In a deeply moving turn of events that bridges five decades of Bollywood history, actor Bobby Deol has experienced a profound full-circle moment. He provided the voice for the younger version of his late father, legendary actor Dharmendra, in what became the veteran star's final film, Ikkis. This poignant act mirrors Bobby's own cinematic debut, where as an eight-year-old child artist he played the young Dharmendra in the 1977 film Dharam Veer.
A Son's Tribute in His Father's Swansong
The period war drama Ikkis, directed by Sriram Raghavan and produced by Dinesh Vijan's Maddock Films, serves as the swansong for Dharmendra, who passed away in November 2025. In the film, Dharmendra portrays ML Khetarpal, the father of real-life war hero Arun Khetarpal, who was martyred in the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Bobby Deol's contribution, dubbing dialogues for the younger incarnation of his father's character, earned him a "Special Thanks" credit in the film.
The emotional weight of the moment was palpable at the film's premiere in Mumbai earlier this week. Bobby chose to wear one of his father's own shirts to the event as a mark of respect. After watching the film with his family, a visibly overwhelmed Bobby was photographed wiping away tears inside his car, moved by seeing his father on the big screen for the final time. His elder brother, Sunny Deol, was also present, and the siblings posed together with a poster of their father on the red carpet.
The 1977 Debut: A Child's Dream in Dharam Veer
The symmetry of Bobby's career is striking. His journey in films began not with his official lead debut in 1995's Barsaat, but almost two decades earlier. In 1977, credited as Master Bobby, he was cast as the young Dharam Singh, the character played by Dharmendra in Manmohan Desai's Dharam Veer.
Recalling the incident in an interview, Bobby shared that Dharmendra was struggling to find a child actor with "big and thick legs" who resembled him. The search proved futile until Dharmendra turned to his own son. Bobby, then just five or six years old, eagerly agreed. The production team had to hastily create a costume for him overnight. With childlike innocence, Bobby even asked his father for payment for his role, a request that momentarily embarrassed Dharmendra in front of the director and producer.
"I was so excited that I broke so many hangers in the house to show my sisters and aunts what I did in the film," Bobby reminisced. He was later given a bundle of 10,000 rupee notes, which his father instructed him to give to his grandmother for distribution among the staff.
More Circles Complete: A Legacy of Connections
Interestingly, 2025 presented another full-circle moment for Bobby Deol beyond the familial one. He played the chief antagonist in the spy thriller Alpha, starring Alia Bhatt and marking the directorial debut of Shiv Rawail. Shiv is the son of filmmaker Rahul Rawail, who had launched Bobby's brother Sunny Deol with the 1983 hit Betaab.
"Can you believe it? My brother's first film was directed by Rahul Rawail! And you never even imagined that when Shiv would become a director, his first feature will have me. It's like a full circle," Bobby had remarked earlier this year. These interconnected stories highlight the deep, enduring threads that weave through the fabric of the Hindi film industry, where legacies are honored and personal histories often repeat in the most cinematic ways.
Through it all, Bobby's inspiration remains clear. In an interview marking his 30 years in the industry, he stated, "If I'm inspired by anyone, it's only my father. He's something else." His recent act of giving voice to his father's younger self in Ikkis stands as the ultimate testament to that inspiration and a fitting, emotional closure to a remarkable shared journey.
