Making a space for himself being veteran actor Dharmendra's son would not have been easy but Bobby Deol says he never felt he was under the shadows of his father.
Bobby feels it is unfair to compare the work that his father has done with his and feels getting successful is a mix of correct decisions and luck.
"I never thought I had to come out of his shadows or was under the shadows. People around me thought like that. One can't compare the work my father has done. You have to make the right decisions or the luck has to be on your side.
"Things happen the way they happen, otherwise every actor would be a superstar. For me to achieve even one third of what my father has achieved would be a great achievement," Bobby said.
The actor says he saw several phases of his father's career -- at its peak, his downfall and his eventual rise -- and realised that the only trick of the trade is to keep working.
"My dad only wanted to work, he never looked at the number game ever in his life. If you calculate the maximum number of hits given, its by my father. No other actor has given so many hits," he says.
While Bobby became the blue eyed boy of Bollywood soon after his debut opposite Twinkle Khanna in the 1995 blockbuster "Barsaat", the roles started to dry up for him by mid 2000s.
He returned to screen this year after a hiatus with "Race 3" and the actor insists that he is not the same Bobby anymore.
"I was just not focused earlier. I was happy that I'm an actor and am working. When things started going slow I realised what is happening... My ambition is to just keep working. Doing good work."
Bobby, 49, is aware, that one day, an actor is going to be " number one" and some day "number ten" but he has never got carried away by this.
"As long as people appreciate you and are happy to see you, then you get good work. The numbers game is difficult, you can't survive then. You'll keep thinking 'I've to reach there' all the time and start losing your focus," he adds.
Bobby currently has "Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se" up for release which pairs him with his father and brother Sunny for the fourth time.
"The first time when I worked with my father and brother I was very nervous because they know me inside out. Their way of looking at you is very honest... The first time you work with your family members, you see them as just that. And then you start looking at the character,"
The "Poster Boys" actor, however, hopes he had worked more with his father.
The third instalment has been helmed by Navaniat Singh and Bobby says, "In the whole film, my dad's character is the funniest... He's a legend. There's no one who can outdo him in comedy or any kind of acting. He is the best."
"Yamla Pagla Deewana: Phir Se" is scheduled to release on August 31.
PTI
