New Delhi, Dec 3 (IANS): Actor Bobby Deol is ecstatic with the appreciation he is getting for his portrayal of a menacing mute antagonist in his latest release ‘Animal’, something which he said was not easy and for which he had to learn sign language to make it look authentic.

Asked how much it tested him as an actor to play a chaotic and menacing mute antagonist, Bobby told IANS: “I wanted to play a character which was out of my comfort zone. I want it to be more challenging because it brings the best out of a person and I think that's what happened me.”

He said he was stunned when director Sandeep Reddy Vanga told him he had no lines in the film.

“When Sandeep said that your character is mute, I was like ‘What? I am not allowed to speak… I mean everyone likes the way I speak’ and he said ‘Yes, but I want this character to be mute' I was like ok,” Bobby recounted.

The actor, who is getting all the love for his performance and his perfectly-chiseled physique in the film, did not mince words when he said he was "nervous".

“I didn’t know how ill go about it but it made it more exciting and challenging for me. For 1 month I learnt sign language and it really helped.”

His hard work paid off, quite literally.

“I did not want it to look like it was not part of my body language and I was speaking in sign language so it was fun and somewhere it made people notice my work even more because it was challenging,” said the son of Bollywood veteran star Dharmendra.

Praising the director and his co-star Ranbir Kapoor, Bobby said: “It was fun and I enjoyed every moment of being on the set of ‘Animal’. I just love Sandeep Vanga Reddy, he's just an awesome director and I love Ranbir, he's a magical actor.”

“He’s so grounded even though he is such a big star. He makes you feel special when you are working with him. He’s so normal, it’s amazing working with him,” he concluded.