As Bobby Deol gears up to star in director Anurag Kashyap’s much-awaited thriller ‘Bender’, which hits theaters on June 5, 2026, the actor has been unusually candid about the professional wounds that have quietly made him the performer he is today.
In a revealing appearance on ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Bobby revisited one of the most painful chapters of his career: discovering that the production company he was offered ‘Jab We Met’ had gone ahead and made the exact same film with the same director, Imtiaz Ali, and the same leading lady.
Kareena Kapoor
Just replace it with it
Shahid Kapoor
As a male leader. Nearly two decades later, Bobby says heartbreak didn’t break him, it built him.
The story of “Jab We Met”: What really happened?
Long before Jab We Met became the beloved romantic classic it is today, Bobby Deol was the man trying to make it happen.
He was introduced to Imtiaz Ali’s talent early on through the rough cut of Socha Na Tha, his 2005 directorial debut, which personally included both Imtiaz and Kareena Kapoor. Bobby was then pitching the project to production houses, convinced he had found the right creative partnership at exactly the right moment.“This story is over now. We are friends. My heart is broken because I needed a film like this during that phase of my career,” Bobby said on Aap Ki Adalat.
“I had a lot of faith in Imtiaz since the time he was making Socha Na Tha with Abhay. When I watched the initial cut, I was very impressed and excited about his work. I thought he is a good director, and I should work with him.”Production house Bobby offered the project to pass, citing Imtiaz as a very expensive director.“That’s when we first decided to make a film together. But when your market situation is not good, no one supports you.
A lot of time went into trying to get the film started. The production company that offered the film to her said that a director’s franchise was too expensive. “But the same production company ended up making the film with a franchise, and with the same heroine I was on board with,” recalls Bobby with faint disbelief.
When Bobby Deol talked about Jab We Met earlier
This isn’t the first time Bobby Deol has addressed an episode of Jab We Met, but his language has evolved from a perspective of intense hurt to a hard-earned perspective.
While speaking on Raj Shamani’s “Figuring Out” podcast last year, the emotions were still closer to the surface.“I was sad. I wasn’t getting work. I was doing films with certain directors…they were typical Bollywood films. I have nothing against Imtiaz. I love the guy; he is one of the most talented directors we have in the industry. I think, at that moment in his career, he was also insecure and had to make choices. But it happened in a bad way.”
Imtiaz Ali’s side of the story
The story, as with most industry stories, has more than one version. Imtiaz Ali, speaking to The Lallantop in 2023, provided context that further complicates the narrative of simple betrayal.“It came to an end, but I didn’t make the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start in the film. But he was getting other offers from big directors, so he was waiting for it to happen. He kept postponing my film, but then there came a time when I didn’t find it right because so much time had passed,” Imtiaz said.
“Because I shot Socha Na Tha for five years and I didn’t shoot a film for two years after that, so it was putting financial pressure on me.
Then I said to Bobby: Let’s not make this movie. Let’s shake hands and decide that we’re not going to do this movie together because then our business will be affected.”
How did Bobby Deol turn pain into purpose?
Instead of positioning himself as a victim of industry politics, Bobby Deol came up with something closer to gratitude, not for the experience itself, but for what it forced him out of.These things happen. It never happens that only good things happen to someone. When I started working on myself, I decided that the hurt and anger I experienced had to become my source of strength. Because you can’t keep crying over him. These things made me a better person and a better actor. I just learned from them. “I have no concerns with anyone.”
More about Bobby Deol
Bobby Deol has made one of Indian cinema’s most celebrated and unexpected comebacks, first with Prakash Jha’s Aashram on Amazon MXPlayer, then with a scene-stealing role in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal in 2023, and most recently with Aryan Khan’s Netflix India directorial debut The Ba***ds of Bollywood.
More about Bandar
“Bandar”, which will be released on June 5, 2026, stars Bobby as Samar Mehra, a famous pop star whose life unravels after sexual assault allegations thrust him into a brutal media and legal storm. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the team behind Paatal Lok, Kohrra and Udta Punjab, Bandar also stars Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Babbi, Saba Azad, Raj P Shetty, Indrajith Sukumaran and Jitendra Joshi.
