What am I adding to this industry if I only follow others?

By default or by design?
I just chose to do what I wanted to do. I think in this industry its a little hard to keep your individuality. Having stuck to that,I think I am different by default.

In that sense,it is also by design because your default personality was a Deol.
Laughs Theres a design to it. I was very sure I wanted to do things I was comfortable doing. Plus,work more on originality as opposed to following trends.

So,it started with a romantic movie. Even that was a bit unlike your cousins Sunny and Bobby Deol and your favourite uncle Dharmendra.
Yes,Socha Na Tha,a romantic comedy. I thought that was a good way to start. When you want to enter the industry,you conform in some ways. And romantic comedies are not that hard to sell. It had the songs and its supposed to make you feel good. My brother produced that film.

You say,my brother,and not my cousin.
Yes,because we are a joint family and I even call my uncle,dad.

And if you call him uncle or tayaji?
Hell slap me. In fact,if he sees an interview and hears me say that,hell get really upset.

How influenced were you by your uncle or dad or your brothers?
A lot. I grew up in this industry. Ive seen fame up close. Ive tried to learn from their experiences. Obviously,you only learn from your own. If I look at dads earlier work Bandini,Satyakam,Chupke Chupke,Jeevan Mrityu and then his later work,I realise that when something works,the industry doesnt want you to do anything else. They just typecast and milk you. That happened with my brothers too. And so,Ive learnt to put my foot down and not get swayed by big offers and big money. Rather,go with my instinct.

Even romantic films or romantic interludes in the films youve done are not the usual running around trees or dancing..
Yes,I have this thing,I dont want to do song and dance. And Ive had fights on this. What happened was that you just dont have a choice. Thats what I was against. If I want to do song and dance,I will and I would like to but I dont want to do it in every film. Where is the novelty then? It just takes the fun out of work for me.

And there is Shah Rukh Khan anyway..
There are enough good dancers out there. Theres Hrithik,theres Shahid…all these guys are really great. I dont want to do what they are doing because then I would just be one among many. What am I adding to this industry if I were just to follow?

Can you dance?
Well,a little bit laughs. But I am always complaining whenever I have to.

I am not an avid movie watcher but Ive seen a lot of yours. I just took to them and I am struck by how easily you become the character you are playing instead of being Abhay Deol. Have you worked on it?
Every character is different and you do have to work on it. The fun is in putting yourself in that place and exploring how that person would be. I try to keep things subtle as much as I can. In Manorama Six Feet Under,the characters not a hero,hes not dynamic,hes just a regular guy. In Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!,hes someone whos very likeable,affable. He is very ambitious. So,he wants the easy route,the short cut. So,he takes to stealing because he has a talent for it.

In Manorama Six Feet Under,I think its a rare Indian hero whos never in control of the situation. You are not a loser in the end,you are a loser right through. Didnt that worry you?
Well,hes not a loser in the sense that he perseveres,hes persistent and hes doing this to prove it to himself,not to the world,that he has some substance. That makes him a hero. And so,hes not a loser entirely. If you call him a loser,then we all are losers because hes supposed to be your regular guy.

But in how many films do you see the regular guy?
Well,thats a sad thing. We are always larger than life because we come from this mentality that since we are a very poor nation,we need an escapist cinema to take us out of our miseries. And thats where Bollywood comes from.

You do call it escapist.
Yes,a film is escapist. Theres nothing wrong in that. Its only wrong when everything is about escapism and nothing else. For me,cinema is also about insight and exploring.

Some actors become the characters they play. But there are others,the moment they appear,you know,hes the character. Are you deliberately modelling yourself on the other side? Many people remember you from Oye Lucky… as Lucky. When they see pictures of the real thief Bunty,they wonder if he looks like you.
Thats a big compliment. The effort is to get into the skin of the character. When fame reaches a certain level,it is hard to separate the actor from the personality. Especially,here where you see actors not just in films,but also endorsing products. Abroad,people tend to keep themselves away as much as they can. They are in the limelight when their movies are releasing and when they are not,they take a backseat. Because you dont want to show too much of yourself to the audience,you want to hold back a little,so that you can breathe,you can be on your own,you can have some privacy and you can prepare on your next character.

And bring variety to their work. You have not repeated a type yet.
Thats also the effort. If something works for you,they want to repeat it. So,he worked in a romantic film,now just make a romantic film with him. My effort has been,no,dont give me a romantic film,I just did one. You have something else,please show it to me.

How tough is it to be different?
Here,it is very tough because people dont want to explore. Its only a numbers game. No one really knows what different really is. Its only about X actor,Y actress,XY budget,make it for so much,sell it for so much. Stories have almost become incidental.

But is being different also more fun?
Its really good fun. I didnt plan to be different. I wanted to focus on my work and explore different types of movies and characters. Now,because very few people here do that,I guess I am lucky to have found myself in this position. Its not like I am the only one,there are enough people out there. Theres enough talent in this industry. But I see most of the good talent struggling.

Give some illustrations.
Well,enough friends of mine who are budding directors. For example,Navdeep Singh who did Manorama. It was a struggle making that movie. No one really wants to make it. I dont think Dev.D was something that UTV expected to do so well. It was a pleasant surprise for them. Anurag Kashyap struggled for years before he got any film out. Dibakar Banerjee,same story. UTV picked his first story,Khosla ka Ghosla,but even that did not get a release for the longest time.

You are different in personal life as well. Which Indian film star goes away to America for a nine-month-break to learn welding?
Yes. But that was because I had been working for a year and a half. I needed to get away from it. I needed anonymity and space. I chose New York because I have family and friends there.

What kind of a star needs anonymity?
Laughs. I think a lot of us do. I dont think of myself as a star. At the end of the day,we are normal flesh-and-blood people.

Nobody told you that you are on the up and shouldnt lose time like that?
I think by now theyve stopped telling me anything because Ive consistently done whatever Ive wanted to do.

What other characters do we see you becoming now?
I am opening my own production house. There are big plans for that. And Ive signed a romantic comedy called Ayesha with Sonam Kapoor.

But you are not dancing around trees?
There is one dance sequence but its in a club,a nice swing-salsa. Something nicely choreographed,not with 10 dancers in the background.

You draw cartoons,I believe.
I used to do storyboards for ads. But I dont do that anymore now. Now,the focus is on acting and my production house.

And what other films are you doing?
For my production house,Ive got two films confirmed. Ive got a studio backing me,which should make the announcement soon. In one,the producer is not from here. I wont be acting in it,I will be kind of an EP executive producer. In the other,I will be acting in and producing it as well. And then,I am looking at other scripts.

Look back on your familys legacy and tell us something about your favourite films. More your uncles because thats more my generation
As a kid,one film of his I watched over and over again was Chupke Chupke. I really loved Sholay as well but Chupke Chupke I remember seeing more times. Bandini and Satyakam were films which,as I grew older,I began to appreciate.

Is your uncle a storyteller?
He is,yes. He is a really wonderful,simple guy. He is very earthy and thats what I like about him.

What kind of stories does he tell you about his past,the 60s, 70s?
Stories about how he came to Bombay,his struggling days,how he slept even on the train station.

Has somebody remarked on you being a different Deol,that you are a defector,an oddball?
I guess they say that you are different but you look so much like your uncle. Except that you are very thin.

Do you think Indian audiences are willing to accept different actors?
Yes. Its very funny how so many films are sold according to the actors that are in them. I think its time the producers started to say,look,I am a producer and I have my own brand. I can raise the stakes,Ill market and distribute the film in such a way that everybody is aware of the fact that this film is coming out. As long as I have a good product,it does not have to be conformist.

The problem in Indian cinema is that no star wants to ever not be that star. So,whatever role you play,you want to be the star . This is something people feel insecure about.
The fun is about being somebody you are not. I am not saying I dont have any insecurities. You cant step into this field as an actor without your insecurities.

Tell us about your insecurities.
Well,I do have my insecurities. I do question myself. Will I work? Will I not? Should I look a certain way? Should I conform? I always think about that. Should I actually learn to dance really well? Am I becoming too cocky? Am I becoming someone whos trying too hard to be different?

Am I breaking too many rules?
Yeah,should I work at some places with someone so that people in the industry feel that he does listen,he is not some wild child. So,I do question all that. I dont want to become somebody whos arrogant. I dont want to become somebody who feels,Oh,I am different,I dont need to follow this. I dont want that to seep into me. So,I keep myself in check.

I think you are doing all the right things. Youve achieved stardom while trying very hard not to be a star. And whats working for you is that you are an original. So,keep it that way,Abhay Deol. Wonderful chatting with you.
Thanks.

_Transcript prepared by Irena Akbar. For complete text log on to https://indianexpress.com