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Bobby Deol on being cheated by the industry

Bobby Deol

Bobby Deol has given one of his most revealing interviews about the way he has been treated in the film industry.

The actor, who celebrates his birthday today, spoke to Huffington Post about how he was the initial choice for ‘Jab We Met’ (2007) and felt cheated by director Imtiaz Ali at the time. He was cited in the publication saying, ” “I was also to do Jab We Met. Back then, it was titled Geet. I had seen Socha Na Tha and instantly reached out to Imtiaz saying that he’s an incredible storyteller with a terrific future. I told him that I wanted to work with him and he had the script of (what is now) Jab We Met ready. He was looking for financiers…”

He added, “…Suddenly I read that Ashtavinayak has signed Imtiaz for Jab We Met and Kareena is doing the film! And she had gotten her then boyfriend, Shahid Kapoor to act opposite her. I was like, wow. Quite an industry. We were also to do Highway together but he again did his own thing. But I have no hard feelings against him. He is a great director and doing so well. We’re still friends. But I always tell him: ‘Imtiaz, I won’t watch any of your films until you make one with me. That’ll be your best film”.”

Furthermore, Deol added that he got conned by an event organiser who had advertised Deol as a DJ at a gig. Talking about the controversy, he said, “I practically got conned. Some dude approached me to show up at a club and advertised it as if I was going to be the DJ for the night. He told me about this but assured me that I don’t really have to play… It’s an intricate job, not everyone can just get behind a console and get on it. So I showed up thinking I’ll hang around and leave but I know it backfired. People made a lot of fun. Now, a friend of mine sings, ‘DJ wale Bobby mera gaana baja do,’ to me all the time.”

It hasn’t been the easiest of journeys for Deol in the industry. He said he was close to hitting the bottle, “There was a particular phase where I turned to the bottle and was on the verge of becoming a total alcoholic. My wife, Tanya, who is the most beautiful person in the whole world, a source of constant support, told me, “What’re you doing? This isn’t going to help. Why are you being so self-destructive?”.”

Deol will next be seen in ‘Poster Boys’, out later this year.