He is the man who gave the Hindi film industry its first biggest hits in 2009. Suddenly the word emotional atyachaar found its way into many youngsters vocabulary.
You can call Abhay Deol by many names — hatke, experimental — but the fact is you just can’t ignore him. But it’s the tag of being ‘different’ that Abhay Deol feels most burdened by. After the stupendous success of Dev D, the tag seems to have stuck on this actor. And make no mistake; Abhay has never tried to project himself as an intellectual sort. “I’m not the kind to project myself as someone who is too smart or knows too much. Early on in my career I decided that the best way to go about the business is by being happy. That makes work easy. But you know what? In spite of all the tags, I look at the bright side of it and don’t feel bogged down anymore.”
Considering the kind of popular cinema churned out by the dozen in Hindi films, is it difficult for Abhay to live by his convictions and only do films he believes in? “It’s really difficult for an individual to live by his beliefs in this industry. The temptations are many and the insecurity even greater still. Sometimes you tend to cave in,” explains Deol Jr. So how does he as an actor, not manage to give in to all those temptations? “I always do cinema I believe in. People do tell me it takes a lot to stick by your convictions. But I follow a simple rule in life; you have to be happy with what you do. And I am,” says the actor with a smile.
In an industry which is ruled by box office collections and superstar status, how does he manage to stay afloat as an actor? “There are moments of doubts and suspicion — am I making the right choice? Will it be worthwhile? But the fact is that when you become a superstar you are surrounded by insecurity. The more popular an actor is, the greater is his/her insecurity. After Dev D became the toast of the nation, I realised that the popularity and responsibility that followed the success of the film were too much to handle. The audience, especially the younger lot, now expects a lot more from me,” explains Abhay. In spite of all the success, how come then, Abhay still isn’t part of big budget productions? Doesn’t he believe in them? “There are big budget films and there are small budget films. The industry needs them both. With big budget movies the risk factor is greater. Plus, you can’t always please everyone with the kind of cinema you do. I did Dev D for the youngsters, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! for a universal audience and now my latest film, again is for everyone. The day I like a script from a big budget production I will certainly accept it.”
For someone who comes from the Deol family — Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby — known for their macho image, was it difficult for him to convince people that he will not go the dishoom-dishoom way? “People have always been pre-judgmental about me. When I first came into the industry, everyone expected me to do the Deol kind of action-packed films. That made it very difficult for me, but I tried to fit in. When my first film released, everyone was shocked. That’s when I decided that I’m going to shock them all the more. Manorama Six Feet Under finally helped me break away from the mindset people had about me. Ever since I’ve been shocking everyone,” laughs the Deol lad.
So what is the reaction of his immediate family to the kind of films he does? “Not many people know this, but my cousins (Sunny and Bobby) love doing different films. I feel sorry that people have almost always typecast them. It’s very easy to get typecast in this industry. It’s like sounding the death sentence to an actor. Arrey, I’m not the only one who loves the kind of cinema I do. Sunny bhaiyya and Bobby, too can surprise many. It’s the producers’ loss that they don’t approach them for such roles,” rues Abhay.
And with Robert De Niro’s company deciding to distribute the actor’s latest flick, Abhay feels convinced of the choices he has made. “Can an actor ask for anything better than that?” he asks. “I feel overwhelmed that Robert De Niro loved my film and has decided to distribute it at the film festival. It’s a first in Bollywood. And I’m on top of the world,” he says before signing off.
You can call Abhay Deol by many names — hatke, experimental — but the fact is you just can’t ignore him. But it’s the tag of being ‘different’ that Abhay Deol feels most burdened by. After the stupendous success of Dev D, the tag seems to have stuck on this actor. And make no mistake; Abhay has never tried to project himself as an intellectual sort. “I’m not the kind to project myself as someone who is too smart or knows too much. Early on in my career I decided that the best way to go about the business is by being happy. That makes work easy. But you know what? In spite of all the tags, I look at the bright side of it and don’t feel bogged down anymore.”
Considering the kind of popular cinema churned out by the dozen in Hindi films, is it difficult for Abhay to live by his convictions and only do films he believes in? “It’s really difficult for an individual to live by his beliefs in this industry. The temptations are many and the insecurity even greater still. Sometimes you tend to cave in,” explains Deol Jr. So how does he as an actor, not manage to give in to all those temptations? “I always do cinema I believe in. People do tell me it takes a lot to stick by your convictions. But I follow a simple rule in life; you have to be happy with what you do. And I am,” says the actor with a smile.
In an industry which is ruled by box office collections and superstar status, how does he manage to stay afloat as an actor? “There are moments of doubts and suspicion — am I making the right choice? Will it be worthwhile? But the fact is that when you become a superstar you are surrounded by insecurity. The more popular an actor is, the greater is his/her insecurity. After Dev D became the toast of the nation, I realised that the popularity and responsibility that followed the success of the film were too much to handle. The audience, especially the younger lot, now expects a lot more from me,” explains Abhay. In spite of all the success, how come then, Abhay still isn’t part of big budget productions? Doesn’t he believe in them? “There are big budget films and there are small budget films. The industry needs them both. With big budget movies the risk factor is greater. Plus, you can’t always please everyone with the kind of cinema you do. I did Dev D for the youngsters, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! for a universal audience and now my latest film, again is for everyone. The day I like a script from a big budget production I will certainly accept it.”
For someone who comes from the Deol family — Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby — known for their macho image, was it difficult for him to convince people that he will not go the dishoom-dishoom way? “People have always been pre-judgmental about me. When I first came into the industry, everyone expected me to do the Deol kind of action-packed films. That made it very difficult for me, but I tried to fit in. When my first film released, everyone was shocked. That’s when I decided that I’m going to shock them all the more. Manorama Six Feet Under finally helped me break away from the mindset people had about me. Ever since I’ve been shocking everyone,” laughs the Deol lad.
So what is the reaction of his immediate family to the kind of films he does? “Not many people know this, but my cousins (Sunny and Bobby) love doing different films. I feel sorry that people have almost always typecast them. It’s very easy to get typecast in this industry. It’s like sounding the death sentence to an actor. Arrey, I’m not the only one who loves the kind of cinema I do. Sunny bhaiyya and Bobby, too can surprise many. It’s the producers’ loss that they don’t approach them for such roles,” rues Abhay.
And with Robert De Niro’s company deciding to distribute the actor’s latest flick, Abhay feels convinced of the choices he has made. “Can an actor ask for anything better than that?” he asks. “I feel overwhelmed that Robert De Niro loved my film and has decided to distribute it at the film festival. It’s a first in Bollywood. And I’m on top of the world,” he says before signing off.
No comments:
Post a Comment