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I’ve stayed clear of regular Bollywood, says
Abhay Deol in a chat with Saibal Chatterjee Bollywood’s latest rising star Abhay Deol, who steadily carved a niche for himself with offbeat cinema, seems to be reaping the benefits of "consciously staying clear of regular Bollywood movies".
"I have consciously stayed clear of regular Bollywood movies but that doesn’t mean that the eight films that I have done to date are similar. All the directors I have worked with so far have their own style and vision," Abhay said in an interview in Toronto a day ahead of the world premiere of Road, Movie. Road, Movie, which was the first Indian film to be picked up by leading global sales agent Fortissimo Films for its distribution rights at the Cannes Film festival this year, revolves around Abhay’s character, a truck driver who undertakes a life-changing journey. The 33-year-old actor revealed that writer-director Benegal zeroed in on him after watching his performance in Navdeep Singh’s Manorama Six Feet Under. "That was the film that convinced everybody that I could handle mature, complex characters," said the actor who began his acting career with Imtiaz Ali’s directorial debut, Socha Na Tha in 2005. "I read the script of Road, Movie and instantly related to the graph of the character of Vishnu. Although the film’s coming-of-age drama unfolds mostly in the mind, I could see clearly where the character was going," Abhay said. Talking about his experience at being two of the major international festivals the actor said, "The Toronto film festival has a huge buzz about it. I am really excited to be here. But Venice was just as great. Venice has its own character and the line-up of films out there was truly outstanding." The actor, who will be next seen in Rajshree Ojha’s, Ayesha starring Sonam Kapoor, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Emma, was recently dogged by rumours that he will be donning the director’s cap soon. However, Abhay cleared the air insisting that he wasn’t interested in giving film direction a shot. "I don’t want to get behind the camera. I prefer being in front of it. The writing bug bit me because I wasn’t sure early on in my career that there would be enough roles going in Mumbai for an actor like me, given the kind films that are made here," he added. On his chemistry with his directors the actor said, "I have never had differences with my directors because I choose a film and a role after much thought. Once I am signed on, it is teamwork all the way for me. Sometimes I go by the director’s gut feeling, sometimes the director allows me to have my way." Dev D, which was based on a concept and treatment developed by the actor himself, was a different ballgame altogether, Abhay averred. "I knew exactly
what I wanted that character to be. Anurag and I have been friends for
years and our tuning is fantastic. He did not try to direct me too
much," he said. — PTI
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With
two back-to-back major film festival appearances in Venice with Anurag
Kashyap’s Dev D earlier this month and now in Toronto with
Dev Benegal’s Road, Movie the young actor is well on course
to emerging as one of Indian cinema’s better-known global faces.