Abhay Deol | |
|---|---|
 Deol in 2014 | |
| Born | (1976-03-15)15 March 1976 (age 49)[1] Bombay,Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2005–present |
| Relatives | SeeDeol family |
Abhay Deol (born 15 March 1976) is an Indian actor who is known for his work inHindi films. Born in theDeol family, he made his on-screen debut in 2005 withImtiaz Ali's romantic comedySocha Na Tha. Deol was praised for his performances in the independent filmsManorama Six Feet Under (2007) andOye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008). His breakthrough role came in 2009 with a starring role inAnurag Kashyap's black comedyDev.D, a modern-day adaptation ofDevdas.
Deol had his biggest commercial success inZoya Akhtar's ensemble filmZindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011). His performance was well-received and earned him a nomination forFilmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. Deol later appeared in independent films including the dramaRoad, Movie (2010) and the war filmChakravyuh (2012), while simultaneously working in commercially successful films including the romantic dramaRaanjhanaa (2013), and the romantic comedyHappy Bhag Jayegi (2016). He has since starred in theTamil filmHero (2019) and in theNetflix drama miniseriesTrial By Fire (2023).
Deol is noted for his portrayal of complex characters on screen, and is vocal in his support forparallel cinema in India. Deol owns a production company, Forbidden Films, which he established in 2009. He is an active philanthropist and supports variousNGOs.
Deol was born on 15 March 1976 to Ajit Deol and Usha Deol.[2][3] He is the nephew of actorDharmendra, and the cousin ofSunny Deol,Bobby Deol,Esha Deol and Ahana Deol.[4][5] His father, who passed away in 2015, was Dharmendra's younger brother and an actor-director in bothHindi andPunjabi cinema.[6]
Abhay Deol stated in an interview withRediff that he is into acting not because of his father, but because he was involved in theatre since school. "At 18, I decided to take the plunge. It took me 10 years because I didn't want to leave my education to get into films."[5]
Deol made his film debut in the 2005Imtiaz Ali'sSocha Na Tha, a romantic comedy where he starred oppositeAyesha Takia.[7][8] The film garnered mostly positive reviews from critics and was an average grosser at the box-office.[9] Deol's performance in the film was well received. His second film role was 2006's romantic dramaAhista Ahista oppositeSoha Ali Khan. Deol's first 2007 release was the ensemble comedy dramaHoneymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. which emerged as a box-office success.[10] Deol had two more releases in the year, the crime filmEk Chalis Ki Last Local and the thrillerManorama Six Feet Under.[11] The latter won the Best Film at theMahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival inNew York City, and Deol won the Best Actor Award.
Deol's sole release of 2008 wasdark comedy filmOye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. Directed byDibakar Banerjee, the film had Deol portray a compulsive thief, Lovinder Singh a.k.a. Lucky, and the film's plot follows his exploits.[12]Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was met with critical acclaim, but suffered heavily because of the timing of its release, a day after the2008 Mumbai attacks, leading to widespread fear of crowded places.[13]
Deol's breakthrough role came in 2009 when he portrayed the titular character inAnurag Kashyap's 2009 neo-noir filmDev.D, a modern-day adaptation ofSarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's classic Bengali romance novelDevdas. The idea behind the film was conceived by Kashyap during a conversation with Deol where the latter spoke about a man frequenting aLos Angeles strip club like a "modern day Devdas".[14]Dev.D. received widespread attention for its distinct visual style, experimental soundtrack, and innovative narrative structure which was unprecedented for any Bollywood film.[15] In a 4 out of 5 star review forThe Times of India,Nikhat Kazmi deemed Deol's performance in the film as a "class act".[15] Deol appeared alongsideTannishtha Chatterjee inRoad, Movie.[16] Deol made a cameo appearance for anItem number in the movieTera Kya Hoga Johnny in 2010.[17] In 2009, Deol launched a production company Forbidden Films, withJunction being the film to be picked up by the banner.[18]
In 2010, he portrayed Arjun Burman, an investment banker oppositeSonam Kapoor's eponymous lead in the ensemble romantic comedyAisha, which also starredIra Dubey,Cyrus Sahukar,Amrita Puri,Anand Tiwari,Arunoday Singh andLisa Haydon.[19] In 2011, Deol starred inZoya Akhtar's ensemble comedy-drama road filmZindagi Na Milegi Dobara alongsideHrithik Roshan,Farhan Akhtar,Katrina Kaif andKalki Koechlin. The story follows 3 friends, who have been inseparable since childhood, had him play the role of Kabir, an architect. They set off to Spain on a bachelor trip for Kabir who is set to be married to Natasha, an interior designer played by Koechlin.[20] He trained to be adeep-sea diver for the film which was filmed in Spain.[21] The film opened to high critical acclaim and grossed₹1.53 billion (US$18 million) worldwide, surpassingDhoom 2 in theworldwide gross, becoming the ninth-highest worldwide-grosser of all time for a Bollywood film, at the time of its release.Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara wonBest Film among other awards, and Deol received a nomination forBest Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.[22][23]
Deol had two releases in 2012, both of which were political thrillers–Dibakar Banerjee'sShanghai andPrakash Jha'sChakravyuh. In the latter, Deol starred alongsideArjun Rampal as a police informer, but later gets involved in aNaxalite movement.[24] The film received mixed reviews from film critics.[24]Shanghai co-starringEmraan Hashmi and Kalki Koechlin was based on the French novelZ byVassilis Vassilikos.[25] The film opened to positive reviews and Deol's performance as a bureaucrat/IAS officer garnered much acclaim.[26]Raja Sen ofRediff.com applauded Deol writing, "he wears his inscrutability thickly and delivers a strong performance".[25] The film was a surprise hit and went on to gross over₹200 million (US$2.3 million) in India.[27][28]
In 2014, Deol hosted few episodes ofChannel V's crime television seriesGumrah: End of Innocence.[29]
In 2021 Deol was seen in series1962: The War in the Hills as Major Suraj Singh, a character inspired fromMajor Shaitan Singh,Disney Channel original filmSpin, hailed as Disney's first film centered around an Indian-American family, wherein he played the role of Arvind Kumar, the father of the protagonist Rhea Kumar, a teenage girl who learns that she has a passion for creating DJ mixes and crime comedy filmVelle.[30][31][32]
Deol has been described by the Indian media as an actor who continuously understands how to play complex characters.[2][33] He appeared on several magazine covers including theMan's World and theTime Out Mumbai, with titles such as "The New Face of Indian Cinema". In 2009, Deol was included in the list ofZoom's "50 Most Desirable Hotties", being placed seventh.[34] Deol learned the Israelimartial artKrav Maga.[35] He has expressed feminist views on social media[36] and has also been vocal about minority and migrant rights in India.[37]
| † | Denotes films that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Socha Na Tha | Viren Oberoi | |
| 2006 | Ahista Ahista | Ankush Ramdev | |
| 2007 | Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. | Aspi | |
| Ek Chalis Ki Last Local | Nilesh Rastogi | ||
| Manorama Six Feet Under | Satyaveer Singh Randhawa | ||
| 2008 | Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! | Lovinder 'Lucky' Singh | |
| 2009 | Dev.D | Dev | |
| 2010 | Road, Movie | Vishnu | |
| Tera Kya Hoga Johnny | Himself | Special appearance in song "Shaher Ki Rani" | |
| Aisha | Arjun Burman | ||
| 2011 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | Kabir Dewan | Also playback singer for the song "Señorita" |
| 2012 | Shanghai | T. A. Krishnan | |
| Chakravyuh | Kabir | ||
| 2013 | Raanjhanaa | Akram Zaidi / Jasjeet Singh Shergil | |
| The Lovers | Udaji | English film | |
| 2014 | One By Two | Amit Sharma | Also producer |
| 2016 | Happy Bhag Jayegi | Bilal Ahmed | |
| 2018 | Nanu Ki Jaanu | Nanu | |
| Zero | Aditya Kapoor | ||
| 2019 | Chopsticks | Artist | |
| Hero | Mahadev | Tamil film | |
| Line of Descent | Officer Raghav | ||
| 2020 | What Are The Odds | Valmik | Also producer[38] |
| 2021 | Velle[32] | Rishi Singh | |
| 2022 | Jungle Cry[39] | Rudra |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Connected Hum Tum[40] | Host | |
| 2014 | Gumrah: End of Innocence[41] | Host | |
| 2020 | JL50 | Shantanu | |
| 2021 | 1962: The War in the Hills | Major Suraj Singh | |
| 2021 | Spin[42] | Arvind Kumar | |
| 2023 | Trial By Fire | Shekhar Krishnamoorthy |
| Year | Film | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Manorama Six Feet Under | Indo-American Arts Council Awards | Best Actor | Won |
| 2010 | — | BIG Star Entertainment Awards | New Talent of the Decade (Male) | Nominated |
| 2012 | Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara | Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated |
| IIFA Awards | Best Supporting Actor | Nominated | ||
| 4th Mirchi Music Awards | Upcoming Male Vocalist of The Year for "Senorita" | Nominated[43] | ||
| 2014 | Raanjhanaa | Producers Guild Film Awards | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 2023 | Trial By Fire | 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards | Best Actor in a Drama Series | Nominated |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
