Bobby Deol received a great deal of acclaim for his acting in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s movie, Animal. He portrayed the character of Abrar Haque, the film’s primary villain, alongside Ranbir Kapoor and Rashmika Mandanna. Interestingly, Bobby confessed in a recent interview with Humans of Bombay that he once had concerns about being cut from the project. The actor shared his feelings during a new interview, expressing his worries that he might no longer be needed after Ranbir Kapoor had to spend an extended period on the film. (See more: Ranbir Kapoor speaks out about the criticism for Animal: I don’t really agree with them)
Discussing the casting process for the movie, Bobby mentioned, “I received a call from him. He introduced himself and mentioned he was interested in meeting with me for a movie project. At first, I questioned if it was him. After making the call, we set up the appointment. He displayed a picture of me from my time in the Celebrity Cricket League and declared, “I have the idea to cast you because I’m captivated by this aspect of your work!”
Bobby mentioned he was taken aback when Sandeep Reddy Vanga shared the news that the character would be voiced without speaking. He continued, “It took me over a year and a half to film this project, which is roughly 3.5 hours. So, we were on set with Ranbir for extended periods… and that’s when my fears crept in. I was worried, ‘What if they decide they no longer need me? Will they suddenly pull the plug on the project?’ Those concerns were playing on my mind, but Sandeep Reddy has always been a kind soul. I immersed myself in learning sign language for the character, finding the whole experience both thrilling and rewarding. Little did I know, the film would grow into a cult phenomenon—I just had a hunch that it would.
The film became a hit, despite facing criticism for its portrayal of male aggression. Ranbir portrayed the character of Rannvijay Singh, who seeks vengeance following an assassination plot against his father, Anil Kapoor’s character. The movie had a theatrical release in the previous year in December.