"I stopped taking care of myself. I started drinking."
Actor Bobby Deol celebrates 25 years within Bollywood, however, he has admitted that it has “not been a perfect journey”.
He called the industry “ruthless” and also revealed that when he went through a difficult time in his career, he turned to alcohol.
Bobby said of Bollywood: “Nothing in life is perfect, but at the same time, it has been a wonderful journey. In 25 years, I’ve seen ups and downs and again ups now. That is the journey of every actor.
“That is why it is tough being an actor. It is not about the work you do, it is about the work you do have to be appreciated.
“There is no guarantee that every film you do will be a hit.”
The actor went through a tough period where he stopped getting work. Bobby opened up on the difficult time in his life:
“What happened was, when things were not going right for me, I kind of I started not taking care of myself and looking fresh.
“By then social media and digital media was increasing and people started talking about me that, ‘he is not interested’.
“People thought that I was not interested and to break that it takes a long time.”
He explained that he became angry at himself for not getting any work and admitted that he “gave up” and turned to alcohol.
“I was losing out on so much work and afterwards, I really gave up. I stopped taking care of myself. I started drinking. I was lost somewhere and went adrift.
“It’s so bad… seeing my children watching their father sitting at home.
“Then I realised I had to help myself because no one else could. I began looking after myself and kept myself ready for opportunities. I want to forget those days.”
He said that his wife Tanya supported him during those moments.
Looking back on that time in his life, Bobby Deol said:
“I wish I had not taken the support of the wrong things to numb myself. I would never want to pity myself again. When you pity yourself, is when things go wrong.”
He went on to say that self-realisation helped him get out of that situation and move forward.
“And self-realisation only comes when you look at the world around you and understand that, ‘look you might have been successful, but that doesn’t mean you won’t succeed again’.
“You have to work hard. And I could not set a bad example for my kids and I had to move forward.
“I wish I had never got into that phase. As I said, my 25 years have never been perfect.”
On the subject of being an insider or outsider within Bollywood, Bobby Deol said that his father Dharmendra is the biggest example of an outsider.
He explained: “There will always be this discussion (about insider-outsider) in every industry, not just the film industry.
“I won’t say it is easy for an outsider to make it but if you look at the number of outsiders who have made it big in the industry it is quite a bit.
“I would only want to say that never give up. It is difficult to be an actor. It is a ruthless industry.
“Nothing is going to be given to you on a silver plate. Yes, if you are an actor then you might be given the first film, but then your work speaks.”
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