One of the “unconventional” actors in Bollywood, Abhay Deol admits his career choices haven’t been what many would call “mainstream”. Set to be seen next in the sports drama ‘Jungle Cry’, Abhay spoke about the movie, his career choices, and why he thinks of himself as a misfit in Bollywood in a recent interview. When asked what makes ‘Jungle Cry’ different, the actor said, “First of all the sport! It’s rugby. Who plays rugby in India? Clearly a niche sport. Secondly, it’s a true story. They did go from India to the UK.”
He adds that the film is also an effort to right the wrongs as not much was said and written about the feat when it took place. “I think one of the most interesting things is that they won the World Cup at the same time that India won the Cricket World Cup (the 2007 World T20). Of course, these are under-14 tribal kids so obviously it wasn’t going to get the same publicity as cricket. But they achieved so much that if we hadn’t won the Cricket World Cup, I’m sure it would have gotten a mention at least. I think that was something that should have been highlighted then. But it’s ok. We can right the wrongs and it’s been highlighted now,” he says.
Abhay said the “nicheness” of the subject was not a deal-breaker for him in any way. Abhay said, “I have my share of apprehensions but it’s never on something whether it’s mainstream or not. If you have seen my work, that’s never been a criterion for me.” He said he has delivered commercial hits throughout his career and yet, has been bracketed as an off-beat actor. He said, “It’s a marketing thing. All actors have PR machinery. I did not back then and I still don’t. It’s become more and more part of the job profile to have media behind you and to market you - to have a PR team so that they can highlight. It’s like you have to scream your achievements out to people and I’ve always been shy of that. I understand that now. Back in the day, I just felt it was vulgar to do so. But now, with time I have realized you need to announce yourself. You have to remind people and keep yourself in the news. People may say that’s beneath the person but it’s the market.”
“Everything comes with its pros and cons. Where I come from, I know I have been gaslit for who I am. You call in a lot of aggression to you because you’re doing something and managing to get away with that. And a lot of people want to be able to do that and they can’t. So they project on you. Sometimes, that ignorance can come across as arrogance and I know it has a few times. When you wear your heart on your sleeve, you get manipulated and taken advantage of. I have had a director slag me in public and spread lies about me. That comes with the territory. You have to be prepared because it’s not always blissful,” said Abhay.
‘Jungle Cry’ releases on Lionsgate Play on June 3.
