Koffee with Karan: Sunny Deol couldn't resurrect Bobby Deol's career; Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan did
Before the Koffee gets Cold: The issues Sunny Deol pointed out in Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan and Akshay Kumar are exactly what helped his brother Bobby Deol.
Sunny Deol may be an anomaly in the stardom of today. He doesn't do endorsements, doesn't have six-pack abs, and does only one film a year. He has delivered a blockbuster in Gadar 2, even while operating out of the system. One can't say the same, however, about his brother Bobby Deol. Bobby's stardom, in many ways, is the antithesis to that of his elder brother.
(Also Read: Koffee With Karan: Sunny Deol reveals he requested Akshay Kumar not to release his film OMG 2 the same day as Gadar 2)
When Sunny launched Bobby
Sunny very commendably put his career at its peak on the backburner in order to design the debut of Bobby in the 1990s. As a producer, Sunny braved through hurdles like change in the director of Barsaat (1995), Bobby's launch vehicle, and a leg injury the actor suffered on the sets. After a successful debut, Bobby continued to work with Sunny's hitmakers like Rahul Rawail and Anil Sharma.
Sunny cast Bobby in his directorial debut, Dillagi (1999) and even sacrificed his wish to play Bhagat Singh by casting Bobby as the martyr in his dream project, 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002). After a spate of duds, Sunny tried to resurrect Bobby's career through Apne (2007), Chamku (2008), and the Yamla Pagla Deewana franchise. But Bobby couldn't make a mark for himself in these films, unless he was supported by his brother and legendary father, Dharmendra.
Resurrection of Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol has famously talked about how he gave up on his career in the late 2000s, and even succumbed to serial drinking. On his recent appearance on Koffee with Karan Season 8, Bobby confessed that he sat jobless for months, till he realised he has to stand on his own two feet, and his family can help him only this far.
The truth is that Lord Bobby's resurrection, besides his personal grit, stands on three pillars: brand building, body building, and optics. Interestingly, these three qualities are everything that Sunny detests about stardom. He took his sweet time, but made it big again without the crutches of these three tools.
When asked in the Rapid Fire round what he doesn't like about his Darr co-star Shah Rukh Khan, Sunny said that he turned actors into commodities. One can gauge the actor's frustration as he had a tough time adapting to the corporate/multiplex culture in the early 2000s, something that Shah Rukh championed, and in many ways, pioneered.
But the fact is that Shah Rukh could channel his massive brand, and the ability to nurture and maintain it, into building a studio that in turn launched and relaunched talents like Amrita Rao, Zayed Khan, Sushmita Sen, Deepika Padukone, Ali Fazal, Abhay Chopra, Hardik Mehta, Shanker Raman, Jasmeet K Reen, and Bobby Deol himself.
Bobby himself admitted on Koffee with Karan that while directors like host Karan Johar didn't offer him work when he approached them, Shah Rukh's production house Red Chillies Entertainment has always been generous with him through streaming projects like Class of '83 (2020), Love Hostel (2022), and Stardom, the upcoming directorial debut of his son Aryan Khan.
Secondly, when asked what he doesn't like about Salman Khan, Sunny said he sends everyone to the gym. While that may distract a newcomer from the real job at hand, Bobby has only benefitted from Salman's advice. From when he appeared alongside Salman shirtless in Remo D'Souza's Race 3 (2018) to now, when he posed bare-chested in the last shot of the teaser of Sandeep Reddy Vanga's Animal, Bobby has established himself as a thirst trap that keeps giving.
And finally, Sunny expressed his reservations against Akshay Kumar doing too many films. Yet again, this approach has worked greatly in Bobby's favour. From doling out three seasons of Prakash Jha's Aashram to now branching into the South film industry with Kanguva (Tamil) and Hari Hara Veera Mallu (Telugu), Bobby is making sure he's everywhere. It started with his turn in Housefull 4, a franchise Akshay has made successful with his ability to juggle several projects.
One can't deny Sunny's brand of stardom as he's proved his mettle with a monster hit. But one can expect the Gadar 2 star to not run down any other route to the same road, especially when he's seen his own go down that path to find himself.
Before the Koffee gets Cold' is a weekly column that goes beyond the froth to study the storm inside the Koffee cup.