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Bobby Deol on insider-outsider debate: It's easy to make excuses when you can't achieve things

Actor Bobby Deol, whose next is the show The Ba***s of Bollywood, talks about being an insider, why hard work is needed to make it big wherever you come from.

Published on: Sep 18, 2025, 09:31:35 IST
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Surviving for 30 years, with a journey that saw his resurgence as Bobby 2.0- Bobby Deol today is in his best form. He recently travelled to the Toronto International Film Festival for the world premiere of his upcoming film Bandar, and plays a pivotal role in Aryan Khan’s directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood.

Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol

Interestingly, he is the so-called ‘insider’, the son of superstar Dharmendra. And the show is about an outsider’s journey in showbiz. He feels strongly about the chatter around these tags, “My dad was an outsider. I know everything inside-out… exactly how it is to be an outsider and insider. Everyone has dreams, irrespective of where they are from. Everyone has different things written for them. I just think people who… it’s easy to make excuses when you can’t achieve things.”

The 56-year-old’s journey, for instance, hasn’t been easy always. After delivering hits in the initial years of his career, he witnessed a dip, made a comeback with Race 3 after many years. And then came Animal in 2023, which brought him back into the game. “People make things sound like ‘oh it’s because I am outsider’ or ‘oh it’s because I am an insider’ They have to work hard, be focused and at it. Anyone can come knocking at your door, you have to be prepared. Insider bhi excuse bana sakte hain ki hamare upar itna pressure hai isiliye hum kaamyaab nahi ho rahe’. Outsider ka toh hai hi ki voh baahar se aa rahe hain. It makes a difference whether you are working hard or not, regardless of where you are from. Varna kuchh nahi hone wala aapka. Stop making excuses and just work hard,” says Bobby, whose debut film Barsaat had released in 1995.

People might call him ‘Bobby 2.0’, but he laughs, “Yeh sab toh aap log bolte hain. For my fans I am still the same Bobby. They are happy that I am doing this kind of work today, like The Ba***ds of Bollywood. They had belief in me when maybe I had lost it myself. Hard work turns into luck, I am lucky.”

  • Rishabh Suri
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Rishabh Suri

    Rishabh Suri is an Assistant Editor, film critic, and professional overthinker of plot points. He writes for HT City, keeping pace with an industry where news cycles expire long before the popcorn gets cold. He completed his graduation in English Honours from Kirori Mal College, followed by a Master’s degree in English Literature-effectively training his brain to over-analyse classic texts before applying those exact same skills to 3-hour Bollywood blockbusters. He got into the profession when he had barely graduated from college and has been at HT ever since. At HT, Rishabh reviews films with a simple rule: skip the dense academic jargon and get straight to the point. Beyond reviews, as Assistant Editor, he helps navigate the broader circus of showbiz, tracking everything from OTT shifts to sudden box office panics. In a beat driven by loud PR machinery and carefully scripted answers, Rishabh prefers cutting through the noise to focus on how stories get made and why trends shift. When he isn’t writing against a deadline, he is usually sitting in a dark theater, compulsively memorising dialogues. For Rishabh, analysing movies isn't just a day job- it’s a habit he couldn't turn off even if he tried.Read More