4 min readMumbaiJun 11, 2026 02:40 PM IST
Bobby Deol has long spoken about the heartbreak he experienced after being replaced by Shahid Kapoor in Jab We Met. It is an episode that continues to sting, and now filmmaker Imtiaz Ali has reflected on the matter once again. In a conversation with Times Now, he revealed that despite what happened, he and Bobby remain very close.
‘Gila-shikwa chalta rehta hai’
Defending his decision and explaining the circumstances at the time, Imtiaz said, “At that point in time I was an unreleased director, my film had done not very well.” He added, “Bobby and I would do anything for each other.” When asked if that was still true today, he replied, “Yeah, yeah.” Recalling their present-day equation, Imtiaz said they had spoken very recently. “Just now,” he said when asked when they last spoke. He then added, “Every time he speaks, he is like, ‘Yaar tumne aisa kiya mere saath’ (Buddy, you did this to me).” Asked if Bobby still brings it up often, the filmmaker said with a smile, “Haan, gila-shikwa chalta rehta hai” (Yes, the complaints and grievances keep going on).
‘I’m here because of Sunny Deol’
Imtiaz’s relationship with the Deol family goes back several years. It was the late Dharmendra who produced his directorial debut, Socha Na Tha. Speaking about his bond with Sunny Deol, Imtiaz recalled the faith the actor placed in him despite his lack of experience. “I’m here because of Sunny Deol. He didn’t ask me what I had done in my life. He didn’t ask how many years I had spent doing theatre, that I had directed television for seven years, what I had written, what I had studied, nothing. He just asked me to tell him the story. I told him the story.”
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The filmmaker then recounted narrating the script to Sunny. “I was telling him that this is how these characters are, this is what happens, and after a long narration he said, ‘I’ll do the film, you will direct the film. But can we take a break and eat something now? I’m very hungry and the food has already arrived.'” Praising the Deols for backing him early in his career, Imtiaz said, “Dharmendra and Sunny Deol are people from the film industry. I was an outsider. For them to believe that I could make a film and not challenge any decision of mine was huge.”
What happened during Jab We Met?
Bobby had previously opened up about the Jab We Met episode during an appearance on Raj Shamani’s podcast Figuring Out last year. “I was heartbroken. I was not getting work. I was doing films with certain directors… They were typical Bollywood films. I have nothing against Imtiaz. I love the guy; he’s one of the most talented directors we have in the industry. I guess, in that moment in his career, he was also insecure and had to make choices. But it happened in a bad way,” Bobby had said.
However, Imtiaz’s version of events differs slightly. “Socha Na Tha got over, but I still didn’t make the film for two years because I wanted Bobby to start it (Jab We Met). But he was getting other offers from big directors, so he was waiting for that to happen. He kept postponing my film, but then a time came when I didn’t find it correct because a lot of time went by,” the filmmaker told The Lallantop in 2023. “Because I did Socha Na Tha for five years and I didn’t do a film for two years after that, so it was putting financial strain on me. Then I told Bobby, ‘Let’s not make this film. Let’s shake our hands and decide we will not do this film together because then our thing will be affected,'” he added.
Bobby Deol was originally attached to Jab We Met before being replaced by Shahid Kapoor.