The Hindu : New Delhi News : It’s been thumbs up all the way

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Monday, Jul 16, 2007
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New Delhi

It’s been thumbs up all the way

Photo: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Awaiting a lucky turn: Bollywood actor Bobby Bedi on a recent visit to New Delhi.

After playing the bad guy in films, actor-cum-model Bobby Bedi is keeping his fingers crossed on his latest release. Madhur Tankha traces the journey to stardom of this small town man.

ATTN: DELHI DESK. THIS FOR ``MEET” WITH PICTURE.

It has been an uphill struggle for actor-cum-model Bobby Bedi to make his presence felt in the highly competitive world of Bollywood. But the young artiste is hopeful that his latest film ‘Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli’ will finally turn things around for him in tinsel town.

It was essentially Bobby’s love for the gentleman’s game that landed him a role in Ken Ghosh’s ‘Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli’. “Ken told me that Rahul Bose will be playing the lead role and I would be essaying the role of Pakistan cricket captain. So I watched some old footage of cricket matches of Inzamam-ul-Haq. I noticed his laidback style of running between the wickets and his mannerisms. Of course, rehearsing scenes with Rahul helped a lot as he has tremendous understanding of the technical aspects of filmmaking.”

Son of a newspaper vendor, Bobby hails from small town Ferozepur in Punjab, a few kilometres away from the Indo-Pakistan border. “As a young boy I used to watch theatre and this stirred the creativity inside me. In school and college I participated in skits and comedy was my forte.”

Bobby came into the spotlight after he won the Photogenic Face at Gladrags way back in 1999. Gradually modelling offers began pouring in. “I acted in music albums of legendary singer late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Gurdas Maan. While doing a scooter advertisement, director Karan Kapoor told me that I had the looks for Bollywood. With no Godfather in the industry or financial support to produce films, I have really had to struggle hard over the past four years. In this industry, I look up to Rakesh Roshan, Mahesh Bhatt and Subhash Ghai as they are all talented people.”

Bobby got a break in Bollywood when proprietors of Tips signed him for the film ‘Kya Yehi Pyaar Hai’starring Amisha Patel and Aftab Shivdasani. The film may not have done well at the box-office, but it gave the budding actor a chance to play a negative character. “I played Vishnu Dada in the film and after that I did four movies with similar types of roles. I don’t mind being typecast as a villain, as I now enjoying playing the role of a baddie,” He says.

A chance meeting with veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan changed life for Bobby. ``Rakeshji screen tested me for the super-hit movie `Koi Mil Gaya”. My role was that of a bad boy along with actor Rajat Bedi. It was literally like a dream come true to do the film that was shot in Nainital and Mumbai.”

Sharing some of his experience of working with Hrithik Roshan, Bobby says the gifted actor is an out-and-out professional. “Hrithik is a perfectionist. Only when he is fully satisfied that a scene has been performed to the best of his abilities, he okays a shot.”

Bobby was also paired opposite Lara Dutta in ‘Andaz’. “I played the character of Kamal in Raj Kawar’s film. Akshay Kumar and Priyanka Chopra were also in the movie. I had a fight sequence with Akshay and he gave me tips on how to go about the scene. He is a professional martial art expert. Nobody can do better action scenes than him.”

Besides films and advertisements, Bobby manages to find time to work for the Society for Advancement of Knowledge and Human Awakening, a non-government organisation that serves as a platform for youngsters to talk about their problems and the society at large. To keep himself fit, Bobby does kick boxing and regularly hits the gym.

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