Abhay Deol says he hated fame, opens up about living like his character in DevD: ‘I drank everyday’

When Abhay Deol first made a mark in the Hindi film industry, he was the actor to watch out for. With films like Dev.D, Manorama Six Feet Under, Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, Abhay was making all the right choices. But for the actor, it was never his motive in life to be famous. In fact, he hated fame and the media. Now, in an interaction, the actor opened up about the same.

Abhay, who is currently promoting his Netflix series Trial By Fire, said that he saw what fame could do to an individual and their family members as his uncle Dharmendra was a huge Bollywood star in the 1970s and 1980s. Even his father worked in the movie business. “I saw fame up close as a child. I didn’t like it because your privacy goes away. A lot is written about you. I used to literally hate fame and the media,’ he told Mashable India. The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor said that he was often questioned at school about the gossip that was written about his family.

Abhay Deol also recalled that another by-product of fame came in the form of those who were just around their family just so they could benefit themselves. “Mujhe malum tha ki yeh fayda uthane ke liye aaye hain (I knew they are just around to take advantage),” he said. Abhay added he was “ready to defend” himself when he entered the industry. “I was guarded,” he said.

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The actor said that he knew he would be immensely popular after Anurag Kashyap’s Dev.D and at the peak of his career, he went to New York. The Raanjhana actor said that he wasn’t out of Dev’s mental space. “I wasn’t out of Dev’s headspace for a year. I did what Dev did in the movie. I drank everyday like a fool,” he said.

Abhay Deol stars alongside Rajshri Deshpande in Trial by Fire. The show is currently streaming on Netflix.