Bobby Deol on the huge success of 'Aashram' and his first Best Actor award

Bobby Deol, scion of a famous acting family and by default forever in the spotlight, has proved that success in the film industry is not time-sensitive, even though in this often age-obsessed world we tend to dismiss actors if they haven’t racked up the required amount of conventional accomplishments (read hit films) during the span of their youth.

It couldn’t have been easy for the handsome 52-year-old star of films like Gupt and Dostana, to keep the faith when his career that went through several hits and misses also experienced a lull between 2013 and 2017 — a period when he was completely absent from the big screen.

But it seems Bobby is having the last laugh, rising like a phoenix from the ashes to make the transition from Bollywood hero to OTT superstar, with his web series Aashram being one of the top streaming series of 2020. Revolving around a manipulative Indian self-styled godman Kashipur Wale Baba Nirala (played by Bobby), part one and two of the first season proved a huge hit and fans are now eagerly awaiting Season 2.

With fresh commercial success came critical acclaim and Bobby recently picked up the coveted Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival Award for Best Actor in a web series for his role in Aashram. Humble in his approach to winning the award, his first since getting a Best Debut gong in 1995 for Barsaat, Bobby credits his fans in a Zoom chat with City Times, saying, “The amount of people who saw my work, my fans, my new fans — I think it’s their love and appreciation that made this possible for me to get this award so I am truly grateful to them and very honoured.”

What drew him to his Aashram character which has turned out to be one of his most memorable roles? “I was in search of something which was totally different from what I’ve done before. I heard the subject and was told I was playing Kashipur Wale Baba Nirala’s role, which was so exciting because I was consciously trying to play parts which were totally out of my comfort zone, and I had never played such a negative character so it was very challenging.”

He also admits that the opportunity to work with filmmaker Prakash Jha, renowned for his penchant for films that spread awareness about socio-political issues, excited him. “I’ve been wanting to work with for many years; I knew that he is very good with these kinds of subjects — he brings out things that have to be spoken about and he makes people understand them.”

Did Bobby — known for playing mostly quintessential Bollywood characters in romantic, action and thriller films over the course of his career — ever imagine that his dark turn in Aashram would go on to have such widespread appeal? “On the whole I thought it was a very interesting subject which would engage people. I never imagined it would become such a huge success because you never know how big a film or a web series becomes, you can never think about that. On top of that when I was working on it I never thought I would get an award so you know, things just happen when they are meant to happen.”

Bobby hopes Aashram, Season 2 which is expected to release this year, is watchable not only for its entertainment value but also for its message of being wary of conmen. “Not just in India but the world as well, there exist so many conmen who take advantage of innocent people. So I think the series in a way makes people aware of situations and issues which exist in our society. I hope people understood through Aashram that you should be very wary of people around you, never take them by face value. At the end of the day we are all human beings, we all falter, we always give in when we are in desperate situations to things, believing that will bring you happiness. Human beings are very weak creatures and they can easily be conned.”

The actor is well aware that after the unprecedented success of Season 1 of Aashram, the public’s expectations for Season 2 have skyrocketed. “Obviously now the pressure is definitely more to write the best script, do the best as actors. People expect the world out of it.”

A message for his fans in the UAE: “I love you guys — it is all of you put together, the energy you all give me is the source of my strength and I will always forever be grateful for that.”