Bobby Deol on life in Bollywood during lockdown: Everybody is sailing in same boat

Bobby Deol says be it the superstars or the aspiring actors, everyone is struggling right now as the nationwide lockdown has brought the Indian film industry to a grinding halt. The 51-year-old actor, who started his second innings in Bollywood with films like "Race 3" and "Housefull 4", believes the ongoing scenario across India due to coronavirus pandemic is scary.

"There are a lot of actors in the industry who want work but not everybody gets that opportunity or the luck. Right now, even the big stars are also sitting at home.

"Everybody is sailing in the same boat. For actors there is no way out to go and work till things get fixed. It is scary for everybody," Bobby told PTI in an interview.

The actor had finished two digital projects -- a Netflix film “Class of 83”, to be produced by Red Chillies, and “Ashram”, a web-series with Prakash Jha -- before the lockdown was announced.

Bobby said he was hopeful that the projects will release this year. "Everybody’s work is on pause right now. I don’t know what is going to happen as no one is working. These projects are waiting to come out. I have finished shooting for the web-series. I was hoping they will come out this year. Now let’s see what happens because no one expected this to happen in our lives."

The actor said the lockdown has taught him to appreciate small things in life and be positive.

"I hope this (situation) teaches all of us a lesson that we should not take things for granted, respect, smile, make people happy, don’t be egoistic and grumpy, have a big heart and be nice.

"We have so much to look forward and live for. We should look at the positive side of lockdown and not grumble. I hope we don’t forget these things after lockdown.”

For Bobby, the lockdown is about spending time with his family and staying fit. "We all talk about things that we never discussed, which is nice.
We are discussing work but we know it is a waiting game. We all have to wait and see how the world moves forward. There is uncertainty and no one knows what the outcome is going to be," he said.

The actor believes life will be different, at least for some time, after the lockdown is lifted.

"Everybody is missing a normal life and I am one of them. We are hoping to live normally. I think the new normal is going to be different because everybody is going to be careful about how they are going to move about now," he said.