Bobby Deol: In 2023, when Bobby Deol created a stir on the screen by playing Abrar in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s film ‘Animal’ without uttering a word, the entire social media was abuzz with slogans of ‘Lord Bobby’. That 15-minute role gave such a boost to Bobby’s career that there was a queue of villain roles for him from Bollywood to South cinema. But are the makers harming ‘Lord Bobby’ just by cashing in on the horror of Abrar?
This debate has erupted once again as soon as Thalapathy Vijay’s much-awaited last film ‘Jan Neta’ hits the theatres. The villain named ‘John Himmler’ became in the film bobby deollook completely pale in comparison to Vijay’s one-sided heroism.
Pattern of ‘Villain’ in South films after ‘Animal’
If we look at the figures and facts, after ‘Animal’, the South film makers have tried to bind Bobby Deol in the same formula, ‘Bring in a big face from the North, make him a dreaded villain who loses in front of the hero!’
1.Kanguwa: Bobby Deol played the villain role of Udhiran in Surya starrer ‘Kanguva’. Despite the huge looks and publicity, Surya’s character remained subdued in front of his screen presence.
2. Robber Maharaj: Bobby appeared as ‘Balwant Singh Thakur’ in front of Nandamuri Balakrishna. Here too, due to the typical ‘hero-worshipping’ of the South, the entire focus remained on the hero.
Bobby’s look from Hari Hara Veera Mallu
3.Hari Hara Veera Mallu: Despite playing the role of Aurangzeb in Pawan Kalyan’s film, Bobby did not get that depth.
4.Public leader: Now in this farewell film of Vijay, the entire fabric has been woven around Vijay. As a result, Bobby Deol’s character remained just a ‘catalyst’.
Same old ‘North Villain’ formula from the South!
This is not a new trend in South Industry. From Rajinikanth to Kamal Haasan, well-known faces of Bollywood (like Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj) are always made villains in South cinema to show off their ‘heroism’.
Bobby Deol himself had recently confessed in an interview that he is being offered many anti-hero and villain roles, but he now wants to avoid being typecast in the same genre. Bobby believes that a film or character does not become a hit just by ‘making him a villain’, its character arc should have life.
Kanguva to Bobby
Artist’s potential or just a publicity gimmick?
The character of Baba Nirala in ‘Ashram’ and Abrar in ‘Animal’ worked because there was a solid backstory and consistency in their characters. But in films like ‘Jan Neta’ and ‘Kanguva’, it seems that the makers are casting him only to create pan-India hype and to flash the face of ‘Lord Bobby’ on the posters. If the makers still do not improve their writing and treat Bobby only as a helpless villain, then this craze of the audience may cool down very soon.
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