malhotra, Saba Azad, and Sapna Pabbi. The film's release date is yet to be announced. Meanwhile, The Ba***ds of Bollywood will release on Netflix on September 18.