Mumbai: Actor Bobby Deol on Wednesday said the opportunity to play the anti-hero protagonist Baba Nirala in web series “Aashram” came to him at a time when he believed that he would no longer be offered hero-like roles.
As someone who wanted to try out playing characters of different shades, the actor took up the job which eventually led to a career turnaround for him, kickstarting a second innings in showbiz.
Directed by Prakash Jha, “Aashram” revolves around a self-proclaimed godman Baba Nirala (Deol), who leads an illegal empire of fraud, drugs, and preys on young women of his ashram. The first season premiered back in 2020.
“We, as actors, want to play characters which we are not in real life. As an actor you get an opportunity to be someone else without being that person… I was trying to do different roles.
“I knew I wasn’t going to be offered hero roles anymore. That is why when I accepted this show I did not tell anyone (in the family). I was waiting for the show to come and then see their reaction,” Deol told reporters here.
The actor was speaking at the trailer of “Aashram” season three-part two, titled “Ek Badnaam Aashram”. It will premiere on Amazon MX Player on February 27.
Deol, known for films such as “Soldier”, “Gupt”, “Humraaz”, and “Animal”, said he was blown away with his family’s reaction to the web series.
“I felt like I was dreaming. My mom was telling me that every day her friends were calling her and telling how good I have worked in the show.
“Papa (veteran star Dharmendra) called me and told me he was getting calls from a lot of friends saying ‘You have worked so well. I am so happy for you that your work is being appreciated’. Bhaiyya (actor Sunny Deol) told me he is getting calls from his friend who wanted him to connect with me,” he recalled.
The actor thanked Jha, known for directing films such as “Gangaajal”, “Raajneeti”, and “Apharan”, for taking a chance on him.
“As actors, we want to do our best… All thanks to Prakash ji who believed in me. Prakash ji has really changed my life in many ways. At the end of the day, I think things fall in place,” he said.
After the success of “Aashram”, Deol was seen in playing a series of grey roles in films such as “Animal”, “Kanguva” and “Daaku Maharaaj”.
While he is in his antagonist phase, the actor said he is looking for more depth in such characters.
“In the industry, once they like you as a certain personality on screen, they tend to start offering you those kinds of roles, which is something an actor finds difficult to break away from. But I don’t really go ahead and choose every and any character that’s offered to me which is an antagonist.
“There has to be some kind of substance to that character. I’m enjoying playing antagonists… People usually like the bad boy kind of (roles). So it kind of worked for me. I’m sure I’ve just begun my journey again and there’s a lot more I can offer as an actor,” added Deol, who completes three decades in films this year.
“Ek Badnaam Aashram” will see Chandan Roy Sanyal and Aaditi Pohankar reprise their characters as Bhopa Swami and Pammi.
The show also features Tridha Choudhury, Darshan Kumaar, Vikram Kochhar, Anupriya Goenka, Rajeev Siddhartha and Esha Gupta in key roles.
