Actor returns after a two-year hiatus with new genres, international collaborations and a Tamil film in which he plays King Vikramaditya
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; March 30, 2018)

In the past, every time you’ve disappeared from the screen, you have come back having honed your talent or learnt a new skill. So, what have you been up to in the two years since Happy Bhaag Jayegi?
This time my energies were focused essentially on work. Acting, producing, developing scripts and setting up a distribution space take time. Just finishing five–six movies took about a year. Now, Nanu Ki Jaanu is up for release, The Field is into post production and almost complete and JL-50 has just around six days of work left.

You’re returning after a two-year hiatus with a horror-comedy?
It was a bit of a challenge because the two genres don’t mix since you can’t laugh and be scared at the same time. But at the end of the day, it’s a pure entertainer, an extremely funny and family-friendly film which is sure to connect with a large audience. For me, it was an enjoyable and inclusive process because it reunited me with Manu Rishi Chadha who is a really talented actor-writer and the director, Faraz Haider, was the first AD on my 2008 National Award-wining black comedy, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! He was the guy in the paan-beedi shop in the last scene who tells me I look familiar and I respond saying, “TV par dekha hoga.”

Have you ever had a supernatural encounter?
Never, but I live my life knowing there are things I don’t know of and that leaves me open to every possibility. There are those who claim to have seen ghosts. Who am I to say if they are lying or are delusional? Maybe some are, maybe some aren’t.

We have been reading that you’re in the Happy sequel but unsure whether it’s an extended cameo or a full-fledged role?
I’m equally confused because I’ve been reading this too but the makers haven’t been in touch with me so I know as much as you do. If they came to me, I’d be happy to be a part of it. I like director Mudassar’s (Aziz) work and Aanand (producer Aanand L Rai) is a friend and a fab director. I’m doing a cameo in his Zero. I didn’t have too many days of shoot but it was nice working with Shah Rukh (Khan), a thorough professional, and Katrina (Kaif) whom I’ve known since the Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara days.

Every time we meet Aanand, he says he needs to give you a full-fledged role that will do complete justice to your talent. When is that happening?
Ask Aanand. After hearing him say this for two years, I’ve told him to stop else I won’t take him seriously. That upset him a bit but I assured him that I will always love him with or without a great role.

Playing a CBI officer in a sci-fi, another unexplored genre for Hindi cinema, must be interesting?
JL-50 is not a big-budget, superhero- with-weapons-drawn drama but a hi-content sci-fi. The makers are Indian by birth but settled in Canada. You don’t get to be a part of too many films that originate in one country but are shot in another country in another language. The makers of this one speak Hindi and understand our culture but, as Canadians, they can make movies we Indians can’t and get a lot of support in terms of subsidies, distribution network and suchlike.

The Field is also an international production…
That’s a bi-lingual American production, 70 percent Hindi and 30 percent English, on Indian issues, and filmed in India.

How different was it shooting for American, Canadian and Indian productions?
No real difference because actors and filmmakers across the world are similar as they are dealing with similar issues and working in the same space towards the same goal. Different cultures but professionally alike.

And how different was it working in a Tamil film, Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kadhai (IVSK) after playing a Tam-Brahm in Dibakar Banerjee’s Shanghai?
I repeat, filmmakers are filmmakers across the border, only their style, approach to work and the kind of movies they want to make differ. IVSK is an action-adventure, graphic novelesque pulp fiction that debutant director Rathindran Prasad has written himself. It’s wonderful to be a part of someone’s passion project and bring his vision to the screen. Yes, I had to speak Tamil — ancient Tamil — but Rati would laugh, that for me any Tamil was Greek and Latin.

Was playing King Vikramaditya a departure from your cool onscreen yuppies?
I know, often when you’re dealing with an ancient scenario, the writing is over-the-top but this one is very contemporary in its treatment so I didn’t have to deliver my lines dramatically. This film was in my space and I could play it real.

For someone who knows the craft so well, why don’t you dabble in writing and direction?
After Dev D, I am developing another script but I’m not sure if I will direct it. Just because I understand the craft, can act and am involved in other aspects of filmmaking doesn’t mean that I can direct too. I must feel the desire to do so. It all comes down to, ‘Is there a story to tell?’ If there is, I’ll jump into it. For now, I’m happy acquiring films and documentaries and trying to create an audience for them. When I was making Dev D, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! multiplexes were mushrooming and suddenly there was space for other cinema. But then the expansion stopped and in an industry which is more oriented towards business rather than creativity, I felt the lack of support and space, and with the advent of digital platforms, decided to encourage talented makers to take chances.

When do you start distributing mainstream films?
That’s too big a space for me. There are far too many people there already. As an actor, I do mainstream and indie films already. (Smiles) You should know your aces and weaknesses.

Indians love playing the matchmaker and there are many out there wondering about your shaadi…
(Laughs) Maybe not in real life but you will see me in a lot of shaadi-type movies. Three such scripts have come my way already. As long as I’m not married, I guess I’ll continue to get such ‘Will he? Won’t he?’ projects.

As told to Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 16, 2017)

Abhay Deol on Bollywood’s affinity for slapstick, the supernatural love story he has signed on, and why the term ‘smaller films’ is offensive
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; September 23, 2017)

You’ve described Faraz Haider’s Nanu Ki Jaanu, which you just started shooting for, as a dark comedy. Given how selective you are, what got the nod from you?
Nanu Ki Jaanu is a supernatural love story as well as a dark comedy. Dark comedy is rare in Bollywood because for too long, we have been fed a formula of slapstick and stereotypes. I enjoy them because it’s one of the toughest things to bring humour into a dramatic situation. I enjoy walking on the edge.

Any favourites in the genre?
There are many directors I admire who work primarily in this genre— Stanley Kubrick, Terry Gilliam, Coen Bros and Tim Burton to name a few.

You are working with Patralekhaa for the first time. Have you seen any of her earlier films, including Citylights and Love Games?
I haven’t seen either of them, but I am looking forward to work with her. She has a great look and has received a lot of critical acclaim for her performances. We haven’t shot together yet, but I’m eagerly waiting for our first day together. We will be shooting the film in Noida and Delhi. It will be completed by the end of October.

What’s happening with Shailender Vyas’ JL-50 and Rohit Batra’s The Field?
Both are in post-production at the moment. What’s interesting about these two films is that while one is a Canadian production and the other American, they are both in Hindi. The Field is partly in English as it also has international actors. JL-50 is a sci-fi film, while The Field is a drama, but neither conform to the Bollywood formula. I guess that’s because they have been made by those outside the Indian film industry.

What was the experience of shooting The Field like?
Every film goes into your memory bank, some memories are good and some are bad. The Field is a good memory. It has an ensemble cast drawn from different parts of the world and some very talented actors. The director was inspired by Brian De Palma and that approach in our cinema has turned out to be unique.

Will you be seen in the sequel to Mudassar Aziz’s romcom Happy Bhag Jayegi, titled Happy Phirr Bhag Jayegi, which opened last year? Producer Aanand L Rai has announced that he will be taking the franchise forward.
Your guess is as good as mine! I’ve read reports of me doing a cameo in it, but the makers have not told me anything yet. But it’s Aanand Rai and Mudassar and for them, I’d be happy to do it if they ask.

Have you seen Aanand L Rai’s recently released Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhoomi Pednekar starrer Shubh Mangal Savdhan, which focuses on the problem of erectile dysfunction? Would you be open to doing a sex comedy like that?
I would do a sex comedy if I liked the script. Honestly, I’m happy doing all genres, my next four films are all from different genres. I’m having fun going from one set to another, from one approach to another. Variety is the spice of life.

Any recent films you have watched and enjoyed?
I haven’t had the time to watch anything in the last six months. The last film I saw was Lion, which I thoroughly enjoyed, particularly Dev Patel’s work.

What’s been keeping you busy?
My Tamil film IVSK (Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kathai), which I have produced and done a cameo in is in post-production. IVSK is the second film I have produced after One By Two and I have enjoyed the experience both times. I don’t have any plans to direct yet, but I’m busy reading scripts and getting distribution for non-formula films on the OTT platforms.

This year, a number of small, off-beat films like Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Bareilly Ki Barfi, Hindi Medium and Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya have fared well at the boxoffice. Must be heart-warming for you since you have always promoted smaller films?
I don’t promote “smaller films”. The industry and the media label them “small” because they define “big” and “small” according to the budget. Most of those films have been much bigger than most formula films in their ambition and ideas. This year has shown us “big” films with a “small” vision, and “small” films that have been “big” on vision.

Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 9, 2017)

Abhay Deol is venturing into the South industry with the Tamil film Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kathai. “I am one of the producers on the project now. It started out as just a cameo. I had met Rathindran, the director, many years ago when he was working on a different script. We got in touch again only recently via Greg Burridge, the film’s stunt director, who also has a part in it. Everything came together organically. Now, it’s four days to wrap-up,” Abhay tells Mirror.

The actor-filmmaker has delivered his own lines in Tamil. “I learnt the language by focusing on the words I had to say. I broke down the verbs, learnt the meanings, stressed on the subject in a sentence and didn’t improvise. It took a lot of focus. I speak ancient Tamil in the film but the joke on set was that it wouldn’t matter as both new and old Tamil seem the same to me,” Abhay recounts, adding that his portions were shot outside Hyderabad. “The film is made spaghetti western-style so the locations were scraggy hills and bushes spread out in vast landscapes. It was always a trek to get to the shooting spots. At night, the stars shone bright in the middle of nowhere. I lost a lot of weight as a result of all the trekking but it was fun; the crew was small but hard-working, one person was doing the job of three people. It was truly an experience of working on an independent film.”

Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kathai is a modern take on Vikram and Betaal and the actor says he was intrigued by the script. “Ashwin (Kakumanu) plays a video game designer who develops a game with Vikram and Betaal as the primary characters. Once the game comes to life, so do some of the characters that we know from the famous mythology. The film derives its metaphor from the eternal chase that Vikram and Betaal are locked in. While IVSK isn’t an experimental film, it’s got a style that I can say is unique to Rathindran. That’s why I took the chance and jumped into the project,” he explains.

BOMBAY TIMES (June 2, 2017)