As bobby deol Preparing to be in the headlines Anurag KashyapIn the much-awaited thriller ‘Bandar’, releasing across theaters on June 5, 2026, the actor has been unusually candid about the professional wounds that quietly shaped him into the artist he is today. In a revealing reveal in ‘Aap Ki Adalat’, Bobby revisits one of the most painful chapters of his career: It was revealed that the production house for which he had made ‘Jab We Met’ had gone ahead and made an exact similar film with the same director. Imtiaz AliAnd the same leading lady, Kareena Kapoor just replacing it shahid kapoor As the main man. Nearly two decades later, Bobby says heartbreak hasn’t broken him, but made him.

The ‘Jab We Met’ story: What really happened?

Long before ‘Jab We Met’ became today’s favorite romantic classic, Bobby Deol was the man trying to make it. He had recognized Imtiaz Ali’s talent from the rough cut of the filmmaker’s debut film ‘Socha Na Tha’ in 2005 and personally got both Imtiaz and Kareena Kapoor involved in it. Bobby was then actively shopping projects to production houses, confident that he had found the right creative partnership at exactly the right time.Bobby told Aap Ki Adalat, “That story is now complete. We are friends. I was heartbroken because I needed a film like that at that stage of my career.” “I had a lot of confidence in Imtiaz when he was making ‘Socha Na Tha’ with Abhay. When I saw the rough cut, I was very impressed and excited by his work. I thought he is such a good director, I should work with him.”Production house Bobby advocated passing on the project, calling Imtiaz a very expensive director.“That’s when we first decided that we would make a film together. But when your market position is not good, no one supports you. A lot of time was spent trying to start the film. The production house I spoke to said that Imtiaz is a very expensive director. But the same production house made the film with Imtiaz, and with the same heroine, that I had joined,” Bobby recalls with mild disbelief.

When Bobby Deol first spoke openly about ‘Jab We Met’

This isn’t the first time Bobby Deol has addressed the ‘Jab We Met’ episode, but his language has evolved from raw hurt to hard-won perspective. Speaking on Raj Shamani’s podcast ‘Figuring Out’ last year, the sentiment was still close to the surface.“I was heartbroken. I wasn’t getting work. I was doing films with a few directors… they were typical Bollywood films. I have nothing against Imtiaz. I love the guy; he’s one of the most talented directors in the industry. I think, at that moment in his career, he was also insecure and had to make a choice. But it happened in a very bad way.”

Imtiaz Ali’s side of the story

Like most stories in the industry, there is more than one version of this story. Speaking to The Lallantop in 2023, Imtiaz Ali introduced context that complicates a simple betrayal story.Imtiaz said, “I thought it was over, but I still didn’t make the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start it. But he was getting other offers from big directors, so he was waiting for that to happen. He kept postponing my film, but then there came a time when I didn’t feel right because a lot of time passed.” “Because I did Soch Na for five years and then I didn’t do any films for two years, so it was putting financial pressure on me. Then I said to Bobby, ‘Let’s not make this film. Let’s join hands and decide that we will not do this film together because then our point will be affected.

How did Bobby Deol turn pain into purpose?

Instead of positioning himself as a victim of industry politics, Bobby Deol has moved closer to gratitude, not for the experience, but for the experience that was forced upon him.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 had gone through should become my strength. Because you can’t keep crying about it. These things made me a better person and a better actor. I have learned from him only. I have no complaints against anyone.”

More information about Bobby Deol

Bobby Deol staged one of the most unexpected and celebrated comebacks of Hindi cinema, first with Prakash Jha’s ‘Aashram’ on Amazon MXPlayer, then with a scene-stealing turn 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 information about ‘Monkey’

‘Bandar’, which will release on June 5, 2026, stars Bobby as Samar Mehra, a once-famous pop star whose life gets thrown into a brutal media and legal storm after sexual harassment allegations surface. Directed by Anurag Kashyap and written by Sudeep Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the team behind ‘Paatal Lok’, ‘Kohra’ and ‘Udta Punjab’, ‘Bandar’ also stars Sanya Malhotra, Sapna Pabbi, Saba Azad, Raj B Shetty, Indrajit Sukumaran and Jitendra Joshi.