Race 3: Bobby Deol calls Salman Khan 'the angel who motivated him'

Last year, Bobby Deol had mentioned in an interview how, despite being a huge star in the ’90s, he had suddenly lost his stardom and wasn’t receiving any film offers. A year later, he has three movies in his kitty and is also in talks for a few other projects. He is fitter than ever before and some people have even opined that he’s looking his best right now. Recently, several pictures of his metamorphosis took social media by a storm.

We spoke to Bobby about what prompted him to reinvent himself and the actor made some interesting revelations...

ON THE WORK FRONT

Bobby will be seen next in Race 3, Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se and Housefull 4. The actor tells us, “People always wanted to work with me, but they thought I wasn’t interested. I have been in the industry for so many years. Some of my movies have worked well, while others haven’t. It’s not that I had no hits. I had slowed down and people thought I had lost interest in acting. But now, they know that I’m back. Also, positivity helps a lot. You attract more people and do good work.”

THE TRIGGER BEHIND THE TRANSFORMATION

There’s a striking change in the before and after images of Bobby. He explains that things changed for the better when he altered his outlook towards life. “Earlier, I took the concept of fitness lightly,” admits the 49-year-old, before adding, “A couple of years ago, I was moving slower and time was flying past me. I was left behind and when things are not going right, you don’t take care of yourself. Gradually, I realised I had to move forward and stand tall.” He says that developing a positive attitude helped him immensely. 

“My wife would tell me, you should be prepared for everything. Work can come anytime and you need to be ready for it. It was not that my fans weren’t ready to watch me, but I wasn’t paying attention to myself. When I started doing so, I got a call from Salman and Race 3 happened.”

WHAT WENT INTO IT

Bobby calls Salman the ‘angel who motivated him’. “He is truly an inspiration. He believed in me and made me understand that I should take better care of my body.” He reveals that his superstar friend, who is also his co-star in Race 3, got his personal trainer Rakesh Udiyar to work on him as well. “He is the head coach but I train with his assistant, Prajwal, who’s always with me. Rakesh is Salman’s trainer but monitors the workouts that I do every day,” he says.

He rues, “I’ve put my life and soul to get the best physique I can for the film. This industry is ruled by perception and I’m happy that the transformation has changed everyone’s outlook towards me.”

Bobby reveals, “I exercise for one-and-a-half hours every day with weights and cardio. You need to burn the calories, fats and also gain muscles. Earlier, I used to work out, but now I’m pushing the levels.” Is this his best version, we ask. And pat comes the response, “I don’t know if that’s true. But, yes, I am happy with the response. People have liked my metamorphosis.”

Apart from rigorous workouts, the actor also followed a diet that was rich in protein and fibre. He informs us, “Eighty per cent of the transformation is because of what you consume. You need to eat the right kind of food. I cut down on my alcohol intake completely, because you can’t get fit by intoxicating yourself,” he laughs. “I eat a lot of proteins and fibre. As protein is difficult to digest, you need to have fibre, too. Occasionally, you need to have a cheat meal which gives you that extra energy.” Ask him about his guilty pleasure and he smiles, “I am off sugar completely, except when I eat chocolates at times, because that’s my only weakness.”

Bobby also shares an important tip for every other ordinary man. “Earlier, I had started following a keto diet. Keto gets you off sugar totally. Sugar might be comfort food but is the biggest enemy and no one realises that. If you stop sugar and wheat, you will see how drastically your body changes. Today, wheat is so refined and due to the huge demand, people adopt several artificial methods to grow them faster. It’s the worst grain to have,” he avers.

THE PLAN AHEAD

With a strong line-up of films, Bobby’s career is definitely back on track. He says, “I’m definitely in a happier zone. However, there’s also an insecurity about whether it will continue as we are always craving for more work. Today, all actors are commodities and you have to sell yourself. So, you need to have the right attitude.” 

He adds that he doesn’t want to relegate himself to certain kinds of roles. “I’m part of films where our characters stand out the most, not just the main star cast. The strategy is to stay fit and people will come to me. I didn’t realise how media has changed and how you have to keep putting yourself more out there. It makes a lot of difference to people who read it. My family and I have always been honest. We say what we have in our hearts,” Bobby signs off.