What is Chamku about?
Chamku is the story of a little boy whose family is killed before his eyes and then he is brought up by a radical Naxalite leader, played by Danny Denzongpa. Chamku’s real name is Chandrama Singh and he grows up to be a man with special combat expertise. The government starts looking for people with such abilities and offers to employ Chamku so that he may help them eliminate serious threats to the Nation.
Chamku chooses this profession without relating to it and it so happens that he meets a girl who makes him fall in love and gives him a reason to break out of this entire system.

Would you call Chamku an action film?
It’s not a conventional action film. It’s more like an action drama.

The title Chamku does not exactly cohere with an action image. Do you think you might have missed a trick over there?
It’s a character-driven film that presents the story of a man forced into doing things he doesn’t want to do. When he’s offered the job he is not given the choice of saying no. And then a woman helps him walk out of his torment. It is a film about this character and we thought about the title and decided Chamku was our best choice.

A Naxalite is not the ideal material for a hero of a commercial film.
That does not matter. The point of the film is to show conflict in the character’s life. The whole Naxal premise is just a way of adding realism to the film. When we started making the film our main objective was to make the film as close to real-life as possible. Using the Naxal and government theme helped us bring that real feel. In fact we never thought about making the film commercially viable. Our priority always remained at making a film that would have impact and be real.

So success at the box-office would not be a matter of concern?
Everyone wants his films to do well. I want Chamku to do well too and be appreciated. But, I have not worked on the film with business in mind. I did Nanhe Jaisalmer for a similar reason. I believed I had a compelling story to work with: Nanhe is one of my all-time favourite films and Chamku too is special.

Chamku is your third film with Priyanka Chopra. Is there a level of comfort you share?
A lot of people don’t realise that Priyanka’s first ever film was with us. She featured in a role with Sunny bhaiyya in The Hero. Naturally she has a soft spot for us. And I did not even offer her the film formally. I just met Priyanka and casually narrated her the script of a film I wanted to work on and she just said “I’ll do it”.

Gupt, Soldier, Humraaz and many of your other hits have been action films. Is the action genre your forte?
I have done films with some well-established and acclaimed filmmakers. And these films were not action films. Barsaat with Rajkumar Santoshi, Kareeb with Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Shakalaka Boom Boom with Suneel Darshan and Yash Raj Pictures’ Jhoom Barabar Jhoom with Shaad Ali. I have done my bit with romance and comedy. But it is just been a case where all the action films I did were made well and all the romantic films that I did weren’t. I would still love to do a wide array of roles.

Does that mean more of romance and comedy?
Yes. Being serious and angry is easy. People have these expressions all the time. I mean, you call up someone any time of the day and nine out of ten times you will hear a serious tone. Making someone laugh or smile is the biggest challenge of an actor’s career and I am always game to take up such tasks.

Three of your biggest hits have come with directors Abbas-Mustan. Are you looking forward for another film with the duo?
Besides Soldier, Ajnabee and Humraaz I have also done a fourth film with them in 2007 called Naqaab. Abbas-Mustan are my favourite directors and I would love to work with them again. In spite of being famous and high-profile filmmakers they are humble and down-to-earth. They treat me like a younger brother and it is that comfort level that translates into good work together.

Heroes and Dostana will be two major releases for you.
I play cameos in both films. Dostana is a wonderful film but Heroes is special. Director Samir Karnik is a good friend of mine and I must thank him for giving me a chance to play Sunny’s brother in the film. I also have Ek - The Power of One lined up for release later this year.

You do enjoy a level of comfort working with brother Sunny and your father.
It is always a pleasure. We are a close-knit family and when we’re working together it brings out the best in us. The success of Apne proved that. Also, working with Dad has an added incentive. He is my father and my biggest critic. So when he finally says, “Good job, Bobby”, there is no better feeling than that.

Bollywood heroes have entered the fitness world with six-packs, sculpted bodies and bulging biceps. Is Bobby Deol planning to hit the gym hard?
That is not my game. I am health-conscious but unfortunately I cannot work out. I have a condition with my shoulders, which first came to my notice when I was shooting for Bichhoo some eight years ago. Since then I have had steroid shots in both my shoulders and that prevents me from heavy-duty workouts. But I am a badminton enthusiast and indulge in sports to keep fit.