After going missing for a few years in between, Bobby Deol made a comeback of sorts to Bollywood with two big franchise films — Race 3 and Housefull 4. The 51-year-old actor is now making steady inroads into the web space, first as a world-weary cop in Class of ’83 that released on Netflix on August 21 and then as a fake god-man in MX Player’s Aashram, that dropped on August 28. The Telegraph caught up with Bobby for a chat on the new phase of his career.

In a world that’s been under lockdown for months, you have had releases on consecutive Fridays...

Everybody is under lockdown, we are all going through a tough time and we are all waiting for the pandemic to get over. At such a time, when your work comes out, it’s a great deal of encouragement because in some way, you feel that you are at work again. I never thought that two of my projects would come out simultaneously, in a week’s time. I am so happy with the kind of appreciation that’s come my way for Class of ’83, it gives me a lot of motivation. I have made some new fans after Class of ’83 and I am really thankful for that. It’s all hard work that eventually speaks... I am just so happy right now (laughs).

It’s tough to imagine you in the role of a god-man. Was the challenge of trying to break an old image and craft a new one that made you sign on Aashram?

(Laughs) Oh my god! I still remember the day I was offered the part. It’s been 25 years in the film industry for me and I have been dying to work with Prakash Jha (the director of Aashram) since Day One. But things never happened, and finally when I got a call saying that Prakashji wanted to meet me for a project, I was so excited. I knew it would be something really interesting... he’s a National Award winner and an amazing film-maker. I was told it was a project called Aashram and it sounded like the socially relevant projects that he’s known to make.

But when we met and he narrated the script and the role to me, for a few seconds I was like, ‘What?!’ (Laughs) I never imagined myself doing anything like this, though as an actor, you always want to do different kinds of roles. This kind of a character is not something that I would be approached for even in my wildest dreams. But if a film-maker of the calibre of Prakashji thinks I can play someone like this, then that means that he really believes in me as an actor.

Bobby Deol in Class of ’83 Sourced by The Telegraph

What did you have to learn and unlearn to play this man?

Obviously I don’t identify with this person at all. But actors are never the characters they play, though some emotions will connect you with a particular character, in some way or the other. But there was nothing that could connect me to a con man or a criminal like this guy. I agree that all of us as humans have good and bad in us... we are all selfish, greedy, ruthless, egoistic... if we can control these wrong emotions, then we become better people. For this character, all these emotions are over-exaggerated, and that’s how I portrayed him.

Prakashji gave me an insight into the world of this man and he told me how exactly he feels this character should think. He told me, ‘This is the script, this is your guideline... just follow this and you will know exactly what you have to do’. That’s exactly what I did. I had to work on my diction because we don’t speak in such shuddh Hindi in real life. I went over each and every line many, many times and not only learnt them, but also understood and felt them. I knew that I had to have a firm grasp over the language because con men are very smooth, a lot of what they pull off depends on how they speak in order to influence people around them. When it came to being on set, I knew I was with Prakashji and some amazing co-actors, many of whom are from theatre. Working in such environment, working with such good actors, brought out the best in me and vice-versa.

This is also a controversial man to play, given that the show melds crime and religion. Were there any apprehensions?

I definitely had apprehensions because we all live in a society and we have to live according to what society thinks. But I knew that all my apprehensions would be taken care of because Prakashji has always made movies which revolve around what’s happening in society, on issues that need to be looked into. His films are always dogged by controversy before release and when they come out, the controversies quieten down.

How are you looking at this phase of your career? There’s obviously been a resurgence...

I just feel that getting the right work and picking the right opportunities makes people take notice of you. I always believe that hard work turns into luck. The harder you work, the more persistent you are, the more focus you have, luck will automatically follow. Whenever someone tells me something good about my work, I tell them that I just got lucky. I am very excited about the kind of work that’s now coming my way, on OTT platforms and in cinema. I hope my work will speak for me again.

How are you picking and choosing your parts now?

I have decided that I now only want to do projects that are character driven. I want to do parts that are totally away from what my image was... I just want to challenge myself and do things outside my comfort zone.The main thing is to have great characters, and I also want to enjoy the parts that I play.

Bobby Deol in Aashram Sourced by The Telegraph

Has being slotted into an image always been a struggle?

It comes by default, you know. The industry gives you an image and then you get offered only a certain kind of roles. All actors try to do something different... some work, some face failure. That’s part and parcel of being an actor. One should just become fearless in picking roles after a point.

How have the last few months been for you?

I have tried to keep it light. When I would FaceTime my friends, some of them would tell me, ‘Arre, tu bada khush hain!’ (Laughs) Yes, I have been trying and consciously making myself happy. I would wear nice clothes and walk about the house and try and feel that everything is normal. Luckily, I have a gym at home and either of my two sons (Aryaman and Dharam) would work out with me. We all live together, so I spent a lot of time with my nephews (Karan and Rajvir) as well. Kids always run away from their parents, and that’s how I was when I was their age. Luckily, this time has brought all of us closer and now they make it a point to sit and talk to me. It’s been a lovely six months. Yes, we all are feeling the pinch, the frustration of sitting at home, but we have to pull ourselves up. All of us can choose to be happy.