Shirt utaarega maamu? The Salman Khan moment that changed Bobby Deol's career

Actor Bobby Deol recalled how Salman Khan's offer for Race 3 came at a time when he felt the younger generation had forgotten him. The film became a turning point for his career and helped him reconnect with audiences.

In Short

• Bobby Deol said he felt forgotten by the younger generation before Race 3
• Salman Khan's call convinced him to join Race 3 in 2018
• Bobby saw Race 3 as a chance to reconnect with the audience

For Bobby Deol, one Salman Khan phone call became a turning point in his career. Speaking in a recent interview, the actor said there was a time when he felt the younger generation had forgotten him, and that was why Salman’s offer to join Race 3 (2018) meant so much. He recalled that after a gap of a few years, Salman opened the conversation with a line he still remembers clearly: "Shirt utaarega maamu? (Will you take off your shirt?)"

Bobby said his answer came immediately. "Main kuch bhi karunga (I will do anything)," he said. He explained that he felt a Salman Khan film would be watched by millions, and that appearing in it could help younger viewers recognise him again. In that sense, Race 3 was not just another film for him, but a chance to be seen again.

The call that changed things

Speaking to actor Shekhar Suman on Shekhar Tonite, Bobby said Salman was "so sweet" and asked him to first hear the story. The 57-year-old actor said the offer mattered deeply to him because of where he was in his career at the time.

He said, "Jo young generation thi, woh Bobby Deol ko bhool gayi thi (The younger generation had forgotten Bobby Deol)." The actor said he felt that if he appeared in a Salman Khan film, people would realise that Bobby was still around.

Race 3 also featured Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Daisy Shah and Saqib Saleem.

The shift after Race 3

After Race 3, Bobby said his career entered a new phase. He went on to play the lead in Prakash Jha’s web series Aashram, which was released in 2020 and received appreciation. He later saw another shift after playing a brief but impactful antagonist in Sandeep Reddy Vanga’s Animal.

Following that, Bobby appeared in projects such as the web series The Ba***ds of Bollywood and films such as Hari Hara Veera Mallu. He is next set to be seen in Anurag Kashyap’s Bandar. The trailer for Bandar has already been released.

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