Ass Bobby Deol prepares for the header Anurag KashyapThe much-anticipated thriller ‘Bandar’, which is set to hit theaters on June 5, 2026, has been unusually candid about the professional injuries that made him the performer he is today. On ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Bobby relived one of the most painful chapters of his career – discovering that the production house that pitched ‘Jab We Met’ had gone ahead and made the same film with the same director. Imtiaz Aliand the main lady herself, kareena kapoor only replacing Shahid Kapoor as the male protagonist. Nearly two decades later, Bobby says heartbreak didn’t break him, but built him.
The ‘Jab We Met’ Story: What Really Happened?
Long before “Jab We Met” became the beloved romantic classic it is today, Bobby Deol was the man trying to make it happen. He identified Imtiaz Ali’s talent in the brief of Socha Na Tha, the filmmaker’s 2005 debut, and was personally embraced by Imtiaz and Kareena Kapoor. Bobby was actively shopping the project around to production houses, believing he had found the right creative outlet at the right time.“That story is over now. We are friends. It broke my heart that I needed such a film at that stage in my career,” Bobby said on Aap Ki Adalat. “I had a lot of faith in Imtiaz from the time he was doing Socha Na Tha with Abhay. When I saw him in a low-key way, I was really taken and excited by his work. I thought he was a good director, I should work with him.”Bobby was submitted by the production house to pass the project citing that Imtiaz was too expensive a director.“That’s when we decided that we would make a film together. But when your market position is not good, no one protects you. So much time passed trying to start the movie. The production company I introduced to said that Imtiaz is a very expensive director. But the same production company ended up making the film with Imtiaz, and the hero I cast with him,” Bobby recalled with a bit of disbelief.
When Bobby Deol talked about ‘Jab We Met’ earlier
This isn’t the first time Bobby Deol has tackled the ‘Jab We Met’ episode, but his language has shifted from raw pain to hard-earned perspective. Speaking on Raj Shamani’s ‘Figuring Out’ podcast last year, the emotion was closer to the surface.“I was heartbroken. I wasn’t getting work. I was doing films with some directors… they were typical Bollywood films. I have nothing against Imtiaz. I love the guy; he’s one of the most talented directors we have in the industry. I think at that point in his career, he was insecure and had to make choices. But it happened in a bad way.”
Imtiaz Ali’s side of the story
The story, like most industry stories, has more than one version. Imtiaz Ali, speaking to The Lallantop in 2023, provided context that complicates the narrative of a simple betrayal.“Socha Na Tha passed, but I still didn’t do the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start. But he was getting other offers from big directors, so he was waiting for that to happen. He kept delaying my film, but then it came to a point where I didn’t think it was right because a lot of time had passed,” said Imtiaz. “Because I did Socha Na Tha for five years and after that I didn’t do a film for two years, so I was struggling. Then I said to Bobby, ‘Let’s not make this movie. Let’s shake his hand and decide that we will not make this film together, because then our cause will be damaged.’
How did Bobby Deol turn pain into a goal?
Rather than positioning himself as a victim of industrial politics, Bobby Deol has come to something closer to gratitude, not for the experience itself, but for what forced it.These things happen. It never happens that only good things happen to someone. When I started working on myself, I decided that the pain and anger I endured should become my strength. Because you can’t keep crying. These things made me a better person and a better actor. I have only learned from them. I have no qualms with anyone.”
More about Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol made one of Hindi cinema’s most unlikely and celebrated comebacks, first with Prakash Jha’s ‘Aashram’ on Amazon MXPlayer, then with Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s scene-stealing ‘Animal’ in 2023, and most recently with Aryan Khan’s Netflix India directorial debut ‘The Ba***ds’.
More about ‘Bandar’
‘Bandar’, releasing on June 5, 2026, stars Bobby as Samar Mehra, a once-famous pop star whose life is thrown into a wild media and legal storm after allegations of sexual assault. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the team behind ‘Paatal Lok’, ‘Kohrra’ and ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Bandar’ also stars Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, Raj B. Shetty, Indrajith Sukumaran and Jitendra Joshi.
