BOBBY DEOL:
NOBODY, NOT EVEN STAR KIDS, HAVE IT EASY IN BOLLYWOOD
Actor Bobby Deol, uniquely placed to comment on nepotism and star kid privilege, says making it in Bollywood “isn’t easy for anyone.”
The 48-year-old actor is the son of Dharmendra and brother of Sunny Deol. He’s seen stardom up close, but his own early success in showbiz with 90s films such as
Barsaat and Gupt petered out as the millennium turned. Bobby Deol has worked steadily, but the hits have been separated by a spate of indifferent films. His most recent successes have been the Yamla Pagla Deewana films co-starring his father and brother. Last year, he was ridiculed on social media after a gig as a DJ at a Delhi nightclub. Now, Bobby Deol stars in the film
Poster Boys with brother Sunny Deol and actor Shreyas Talpade.
At the launch of the trailer of the film in Mumbai, Bobby Deol was asked to comment on the benefits accruing to the son or daughter of a famous parent when they take the Bollywood plunge. “That’s just the way media portrays celebrity kids when they’re coming into movies. I don’t think it’s easy for anyone. “You can be a kid of a star or be a normal child coming from a non-filmy family but you still have to work hard. Luck plays a part in it but you’ve to think positive. That positive attitude helps you,” he said. The N-word crops up in all showbiz interviews now after a renewed exchange of fire between Kangana Ranaut and Karan Johar, who recruited actors Saif Ali Khan and Varun Dhawan in taking a jibe at the actress during the IIFA Awards two weeks ago. “Nepotism rocks,” the three men chanted, after declaring that they had made it because of their ‘Mummy’ and ‘Papas.’ Months ago, Kangana called Karan Johar Bollywood’s ‘flagbearer of nepotism.’
In the aftermath of the IIFA Awards, the debate over favouritism and family connections has been resurrected. Poster Boys stars Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol and Shreyas Talpade, who also directs, as three men who unwittingly end up on a poster advertising vasectomies. The film is expected to release on September 8.