Abhay Deol is currently one of Bollywood’s hottest properties.The actor who has been on a roll since Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D and Dibakar Banerjee’s Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye got those rave reviews, is once again in news courtesy Dev Benegal’s The Road Movie, a film that has taken the international film festival circuit before it comes to Indian shores. As the leading man of the film, Abhay has been jet-hopping from Toronto to Venice, New Delhi to Doha. On a day when he can actually catch his breath for a few minutes, the actor says, “I’ve bought myself a new office in Mumbai.My banner is all set to roll with our first production in the month of January 2010.My director Navdeep Singh and I are just finalising details before we go on set.”He has an achiever.
In the first leg of his journey, the young actor has gone from struggling actor to being the toast of the international film circuit; and in the second leg he has gone from being Bollywood hottie to independent film producer. Yup, in about a year, life has thrown up a myriad of opportunities for this contemporary thinking actor. But there has also been his share of controversy. Reports said he was unhappy with the treatment meted out to him on the sets of Sonam Kapoor’s home production Aisha. It is conjectured that Abhay was cooling his heels on the sets of the film in Delhi because things were haphazard.However Abhay refuses to be drawn into a controversy. Says he, “My producer should be clearing the air on any controversy surrounding Aisha.
As a professional actor I will never talk about what happened on set. I hold Sonam (co-star and part producer) in highest regard. And, there is no ego issue with her.Abhay is also expected to start work with Farhan Akhtar and Ritesh Sidhwani’s banner and he is said to be in talks with producer Krishna Shah for the film on Indira Gandhi. Of course, the actor’s silent on these films too. “My producers will make the announcements as and when they have to,” he says. “All I can say is that I’m exhilarated with the work I’m doing.”
