Bobby Deol was fiercely protected by his parents in his early days after an untoward incident in his childhood due to which he wasn’t allowed to step out of his house.
90s kids remember Bobby Deol as the romantic heartthrob who won hearts with films like Barsaat, Gupt, and Humraaz. Cut to 2025, and the actor is receiving applauds for his role in Aryan Khan’s Ba***ds of Bollywood as superstar Ajay Talvar. Animal changed the trajectory of the Deol Jr’s career as it unleashed a new phase of his professional life, that made him a more confident actor.
The actor in a recent podcast with Raj Shamani, recalling his childhood days, said that he was brought up very sheltered and that’s where he disagreed with his parents.
Calling himself fortunate to have spent ample time on set with his father Dharmendra during his childhood, Bobby Deol shared that being the youngest in the family allowed him to accompany his dad often and he vividly remembers the deep love and respect people had for him.
“Papa was so busy that he used to sleep on the sets and didn’t come home. When I was born he realised that he had not spent time with children so he took me everywhere with him. I was lucky to see that. I never understood what acting was all about and filmmaking was all about. I only understood being with him the love he was getting. It was my Papa, people wanted to meet him and hug him. They treated him with so much respect and there was so much love in their eyes. That was the reason I wanted to become an actor too.
‘I was not allowed to step out of the house’
While there are perks to be a star kid, there are some downsides too. For Bobby, it was the sheltered environment at home that had repercussions in he practical world.
“I was brought up very sheltered and that’s where I disagree with my parents. It took me a lot of time to become independent. I was dependent emotionally all the time. I could not face the world because I was made to believe that everybody outside was so nice,” Deol told Shamani.
Bobby said that he had to come to home straight from the school and was not allowed to step out of house as Dharmendra was very protective of him.
I even learnt cycling at home and wasn’t allowed to go cycling outside,” he said.
His friend’s kidnapping by the notorious Rang Billa gang may have been one of the reasons behind Bobby Deol’s sheltered childhood.
“When I was in Class 6, Billa Ranga used to kidnap kids and kill them, asked for ransom, it was so sad. There was a whole show that came out Black Warrant based on them. I was in Class 6 then, and my friend got kidnapped; his arm was broken. He was the luckiest among all kidnapped people,” he said.
Bobby said that he was left at a ‘paan ki dukaan’ and was rescued from there.
Police told Papa that Billa Ranga has taken your son’s name
“Police came to my house and told dad that this kid has been rescued but Billa Ranga has asked him who all study in his school and he has taken your son’s name, so you need to be careful. I was in Class 6 at the time and from then onwards, I was not allowed to go anywhere, so I used to stay at home,” Deol added.
Restrictions at home also meant that Bobby couldn’t be or party at his friends’ house till late hours even when he entered college.
“During college days, I wasn’t allowed to attend parties. Rarely when I was invited to a good friend’s party, I was allowed to stay there till 9pm. So I used to help them with decorations and then used to head back to home,” said the Animal actor.
Things didn’t ease for Bobby even after Billa Ranga got arrested and hanged. Strict rules continued for him and while the friend who was kidnapped continued to step out and party, the actor still couldn’t get out of the house.
My family never went to Lido cinema after that…
Another incident that Bobby could recall behind his protected childhood was a childhood accident. The Ba***ds of Bollywood actor fell down from the first floor and that may have left Dharmendra traumatised.
“When I was 2 years old, I fell down from the first floor. I was alone at the home. My mom, grandmom, grandfather, sister, buas went to Lido cinema. Everyone went there to watch Papa’s movie and I fell from the first floor. He became more protective after the incident and that might be one of the reasons (that his family was overprotective). My family never went to Lido cinema after that because they felt it brought bad luck,” he said.