As Abhay Deol navigates the larger-than-life terrain of Hollywood, he is glad that the industry over there is working hard to finally get to a point where they are writing and casting characters that accurately reflect the rest of the world. “I’m glad it is finally happening. There needs to be right representation in Hollywood as it has been lacking for a long time,” shares Deol, who has embarked upon a journey in the West with his latest film, Spin.

For the actor, getting the representation right is crucial since several youngsters look up to the entertainment medium to identify and understand their own culture as part of growing up.

“Kids, who look like us — whether from the Indian-American or the Latin-American or Asian communities, they need to see themselves represented the way they are, so that kids who grow up in that country feel like they belong,” shares the 45-year-old.

He reveals that Asian-Americans are happy to see someone like them on screen, and that is important. “I’ve been getting (positive) feedback after Spin, in which I play the role of father to a teenage daughter in an Indian-American set-up,” the actor shares.

Explaining his earlier point further, the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) actor says, “It gives them a sense of belonging. Because a lot of kids who are from an ethnic community outside of the USA, and who were born and raised in the US, try and find where they belong by visiting countries where their parents come from [only to] realise that they don’t fit there. And they feel like they don’t belong in America either.” That leaves them in the lurch, and that’s why becoming inclusive should be the way forward, and is a big deal, feels Deol.

However, he doesn’t mean that ethnicity in the plotline should be forced to make a point as “making a statement without making it about ethnic identity is important”.