Saturday, March 1, 2008
Biography
Name: Bobby Deol
Date of Birth: 27 January 1967
Place of Birth: India
Birth Name: Vijay Singh Deol
Height: 6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
Spouse: Tanya, 2 children
Father: Dharmendra
Brother: Sunny Deol
Awards: 2 wins & 1 nomination
Alternate Names: Bobby / Junior Dharmendra
His was scheduled to be Bollywood's most well designed launch ever. Papa Dharmendra and big brother Sunny did everything they could to ensure that Bobby Deol announced his arrival in style. Several girls were screen-tested to play the lead opposite this stunning star son, before Rajesh Khanna and Dimple Kapadia's daughter Twinkle, became
the chosen one.
None other than Shekhar Kapur was assigned the task of making the young Deol's entry into films a memorable one. But long before the film could be completed, Kapur walked out of the project and Rajkumar Santoshi (who had earlier turned around Sunny's career with 'Ghayal' (1990)) took over. Finally, when 'Barsaat' (earlier titled 'Badal') hit the screen in 1995, the tall expectations and much anticipation built around it couldn't ensure a rousing welcome at the ticket window.
Although the film proved to be an average grosser, Bobby's dreamy eyes, stylish curls and cute dimples turned on the magic. And overnight, this star-son became hot property.
However, his next release 'Gupt' (1997), came nearly two years after 'Barsaat'. This murder mystery proved to be a huge hit and pushed the star's stock skywards. It was no mean feat for a solo hero big-budget venture that vested a lot of faith in Bobby's star appeal.
Naturally, everyone hoped 'Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya' (1997), which marked the debut of Miss World Aishwarya Rai, would get an even warmer welcome. Eventually, this over-hyped love story turned out to be a complete washout.
Meanwhile, the handsome star took a break for a lavish wedding with the light-eyed Tanya Ahuja, a business magnate's daughter. In keeping with the Deol tradition, Bobby's wedding was strictly out of bounds for the press, with several bodyguards and members of the family assigned the all-important task of keeping nosy photographers at bay.
When Vidhu Vinod Chopra decided to turn outright commercial with a popular love story he signed Bobby to play the small-town hero of 'Kareeb' (1998) opposite newcomer Neha. The star was meticulously groomed for a part that was crucial to the film's overall appeal; that of a mischievous boy who falls hopelessly in love with a
beautiful girl and ends up losing her because of his tendency to lie his way through life.
Bobby was suitably earnest and did earn a few good reviews for his effort. But Chopra's dream came crashing down with a resounding thud at the box-office. As is usually the case, this also brought Bobby's star status into question.
But all doubts were quickly dispelled with another thrilling hit in the form of Abbas-Mastan's whodunit, 'Soldier' (1998). Once again, Bobby deserved credit for its success, since he was cast opposite rank newcomer, Preity Zinta, and was aided by a totally non-starry cast.
While his career graph was taking this steady swing upward, brother Sunny (who apparently monitors Bobby's professional life very closely) turned producer with a venture called 'London'. The film was to have both brothers in the lead along with Karisma Kapoor.
After a huge publicity splash, 'London' was shelved due to differences between Sunny and director Gurinder Chaddha. While the fourth estate went to town with reports about the end of Sunny's dream project, he decided to finish the task at hand and announced a film called 'Dillagi' (1999), which he would produce and direct.
Karisma walked out and Urmila stepped in to keep the Deols company.
Bobby delivered the most sensational performance of his short career under the watchful eye of big brother and mentor. As the spoilt young philanderer who has no care in the world for anything except his own needs, he was absolutely stunning to watch.
The failure of 'Dillagi' didn't affect his fortunes because it was his act that saved the day for this cliched film. Next came 'Badal' (2000) a mindless action caper that worked well in the interiors despite being a fairly ordinary concoction.
Even as he tries to recover from the disastrous 'Hum To Mohabbat Karega', he has a fresh challenge in the form of 'Bicchoo', which releases next week. This could be the acid test for Bobby, since it takes on Abhishek Bachchan's debut film, 'Refugee', another designer launch for another star son...
Filmography
1. Dostana (2008) (filming)
2. Heroes (2008)
3. Naqaab: Disguised Intentions (2007) .... Karan Oberoi/Rohit
Shroff
4. Apne (2007) .... Karan Choudhary
5. Jhoom Barabar Jhoom (2007) .... Steve/Satvinder
6. Shakalaka Boom Boom (2007) .... A.J.
7. Alag: He Is Different.... He Is Alone... (2006) .... Special
Appearance (Song)
8. Humko Tumse Pyaar Hai (2006) .... Raj
9. Dosti: Friends Forever (2005) .... Karan Thapar
10. Barsaat (2005) .... Arav Kapoor
11. Nalayak (2005) .... Special Appearance
12. Tango Charlie (2005) .... Sepoy Tarun Chauhan (Tango Charlie)
13. Jurm (2005) .... Avinash Malhotra
14. Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004) .... Captain Kunaljit
Singh/Lieutenant Commander Vikramjeet Singh)
15. "Koffee with Karan" (1 episode)
16. Bardaasht (2004) .... Aditya Shrivastav
17. Kismat (2004) .... Tony
18. Chor Machaaye Shor (2002) .... Shyam Singh/Insp. Ram Singh
19. Humraaz (2002) .... Raj Singhania
20. 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) .... Bhagat Singh
21. Kranti (2002) .... Abhay Pratap Singh
22. Ajnabee (2001) .... Raj Malhotra
23. Aashiq (2001) .... Chander Kapoor
24. Bichhoo (2000) .... Jeeva
25. Hum To Mohabbat Karega (2000) .... Rajiv Bhatnagar
26. Badal (2000) .... Raja/Badal
27. Dillagi (1999) .... Rajvir/Rocky
28. Soldier (1998/II) .... Vicky/Raju Malhotra
29. Kareeb (1998) .... Brij 'Birju' Kumar
30. ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) .... Bobby Oberoi
31. Gupt: The Hidden Truth (1997) .... Sahil Sinha
32. Barsaat (1995) .... Badal
33. Dharam Veer (1977) (as Bobby Junior Dharmendra) .... Young
Dharam