Abhay Deol on cover of The Man

Like the dark, dry humour he loves, Read More">in an eerie way Abhay wasn’t watching his career burn as he laughed along. Instead he was watching the beginning of the death of the cliché. “The film industry here is a business. It’s insecure and it doesn’t guarantee you 9-5 returns. I wanted to start out withRead More

Like the dark, dry humour he loves, in an eerie way Abhay wasn't watching his career burn as he laughed along. Instead he was watching the beginning of the death of the cliché. "The film industry here is a business. It's insecure and it doesn't 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 didn't want to sell myself just for the sake of it." For Abhay, the creative aspect is the focus. While he hasn't found the perfect formulae to marry that into box office he isn't 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. I'm not the generation that will reap the benefits of this change but it's worth it. Hopefully I'll be recognised as being part of this change."

While his critical acclaim grew with Oye Lucky and later with the cult classic, Road, Movie, Abhay's 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 he's here to have fun first.

Despite bagging a role beside Josh Hartnett and Bipasha Basu in Roland Joffe's 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. He's honest that he loves the work and even more so when he says that he can't bring it home just as much as he used to in the past. "I've been acting and it's been hectic jumping from one project to another so much so that I've 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. I've not stopped because I was bored. I was very happy doing the work but because it's 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 can't do that kind of stuff here." He's referring to the Aaron Ekhart's recent non-commercial flick, Towelhead, here.

Courtesy - The Man

It’s noon at the sprawling Deol estate in Juhu, Mumbai. Pictures of their scion, Dharmendra give you sharp looks from the walls around. Abhay Deol is usually never late, his manager and the family’s manager for over 30 years, informs me. Yeah, I know. Our last two meetings, Read More">the latter of which was probably oneRead More

It's noon at the sprawling Deol estate in Juhu, Mumbai. Pictures of their scion, Dharmendra give you sharp looks from the walls around. Abhay Deol is usually never late, his manager and the family's manager for over 30 years, informs me. Yeah, I know. Our last two meetings, the latter of which was probably one of the wildest shoots I've ever seen in progress, were as clockwork and precise as a Swiss watch. It's also rather strange that the Deol oddball isn't at family lunch in the dining room outside - Abhay rarely misses a family meal despite moving out of the large joint family estate and living on his own. As I converse with an age-ing stuntman and one of Dharmendra's closest aides, Abhay hurries in. He's been busy trying to re-schedule a Krav Maga lesson and other commitments just to make this interview. In a t-shirt and pair of jeans with a bag slung across his shoulder, he's an everyman - someone who doesn't afflict you with whiplash as he passes by despite his tall, lean structure and features uncannily akin to younger version of his uncle, Dharmendra. In short he's the opposite of what a Deol is commonly perceived as. The youngest of the Deol men, he's not a beefy, brawny action star or a love-struck Romeo. He's just another guy - a disarming tactic he's perfected over the years. After courteously greeting his manager and his uncle's friend and a few quick apologies, Abhay guides me into a less daunt-ing living room sans the award figurines and portraits of his family.

As lunch wraps up at the Deol household and his cousin Bobby heads out, Abhay lounges back in a chair and dumps the bag on another. Looking around, this rather opulent setting is quite the opposite of his indie avatar. It's also quite strange that he's moved out of this castle. "I've been living on my own since I was 18. So I've been quite independent for a while now." Having studied in LA and spent a year in New York on his own, the Deols have stopped being overprotective and have let go of their youngest 'brother.' "It would be a waste of their time and energy," Abhay adds. With a hands-on approach to everything, he even did his own apartments in New York and Mumbai - something he kicks himself for- because of the work involved- albeit with a proud smile.

Courtesy - The Man

Abhay is swigging what looks like a combo of cold coffee and a protein shake. Oddly close to his family, he refers to his uncle, Dharmendra, Read More">as Dad and his father Ajit as Uncle. “I grew up with two sets of parents – my biological ones and my uncle and aunt. My grandmother set theRead More

Abhay is swigging what looks like a combo of cold coffee and a protein shake. Oddly close to his family, he refers to his uncle, Dharmendra, as Dad and his father Ajit as Uncle. "I grew up with two sets of parents - my biological ones and my uncle and aunt. My grandmother set the rule that everyone would call my uncle and aunt, dad and mom. My cousins were my brothers and sisters and that just brought the family closer. I think that's why today, I can accept a complete outsider as family because my own family made me take in my uncle and aunt as my real parents. It was a nice thing." A traditionally conservative family, Abhay is probably the first Deol since Dharmendra to be doing his own thing. Money was never a prerogative and fitting in was thrown out of the window. Living on his own, away from the family, allegedly with his lady love Preeti Desai, a super model, from the UK, Abhay is the definition of cosmopolitan. While he is politically correct, he's also ready to occasionally let his guard down unlike most of Bollywood - this while taking five from saving cinema and resurrecting real. For a boy who grew up loving Daryl Hannah and Michelle Pfeifer, he's a bit of a paradox when he says that he isn't interested in ideals. Pensively looking at the garden outside he grins mischievously as he decides on how best to put it, "Flaws are good. Without flaws life would be boring." He'd know best, considering he's far from being any one's ideal man. Honesty is probably the only thing he cherishes more than anything else - a trait I noticed on the shoot as he glanced across the star studded wall at Rakesh Shrestha's studio and made some rather undiplomatic comments about certain stars and their affinity towards plastic surgery. Their sharp stares and half-opened mouths suddenly seemed to have more reason than they ever did.

Courtesy - The Man

Abhay’s current muse is real estate- his flavour of the week. With three architectural plans – a house from scratch, renovating an Old Portuguese property and an Earthship – set to go on the floor later this year, Read More">he’s a busy man. “I’m planning on building an Earthship – that’s biotecture more than architecture. MikeRead More

Abhay's current muse is real estate- his flavour of the week. With three architectural plans - a house from scratch, renovating an Old Portuguese property and an Earthship - set to go on the floor later this year, he's a busy man. "I'm planning on building an Earthship - that's biotecture more than architecture. Mike Reynolds is the architect that pioneered this type of architecture, which involves the creative use of eco-friendly and recycled materials to build attractive homes. He's not my architect, though, contrary to all the reports. After finishing my film projects, maybe I'll take a whole year off and complete these projects."

Defining himself as an "explorer", Abhay is constantly seeking the answer to who he really is. "We can't really know who we really are. No one knows for sure." Very similar to his characters except for the fact that life doesn't pan out in 90 minutes with a surprise climax that ends in self discovery. "None of the characters I've played are 100 per cent me. They can't be. I've got my head screwed on to my shoulders. I don't indulge in drugs and alcohol - well, at least not anymore. I'm not arrogant, not a chauvinist and not as ambitious in real life. I don't chase anything." Satyaveer Singh from Manorama Six Feet Under was probably the character closest to who he really is - someone who wants to do something for himself. Self-aware, Abhay knows how the world perceives him - a dope fiend, a rebel, mostly without a cause - "Thanks Dev D!" On the other hand, he knows his biggest advantage - the fact that they see him as a normal guy. "People aren't star struck around me and talk to me like they've known me forever. Yet they respect my work. I'm just a regular guy who happens to be an actor. These people are my biggest fans."

Courtesy - The Man

With the values instilled in him by his family, Abhay set out into the world of acting after two years of theatre in LA. Stardom was overrated – having fun, though, wasn’t. Unlike his cousins Sunny and Bobby, Dharmendra, didn’t launch his nephew in an action flick. Instead, Read More">Abhay entered movies without much fanfare inRead More

With the values instilled in him by his family, Abhay set out into the world of acting after two years of theatre in LA. Stardom was overrated - having fun, though, wasn't. Unlike his cousins Sunny and Bobby, Dharmendra, didn't launch his nephew in an action flick. Instead, Abhay entered movies without much fanfare in the understated Imtiaz Ali flick, Socha Na Tha - a decision that would redefine the Deols. Abhay, now, didn't need to fit in. He never championed the cause of the staid and the ones who fitted in, anyhow. With his stereotypical looks it was rather odd that he never got cast in a slew of romantic flicks after his debut. Instead as a super hero husband in Honeymoon Travels to a self-proclaimed author/detective in a sleepy town in Manorama, Abhay was the Bollywood equivalent of Emperor Nero - strumming his fiddle as his movies tanked at the box office one at a time. "I was interested in anything that was non-formula. I had to see where that went because there weren't too many takers. When my first few films didn't do well, there were even fewer takers. Instead of chasing after the production houses that mattered and doing the kind of movies that are supposed to take you places, I did movies that I connected to. Even if I don't make money or become a huge star, I'm happy if I get a steady source of films. I'm not here to fit in. I'm here to have fun. Not fitting in was a great experience. Having failure in the beginning of my career was good."

Courtesy - The Man