BOBY DEOL & SUNNY DEOL

In his brother's shadow, willingly

He’s among the few lucky star sons who’ve earned a fan following almost overnight. After Barsaat’s average success, his career did flounder for a while, but with Gupt hitting the big time, Bobby proved he certainly was no push-over at the box-office, a fact he underscored with the other stupendous success of his career, Soldier. Now comes his n+-ext big test at the turnstiles in over a year, with home production Dillagi. Which way will the fortunes swing this time?

It's crunch time again for Deol the younger. Dillagi is slated for release, directed by bhaiyya dearest, Sunny, himself. But Bobby’s hardly breaking into cold sweat over the impending release. Or even launching into publicity overdrive.

In fact, when we arrive for a chat, on the sets of his forthcoming attraction, Kundan Shah’s Hum To Mohabbat Karega. Bobby’s just gulped down a hasty lunch to catch a quick game or two of cards with unit hands. A far cry from the bundle of nerves we’d reckoned to run into.

Already a year has passed since Bobby’s last release, Soldier. It’s been an inordinately long gap between releases. Doesn’t he feel such long gaps could be harmful to him, careerwise?

Bobby smiles by way of reply. "If I’d had four or five releases this year, people would have asked me why I was doing so many!", he shrugs. "Actually, I’ve never planned or timed my releases. All I want is that my films are completed without any hassles, strictly on schedule. And, that after they’re released, the audience likes them. I’m not the sort who’d delay films because I don’t like the way they’re shaping up. I give my best to every film," he insists.

What happens to a film after it’s released isn’t something he has a say over. So he accepts the audience’s verdict no questions asked. With eyes wide shut.

Bobby agrees the success of Soldier did a world of good for him. He says he’s noticed a sea-change in people’s behaviour with him since its release. Some had become indifferent towards him after a couple of his films flopped. Now they’re back to their friendly ways again.

"There are many filmmakers who talk derogatorily about you behind your back if your films are unsuccessful. But as soon as you’ve had a big hit, these very people shamelessly beg that you work with them again. They even praise you sky high, to your face. I’ve had my fair share of such men to work with. I’ve tried my best to stay away from such people, but it isn’t always possible. That’s how the world goes. Everybody wants to salute the rising Sun. And ignore the setting one," says Deol, philosophically.

Bobby’s found a new way to avoid working with the pesky irritants among filmmakers. He works either with the big directors or those who’re his close acquaintances. Either way, he can do without bad vibes on the sets. So does he find working with the new filmmakers risky?

"No, not all. I’ve no hassles working with a rank newcomer. But the condition is, I should be comfortable working with him," says Bobby.

Are there any rank newcomers among the directors he’s worked with lately?

"Of course, My brother!," comes the ready reply, punctuated by an uproarious bout of laughter.

Coming to Dillagi, what was it like working under his brother, we ask.

"It’s been simply excellent," Bobby enthuses. "Bhaiyya’s a wonderful director. People seem to be wary of approaching bhaiyya. They fear he may flare up if he doesn’t have his way. But he isn’t the sort at all. Why, for the entire shoot of Dillagi I didn’t see him lose his temper even once. That’s not something I can say for all the directors I’ve worked with," reasons Bobby.

Bobby agrees, though, that initially he did feel his brother was being abrasive and hard to please, finding too many faults in his performance. "He would constantly keep telling me ‘don’t do this’, or ‘do that!,’ and I’d feel resentful. But it was my fault if I thought of him as my brother, rather than as the director. But the day I started to see him as the director, I was able to see things in perspective. After that I did exactly what bhaiyya asked me to. And everything was all right".

So what kind of director does he think Sunny is? "As an actor, bhaiyya’s been against over-acting, preferring instead the natural underplaying of scenes, which, if well done, can be much more effective. It’s the same with him as a director. All the characters in Dillagi are natural, as are the situations and, in fact, the comedy, too. It’s every bit a commercial film, yet, you’ll find it close to real life," answers Bobby.

Often it happens that when two heroes work together in a film, they try to upstage each other, cut each other’s role to size. How was it in their case? "Well, in our case, that was out of the question. For one thing, we’re family, and we’re a very close knit one at that. Besides our roles are also very different. Bhaiyya’s is that of the elder brother, protective and self-sacrificing, while I’m the younger, the regular happy-go-lucky sort who cares a damn for responsibilities, and is very confused," Bobby explains.

Bobby relates an incident from the shoot. "There was this scene shot on Kulji (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) and me. I was unable to get my act right at one time, despite take after retake. I got so angry with myself that out of sheer frustration, I stomped off the sets and shut myself up in the makeup room. After a while, realisation dawned. I expected bhaiyya to walk in any minute, with a lecture. Instead all he asked was, ‘Are you ok? You don’t want to do this scene today? No problem, we’ll do it tomorrow, instead.’ But I felt guilty about holding up the shoot. I realised it was grossly unprofessional. I agreed to do the scene that very day, and, believe it or not, I got the scene okayed with a minimum of fuss. It’s a scene that helped me realise how mature bhaiyya was as a director."

Bobby insists Dillagi isn’t London (a project the Deols have shelved) repackaged. "Dillagi was shot entirely in India, and we couldn’t have done that with London, as the story was based in that city," he points out. The Deols are grateful to the producers and directors of their other projects on the floors. "They’ve been very accommodating, even letting us borrow dates from them to complete Dillagi," says Bobby.

Now that Sunny’s cut his teeth as a director, will Bobby do the same some time? "I’ve never given it a thought. At the moment, I’m far too involved with acting to consider any other option. Moreover, I’m just five films old as an actor, and there’s a lot left for me to prove. So quit giving me ideas!," he chides.

Alok Mathur