One can’t imagine a better time for Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby Deol to come together on screen. After all, each actor has enjoyed a blockbuster this year—from the veteran actor in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, to Sunny’s Gadar 2: The Katha Continues and Bobby’s Animal. Naturally then, there is much interest around Apne 2, which was announced in November 2020. However, Bobby says the family drama won’t roll anytime soon.

Reason—director Anil Sharma and the team haven’t found the perfect script to bring together three generations of the Deol family, including Sunny’s son Karan. Bobby says, “We have a concept, but we’re still searching for the right kind of story. It all depends when the story gets ready. We’re clear that we will make Apne 2 only when we feel that it has rich emotions and the right [dose of] drama. It should be a heartfelt emotional story upholding family values, like Apne. God has been kind to all of us this year, so now we need to be careful about what we do together.”

It has been a successful second innings for Bobby, who returned to the movies after a long hiatus with Poster Boys (2017) and Race 3 (2018). While Love Hostel (2022) and Aashram caught everyone’s attention, his popularity soared as he played the antagonist in Ranbir Kapoor’s Animal. Interestingly, in the past few years, he has continuously taken up dark roles. Has that been a conscious decision?

“I’m not always looking to play negative characters. I want to play different characters. Portraying Kashipurwale baba [in Aashram] was challenging. During the first few days of Aashram shoot, when I was playing something all-out negative for the first time, I’d feel a bit disgusted with myself. But then I accepted that the character is like that. Now, playing dark roles doesn’t affect me. I don’t carry the characters in my head.”

Up next, he will be seen as the baddie in Tamil movie Kanguva, and Telugu offering Hari Hara Veera Mallu where he will reportedly play the tyrannical Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. “I cannot comment as the makers haven’t officially announced anything. I select roles on the basis of their substance. I’ve got offers from big banners to play the villain, but I said no because I cannot do caricature villains. I’ve been lucky to be appreciated whenever I played negative characters.”