Published By: Sayan Paul

Happy Birthday, Bobby Deol: Becoming Abrar - How The Actor Prepared For 'Animal'

From learning sign language to maintaining a strict diet & workout regimen for months - Bobby Deol left no stone unturned in his preparation for 'Animal'.

Bobby Deol's career can be divided into two eras: before 'Animal' and after 'Animal'. Right before 'Animal' came to him, it was a dark phase in his career, with almost everyone labeling him as "finished". As the actor later shared in an interview, “I gave up, I started pitying myself. I was sitting at home. I used to keep cursing and saying, why don’t people take me? I am good, why don’t they want to work with me?" However, the good thing about bad times is that they never last forever. So, when his career seemed over, director Sandeep Reddy Vanga believed in him and gave him an opportunity that changed literally everything. With 'Animal', the actor made a comeback so strong that it silenced every critic. It can be narrowed down to that iconic scene from the film, where he puts his finger on his lips to signal 'silence', which maybe was meant for everyone who doubted him in real life. It's as if an announcement from the actor: Quiet everyone. I'm back on the field, and now I'm here to stay. Just look at his lineup today, and you'll know that he was absolutely right!

It's Bobby Deol's 56th birthday today. On this occasion, let's learn how he prepared for his role in 'Animal'.

First of all - not approaching Abrar as a villain

Abrar in 'Animal' is one of the deadliest villains of Hindi cinema in recent times. But while preparing for the role, Deol made sure to not approach it as a villain. He tried to understand the psyche of the character, focusing on what made him this way. Whether it's his trauma, his vulnerabilities, or his strengths - Deol dissected everything about the character from a neutral perspective.

Speaking about the same, the actor shared in one of his interviews, "There's good and evil in every human being and what gets the evil out of you is some situation. As an actor, you think as a character. 'I'm doing nothing wrong, I'm right in whatever I do'. You forget how to judge what is right and wrong."

Credit: iambobbydeol

"I was not put into a situation where I was not convinced or had to be convinced or felt awkward. I felt Abrar, the kind of savage and evil he is, I had to play it that way. He is obsessed with revenge. So when you get so obsessed, you don't see what is good and bad, you just want to finish someone. That's how it is. In the film, he has suffered... It's a trauma that has made him this animal kind of a person."

Learning sign language

The fact that Abrar is mute makes him more interesting as an antagonist. And Deol wanted to do justice to that. To portray it with conviction, he learned sign language for a month.

In his words, "When Sandeep said that your character is mute, I was like ‘What? I am not allowed to speak?’ I mean everyone likes the way I speak and he said ‘Yes, but I want this character to be mute’ I was like ok."

Credit: Team Sunny Deol

“I did not want it to look like it was not part of my body language and I was speaking in sign language so it was fun and somewhere it made people notice my work even more because it was challenging," added the actor.

Now, developing that rugged physique

Sandeep Reddy Vanga wanted Deol to look broader than Ranbir Kapoor (the protagonist in 'Animal') on the screen. And of course, it wasn't an easy task.  

When 'Animal' was offered to Deol, he was slightly lean. But he took the challenge, pushed his own boundaries, and made it possible. He maintained a strict diet and workout regimen for four months. He underwent high-intensity training sessions, involving one hour of weight training and over 40-minute high-intensity cardio sessions.

As far as diet is concerned, Deol maintained a proper balance of proteins, fats, and carbohydrates in his meals. Two months before shooting, he went completely off-carbs. While he loves sweets, he abstained from them entirely throughout the period.

Credit: Filmfare

Later, Deol's trainer Prajwal shared in an interview, "Our efforts were so intense that his body fat percentage reduced to 12. Considering his excellent body mass intake, his weight fluctuated between 85 to 90. The director was highly pleased with Bobby’s physical transformation. I recall during the filming of the last scene, he called me over, showcased it on screen, and remarked, ‘You’ve done a remarkable job on his physique; this is precisely what I envisioned.’ The praises Bobby sir is receiving have brought immense joy.”

Well, hard work pays off, and Bobby Deol is an example of that.