Bobby Deol is having his moment in the Sun.

The actor just made a rock solid impression as the infallible Ajay Talvar, in The Ba***ds of Bollywood, though his Achilles Heel governs the plot. In an expansive chat with Raj Shamani, the actor reflected on the time in his life when his failures as a commercial hero cost him roles he believed were always his. And one of them, believe it or not, was Shahid Kapoor’s role from Jab We Met (2007).

Mighty impressed by the rough cut of Imtiaz Ali’s Socha Na Tha back in the early 2000s, Bobby exclaimed, “I was bowled over. I told him I wanted to work with him no matter what”. At the time, Imtiaz had already penned the script for Jab We Met, which was initially titled Geet. Bobby took it upon himself to get the best producers and a top actress for the project. He said, “I sent it to Kareena Kapoor. She sweetly heard it but said no. Later, I asked Preity Zinta, but she said she could only do it after six months”.

But Imtiaz suddenly rose the ranks so much so that producers and actors that had rejected the script circled back to give it priority. And so Shahid and Kareena were brought together to deliver arguable among their most unshakeable films.

Remembering how the news gutted him, he said, “I was heartbroken, I had no work. I thought the role was mine. It was a time when I wasn’t getting good films. The ones I did get were the typical Bollywood movies with no real spark”.

Now while anybody else would have nursed the hurt, Bobby made it clear that he held no grudges against Imtiaz. “I have nothing against him. I love the guy. He is one of the most talented directors in the industry. But at that moment in his career, he must have been insecure and had to make choices. It just happened in a bad way”, enunciating, “It was not meant to be. But at that time, it really broke my heart”.

But just like many believe Aditya Kashyap was a role written for Shahid Kapoor, Animal’s Abrar Haque became exactly that for Bobby. The Sandeep Reddy Vanga film may have brought further infamy to the director with several morally-bound questions being raised about why Ranbir Kapoor would opt to lead the film front and centre — but the applause this film brought for the performances it carried, not only further cemented RK’s acting prowess, but also became the golden marker for Bobby’s official comeback era.

And with the kind of reception The Ba***ds of Bollywood is receiving, seems like Bobby, and only Bobby could have managed to bring Ajay Talvar’s character to life.

The Ba***ds of Bollywood is now available for streaming on OTT.