Bobby Deol admits to being stereotyped as villain after Animal and Aashram success: ‘I try hard to break out of that’

Actor Bobby Deol is in the second innings of his career. The Bollywood star played lead roles, including romantic heroes, to great success in the 90s and 2000s. But his comeback in the last decade has seen him play powerful antagonists more than anything else. In a recent appearance, Bobby admitted to being stereotyped, but added that he works hard to break that.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Jagran Film Festival in Delhi on Saturday, Bobby said he has been flooded with villainous roles but has been making a conscious effort to break away from the image. “If an actor becomes successful in a particular kind of role, they keep getting similar roles. That's what happens in the industry,” the actor said.

Bobby made his comeback with Prakash Jha's web series Aashram, in which he played a con man and criminal masquerading as a self-proclaimed Godman. This led to a villainous role in the 2023 blockbuster Animal. Since then, Bobby has played the villain in films like Hari Har Veera Mallu, Kanguva, Daaku Maharaj, Alpha, and Jana Nayagan.

Bobby said it is quite natural that when an actor becomes successful in a particular role, they get stereotyped afterwards, but added that he is trying to take on diverse projects now. “I try really hard to break out of that. I've just done a film called Bandar, which was very different. Even within antagonist roles, there are different kinds of antagonists, with different shades. So I enjoy playing those. I'm also going to do a few web series that will be different,” the 57-year-old actor told PTI.

Anurag Kashyap's Bandar saw him play an ageing star who is accused of rape by his ex-girlfriend. The film released in theatres in June and received positive reviews from the critics. Bobby's other two projects of the year - Alpha and Jana Nayagan - saw him play the antagonist.

Bobby will be next seen in the Prime Video series Teen Kauwe. The spy drama, which is currently in production, will also star Sidhant Gupta, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Pavail Gulati.

Abhimanyu Mathur is Deputy Editor, Entertainment at Hindustan Times. With almost 15 years of experience in writing about everything from films and TV shows to cricket matches and elections, he inhales and exhales pop culture and news. Currently, he watches movies and TV shows and talks to celebrities for a living, while occasionally writing about them as well. A journalism graduate of Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, Delhi University, Abhimanyu began his career with Hindustan Times at the age of 20, swapping classrooms for newsrooms at an early age. He began his journey in the early days of digital journalism, later switching to the madness of print journalism. Work has led him to far off places like Japan and Jordan, as well as to the interiors of Haryana and the Indo-Pak border. He dabbled in city reporting in places like Meerut, Gurgaon, and Delhi, covered the Olympics and Cricket World Cups, before finding his calling in entertainment and lifestyle during the pandemic.