Abhay Deol: Maintaining stardom is difficult..getting to be a star is also difficult

Abhay Deol is someone who has never shied away from speaking his mind. He has walked on a road less travelled in Hindi cinema; it was never about numbers but about creativity for Deol. Touted as the poster boy of indie cinema, he took a conscious decision to avoid formula Bollywood films and opted for unconventional roles right from his debut Socha Na Tha to films like Manorama Six Feet Under, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye, Dev D, and Shanghai. He has also starred in mainstream projects such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Aisha.

Deol’s most recent projects have been rather low-key. These include the Disney Channel film Spin, the Netflix comedy Chopsticks, and the theatrical release Velle. He also appeared in the Disney+ Hotstar series 1962: The War in the Hills. Deol will next be seen as a rugby coach in the film Jungle Cry, a sports biopic directed by Sagar Ballary. The film is based on the true story of 12 underprivileged and orphan children from Kalinga Institute in Odisha who win the Under-14 Rugby World Cup championship held in the UK in 2007. Jungle Cry releases on Lionsgate Play on 3 June.

Film on an underdog with sport in the backdrop makes for an interesting watch, isn’t it?

I think most sports films are about the underdog story. More than sports it is about an underdog coming out. It is the nature of such movies that makes it so attractive. You can relate to that because everybody has circumstances they need to overcome. With sport you could easily portray that. It is such an obvious entity, it is such an obvious obstacle to overcome. And it makes it more intimidating because it is something that is public, with so much attention being given it becomes even more important to overcome. I love movies like that. What makes Jungle Cry more special… not just because it is a true story, but it is a true story of kids of tribal background. It is a true story of this man Dr Achyuta Samanta who started an institute which houses, feeds and educates tribal kids who possibly would not get education unless they got it free in his institute. It is a story of Paul (Walsh, played by Stewart Wright) and Rudraskh (Jena, played by Deol) the coaches…a lot of work goes into creating talent. These kids need their support and given a chance you see them shine like they won the World Cup Rugby championship in under 14 category and you see the irony that the same year there was a cricket World Cup which they won, and of course, they deserve the attention for winning the World Cup but these kids got no attention whatsoever highlighting the underdog even more so and also the importance that we should open up our lens and take in other achievements, other communities, other diversities that we have in this country and not just cricket. What surprises most people and it is tragic that nobody knew about this victory and I am so glad that we were able to make a film on this.

This is the first time that you are playing a sports coach, what went into prepping for the part? What were some of the reference points in presenting the character?

Well, luckily I didn’t have to play any rugby because I play a coach (laughs). The kids are playing. I had to just stand there like a coach and blow whistle and scream and shout which I didn’t need any training for. Tell me to scream and shout and I will do that (laughs). But yes, I was told to create a character, create a personality and come out with something absolutely new for the film even as my character is based on a real person. It is a combination of fact and fiction. So we came up with this guy who is from Delhi and has moved to a small town. He has dedicated his life training these kids and he is very passionate about what he does.

Like most creative people in the industry, you too must be feeling the blessing that the OTT platform is, considering Jungle Cry is also releasing on one…

Absolutely. To invest in talent that is diverse, to invest in ideas that don’t necessarily conform to the mainstream, to open the field for more competition, OTT is great. Sure, we have to cater to the business but I hope these platforms cater to creativity as well. Market doesn’t respond to that immediately but in the long run they will create their own market. There is a lot of respect that comes with that. It should give inspiration to a lot of filmmakers to be themselves, to bring in their individuality because they will definitely get support from say Lionsgate to lend their voice.

You have been away from Hindi commercial cinema for a long time. What is the struggle like when you constantly run after creativity and not success? Is that difficult?

Look, everybody has some kind of difficulties. Maintaining stardom is difficult; getting to be a star is also difficult. So it is not about that. It is about believing in yourself. When you are playing the star game you find a lot of people to support you in that but when you are not playing a star game there is less support system around you. You are more on your own and that is what sets it apart. But I won’t say this is more difficult than that, both are difficult. But it is harder to have a system that is supportive around you when you are not playing the star game. There is less attention, less infrastructure, less guarantees and you could say that is difficult. It is a less inhabited space. It is a more lonely space. You really have to be secure with who you are. So there are pros and cons. But at least one of the advantages I find is there is more authenticity in this space and there isn’t in the star space. Not that there aren’t people with agendas around you, you get taken advantage of but that happens in both the cases. It is finding your people and your crew and holding on to them.

Does choosing a path that is less travelled but ‘authentic’ give you more satisfaction and mental peace?

It came from a place of growing up in a film family and seeing fame up close as a kid. Being questioned about your family, being written about, teachers speaking to you in a certain way, at times being derogatory, so I didn’t like fame. In fact, I hated fame and I don’t hate it now because hating something is also giving attention to more than it needs. Too much is not a good thing because you can be manipulated, you can be taken advantage of, you can be gas lit and I have experienced all of that. And so the flip side of it is you are ready to do anything to get famous but then you don’t see that this will consume you, at least I saw, at least I was aware of how fame can consume you and I didn’t want to be consumed. There was an advantage in knowing the end which a lot of people don’t, they think that being famous takes care of everything and I will be fine, I am famous, I will deal with my problems but it can give you worse problems. So you do have to find a middle ground somewhere. I feel now I am in a nicer position. Now where I have come there is nothing to sacrifice because I sacrificed everything in the beginning. So, that is one advantage.

Are you dividing time between India and the US? People often wonder where you have disappeared…

I have executive produced two films in the US, one has been released and the other one is in post-production. I acted in a Disney movie. I have family in the US as well so it is like home for me. I was there for work but eventually it became family and community. I come to India, do a project or two, go back…If work happens great, if it doesn’t I still have people and family around me. People feel I have disappeared and that is because of my lifestyle. I stay away, and secondly, I don’t invest in PR and marketing so I am not constantly in the news. Actually a lot of other actors also take space between projects but either they are endorsing something, or they are in news some way or the other, whereas, I don’t invest in all of that. But on an average I am still doing a film or two in a year for the last 16 to 17 years since I entered the industry.

What next?

I have Jungle Cry coming up and then I have another series in post-production that will come out on another platform. I have some projects I am in talks with which will be announced when the time is right.

Lastly, what do you think about the current scenario where South film industry is evidently attracting more footfalls to the theatres than Bollywood?

I think it is amazing. Anybody who puts in the hard work and creativity deserves an audience. It doesn’t matter to me if it is Tamil, Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali ..at the end of the day it is Indian cinema. It is regional, it is multi-lingual…But yes, success of the South films will inspire Hindi filmmakers to do better. People are good, they will get inspired, they will make that effort. It is great. I am very pleased.

Seema Sinha is a Mumbai-based mainstream entertainment journalist who has been covering Bollywood and television industry for over two decades. Her forte is candid tell-all interviews, news reporting and newsbreaks, investigative journalism and more. She believes in dismissing what is gossipy, casual, frivolous and fluff.