Abhay Deol on cover of The Man : Bollywood News

Like the dark, dry humour he loves, in an eerie way Abhay wasnt watching his career burn as he laughed along. Instead he was watching the beginning of the death of the clichÃ©. The film industry here is a business. Its insecure and it doesnt guarantee you 9-5 returns. I wanted to start out with small numbers and build a solid fan base that will always stick by me. I didnt want to sell myself just for the sake of it. For Abhay, the creative aspect is the focus. While he hasnt found the perfect formulae to marry that into box office he isnt far off the mark either with sleeper hits like Dev D. Sometimes I do feel like I am on the forefront or the frontline of change. Im not the generation that will reap the benefits of this change but its worth it. Hopefully Ill be recognised as being part of this change.

While his critical acclaim grew with Oye Lucky and later with the cult classic, Road, Movie, Abhays contemporaries and well-wishers begged him not to shy away from the song and dance. Probably a shout out at his well wishers albeit mockingly so, in his trademark style, Abhay is all set to do an item number in Tera Kya Hoga Johnny. He affirms to his principle that hes here to have fun first.

Despite bagging a role beside Josh Hartnett and Bipasha Basu in Roland Joffes Singularity, and in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara featuring Hrithik Roshan and Katrina Kaif, both set to release later this year, Abhay is candid and honest about his dwindling love for cinema. Hes honest that he loves the work and even more so when he says that he cant bring it home just as much as he used to in the past. Ive been acting and its been hectic jumping from one project to another so much so that Ive lost a lot of that interest. So I hardly watch cinema or talk about it as much as I did when I started out. In the beginning it was all about movies. Ive not stopped because I was bored. I was very happy doing the work but because its my work, I suppose the last thing I wanted to do was talk about movies or watch movies. Also the kind of stuff I watch tends to be edgy and pushes the envelope. That frustrates me because I see it and wonder why I cant do that kind of stuff here. Hes referring to the Aaron Ekharts recent non-commercial flick, Towelhead, here.

Courtesy - The Man