I was written off as a flop actor: Abhay Deol

He’s been tagged as someone who takes cautious steps, is not on a signing spree and speaks his mind unabashedly. That’s actor Abhay Deol, in short.

“It’s been six years since my debut and I get a lot more support from the industry and audience now, than before. It’s been tough to put my foot down, but because I have been able to do so, people say I’ve carved a niche for myself,” he states.

From his debut in Socha Na Tha to his forthcoming Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Abhay has traversed a less trodden path.

“I was written off as a flop actor and offered stereotypical, comical roles, but I knew I wanted to experiment,” he states, adding, “People thought I was shying away from commercial cinema, but I always wanted to maintain a healthy balance.” It’s this wish to experiment that got him interested in Dev.D.

“Devdas has always been a classic Bollywood subject, but I wanted to make it look different. I saw no point in rehashing formula and we decided to contemporise it,” he recollects. 

Zindagi... sees three friends take a journey and Abhay’s character on his last bachelor trip. Quiz the young actor if he believes that there’s just one life, as the title of his film suggests and he ponders for a moment before answering, “Chances are rare and one doesn’t get them too often. Just grab life and make the most of it.”

In fact, Abhay also had to learn deep-sea diving for the film and has now become a certified deep sea diver. “Films give lots of opportunities — that’s how I also learnt Krav Maga for Basra. It’s no nine to five job and allows one to explore and travel. I don’t understand why people still find the job monotonous?” he questions. Abhay isn’t scared of competition either.

“Only those who are bothered about the number game fear competitors. And even the industry doesn’t seem to nurture individuality. As for me, I don’t see too much of competition on the less trodden path I have chosen for myself,” he signs off.