Bobby Deol wants out of the villain box after ‘Animal’ success

Bobby Deol is opening up about being typecast as a villain following his career resurgence. His comeback gained major momentum after hit roles in “Aashram” and “Animal.”

Speaking at the Jagran Film Festival, the 57-year-old actor revealed he’s been offered several negative roles recently. He admitted he’s now consciously turning many of them down to avoid getting boxed into a single image.

Deol explained that actors often keep getting offered similar roles once a particular type of character brings them major success. He said that’s simply how the industry tends to operate.

His post-comeback career has largely centred around dark, morally grey characters. It began with his role as a fraudulent godman in “Aashram” and continued with his widely praised villainous turn in “Animal.”

Since then, he’s taken on similar roles in projects including “Hari Har Veera Mallu,” “Kanguva,” “Daaku Maharaj,” “Alpha” and “Jana Nayagan.” The pattern has left him closely associated with antagonist roles across recent years.

Despite that string of successes, Deol said he is actively working to branch out into different kinds of projects. He explained that he understands why actors get pulled toward roles tied to their biggest hits, but he is determined to keep experimenting further.

He revealed he recently wrapped a film called “Bandar,” describing it as a distinctly different kind of project from his recent work. Deol added that even within villain roles, there’s plenty of range to explore, since antagonists can carry very different tones and shades.

He said he genuinely enjoys playing those varied versions of darker characters. Deol also confirmed he is set to appear in a few upcoming web series, which he says will offer something noticeably different from his recent filmography.

On the work front, Deol is next set to appear in “Teen Kauwe,” a Hindi spy thriller series co-starring Ishaan Gupta, Fatima Sana Shaikh and Pavail Gulati. The show is currently in production and is scheduled to premiere on Amazon Prime Video on October 2, 2026.