Now, whether Bobby likes it or not, the audience and the industry have been waiting with bated breath to catch him in action in Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s Kareeb. Can the film do to the Deol what Chopra’s Parinda did to Jackie Shroff — give his career a second wind?

Bobby, though, would rather take life as it comes. He is least affected by the failure of his last film and he’s happy to be working with the best of banners and filmmakers, and perhaps more than any thing else, that his morale as an actor is on the rise by the day. Says Bobby, “I’ve always been a stickler for variety, and I’ve taken pains to see that I don’t repeat myself. Whatever else my films were or weren’t, they were definitely not the same — Barsaat was a romance with a bit of action thrown in, Gupt was a thriller, and Aur Pyar Ho Gaya was a soft, sweet, pudding’n’cream romance. Kareeb is a love story too, but it's closer to life, as the name suggests, and the element of realism makes it even more appealing. What’s more, I’m evolving as an actor. I’m getting there, if you know what I mean. I’ve shed a lot many of my inhibitions and am less self-conscious before he camera.
Besides, it’s early days yet, I’ve only just begun as an actor. I may have a lot to prove, but old father Time’s on my side!” Bobby is aware of the pitfalls involved in being a star son, but he is far from intimidated by the daunting expectations. “Before me, I’ve seen it all happen to my brother (Sunny). I know people can be extra harsh and nasty towards a star son who doesn’t quite deliver the goods. People have been far from complimentary after the debacle of my last film. They said I was just plain lucky, lazy and far too laid-back to deserve the big time. But I couldn’t care less, if you ask me. People I live with and work with know me better. I don’t retaliate because I don’t have to prove any point to the scumbags who crib behind my back.”
So, how has it been working with Vidhu Vinod Chopra in Kareeb? “It was great. Undoubtedly, he is one of our best directors. Though he takes quite a long time to make a film, he invests a great deal of passion into every shot. In fact, he’d wanted to cast me in 1942: A Love Story, the role which Anil Kapoor was later to play. I had to give it a miss, because I’d already committed myself to staging my debut for our inhouse banner. So when he approached me for the role in Kareeb, I grabbed it with both hands. Vinod is very organised, and he helped me to realise my potential. People keep commenting he’s a hard taskmaster, but I found him to be otherwise. He never had occasion to fire me, not even once. And I never gave him reasons to complain. Perhaps he does get angry with people who take their work lightly.”

Bobby’s known to be averse to the idea of acting in love stories, but Kareeb was an exception. “It is a very good film. The songs are very melodious. And I play Birju, an interesting guy in the sense that he’s a prankster who’s reluctant to shoulder any responsibility. He is a big liar, too, though he keeps fibbing over trivial things, not to harm anybody. But one lie suddenly changes everything in life and everybody, including his own family, turns against him.”

Major portions of Kareeb were shot at Rewalsar near Mandi, Shimla and Parashar Lake, three-and-a-half hours away from Mandi. And Deol is all praise for the ‘divine’ locale. “It’s beautiful, heavenly. No one’s ever shot there before. I remember a scene which Vinod shot at 5 am in the morning. I had to take a dip in the lake’s ice-cold water, and to my horror when I stepped in gingerly, I found snakes in the water. I absolutely loathe the creatures, yet shoot we did. We also shot in Shimla and later, closer home, in Mumbai. The sets have been like a second home to me and working on the film’s been a great pleasure.”
Bobby has a special word of praise for his heroine in the film, Neha. “Unlike most newcomers,” says Deol, “she wasn’t nervous at all on the sets. I’m amazed by her confidence in her ability, and she handled each scene like a veteran. Of course, Vinod was always there to help.”
Bobby admits that after working with an organised perfectionist like Vinod Chopra, he has become thoroughly “spoilt”, that it would be difficult for him to work with someone who’s less organised or devoted to his work. “Fortunately for me,” says he, “ all the directors I shall be working with are good too. I like to feel comfortable with the people I work with. I’m working with Abbas-Mustan in Soldier, Kundan Shah in Hum To Mohabbat Karega, with Raj Kanwar, and Naresh Malhotra. So I don’t think I have anything to worry about, they’re all talented, dedicated men.”

Most of Bobby’s films are shot abroad. Is it because he feels uncomfortable shooting in India? “On the contrary, I prefer to shoot in India, it’s the best place in the world. I get terribly homesick everytime I leave, and I’m the sort who keeps calling back home every night I’m away, and chatting for hours together. For Barsaat, we had to shoot in Italy for the fight scenes involving a tiger — in Italy they have trained tigers, while in India, they stitch up the mouths of the tigers. For Aur Pyar Ho Gaya, the story demanded that we shoot in Switzerland and Singapore, and it’s been one one of my longest schedules abroad — I had to stay away from home for 50 days. Again we had to shoot in Australia for Soldier, and in London for London, because again, the stories are woven around the places.”

Talking of London reminds me to ask Bobby just what is happening to the film, which is now being directed by Sunny — recently, there were rumours that the film was shelved for good. “We can’t keep tongues from wagging,” says Deol about the gossip-mongers. London is far from shelved. In fact we had a long schedule for the film at Famous Studios only recently. But we have made a number of changes in the script, and we’re even toying with the idea of changing the title. Let’s see, what happens! Come August, we shall shoot the remaining portions of the film in London, if not earlier,” informs Bobby.

In Kundan Shah’s new film, Bobby has been paired with Karisma Kapoor, and the pair had been written of as “jinxed” in the past. They were to work together in two films before this one, first in Bobby’s debut-making Barsaat, which unfortunately was too long in the making and Karisma opted out, and again in London. But Bobby dismisses it off as a mere coincidence that her co-star in both films happened to be him. “I still maintain she did the right thing by opting out of Barsaat. See, where she’s reached today, she’s in an enviable position. She had to opt out of London due to date problems. But nobody in my family has been holding grudges against her. The audience is bound to like the pair, it’s a very interesting film.”
Apart from acting, Bobby’s elder brother Sunny is also involved in direction and production. Isn’t Bobby interested in anything else besides acting? “Bhaiya is very much interested in production and other business activities, and at the moment, he manages the whole show almost single-handedly. I do have my fair share of axes to grind, but we’ll cross the bridge when we get to it. First, I’d like to establish myself as an actor of substance, before I start looking around for fresh challenges.