Happy birthday, Bobby Deol! How a single viral photo got him the role of Abrar in Animal

Bobby Deol turned 57 on Tuesday, and social media is flooded with birthday wishes for the actor. He has been in the film industry for over thirty years, but his comeback with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal is still one of the most memorable moments for fans.

Do you know, Deol landed into the antagonist’s role in Ranbir Kapoor starrer because of a photograph from a celebrity cricket match?

Animal was a turning point

It was the 2023 Animal, directed by Sandeep Reddy Vanga, that changed the career of Bobby Deol. Led by Ranbir Kapoor, Deol played the role of a silent yet terrifying antagonist, Abrar Haque, which left the fans impressed. With only 15 minutes of screen time, he stole the spotlight.

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But do you know the casting story behind it? During an interview, Bobby reportedly revealed that Vanga reached out to him after seeing a photograph taken during the Celebrity Cricket League (CCL).

"Sandeep showed me a picture from the Celebrity Cricket League and said he wanted me for his film. He loved the intensity in my expression," Deol shared. “That photo was from a time when I was struggling and almost without work.”

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'I feared I would be dropped'

While speaking to Humans of Bombay, Deol also revealed that he was initially worried about his role in Animal.

"I waited 1.5 years to shoot the film," Deol said. "The film is 3.5 hours long, so they were shooting with Ranbir for a long time… and during that period, I kept thinking, ‘Are they going to change their mind? Will they suddenly say they don't require me?' Those thoughts crossed my mind, but Sandeep Reddy is a sweetheart. I learned sign language for the role. It was fun and exciting and it became a huge success. Although I never imagined it would become a cult hit, I had a gut feeling about it."

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Bobby Deol 2.0

The younger son of Dharmendra, Bobby Deol, started his Bollywood career in the 1990s with films like Barsaat, Gupt, Soldier, and Badal, which quickly established him as a popular leading man. However, later, he remained largely absent from big-screen cinema.

Before Animal, Deol came to the limelight on OTT with Prakash Jha’s series Aashram. After the film's success, he also made his South Indian cinema debut with projects like Kanguva and Hari Hara Veera Mallu. He is also set to appear in Vijay's Jana Nayagan. He was also loved in Aryan Khan’s debut series The Ba***ds of Bollywood.