Bobby Deol jokes: Director Shekhar Kapoor fled debut due to Deol family stardom

Nearly 30 years ago, Bobby Deol made his grand debut with Rajkumar Santoshi’s 1995 romantic action film Barsaat. Initially, the acclaimed director Shekhar Kapur, known for films like Mr. India and Bandit Queen, was set to helm the project. However, Kapur opted out of the film, and Bobby revealed that the director “ran away” because he was “scared” of Bobby’s legacy as the son of the popular actor Dharmendra and the younger brother of Sunny Deol.

When host Kapil Sharma asked if either Bobby or the director was scared to launch him, given his family’s massive popularity, Bobby shared this interesting story. Bobby laughed and replied, “Maybe that’s why Shekhar ran away. Shekhar Kapur. He was scared. But then Raj directed the film. But I never thought I was under pressure”.

Shekhar Kapur had even shot a scene with Bobby before he left the film to direct his acclaimed 1994 crime drama Bandit Queen.

Despite the initial setback, Bobby made his successful debut in Barsaat alongside Twinkle Khanna, and both of them won debut actor awards for their performances. The film, produced by Dharmendra’s Vijayta Films, also starred Raj Babbar, Mukesh Khanna, and Danny Denzongpa, and it went on to become the fifth highest-grossing movie of the year, earning ₹29 crore at the box office.

Interestingly, Bobby later starred in another film of the same name, Barsaat, in 2005, directed by Suneel Darshan. Now, Bobby is enjoying the success of his recent film, the family crime drama Animal, and he has several upcoming projects, including his debut Tamil and Telugu films.

Meanwhile, Shekhar Kapur, who last directed the 2022 British romantic comedy What’s Love Got To Do With It?, is now working on the reboot of his 1983 directorial debut, Masoom, titled Masoom: A New Generation, which will launch his daughter Kaveri.