Abhay Deol : This cool Deol will make a difference !
Family connection :
In his second film, Shola Aur Shabnam (1961) Dharmendra looked like Abhay Deol looked in his first film, Socha Na tha(2005). Dharmendra became a stalwart actor and star in later years. Dharmendra did all kinds of films and he excelled in every kind of films. He was equally good in romance, comedy, action and tragedy etc.
Dharmendra’s elder son Sunny Deol was launched with a super hit love story Betaab(1983). Sunny was good looking, had a good body and very communicative eyes. He started with a love story but soon after Arjun, Directors saw an angry young man in him and soon he was trapped in the image of an action hero. It seems hard for him to breake this image.
Dharmendra’s younger son, Bobby Deol also started with a love story with sufficient scope to show off his muscles in action scenes in the film Barsat(1995). Bobby often dabbles into action packed films.
Sunny and Bobby both the brothers can be said to follow only one part ( image of an action hero) of the vast acting range of their father. Their comedy skills are nowhere close to their father’s comedy skill. Their romantic roles don’t match up with his performances. They have grasped only one element from his vast acting pool, that is anger and Dharmendra’s other threads of lineage have been remained unexplored by his sons.
Dharmendra did not launch his nephew Abhay Deol with usual big film as he did with Sunny(Betaab) and Bobby(Barsaat) rather Abhay was launched with first time director Imtiaz Ali in the film ” Socha na Tha “. And it was a good decision. Film was appreciated and Abhay and Ayesha Takia both showed their talent in this film.
Acting : Here comes an actor in the league of Amol Palekar
Abhay is a tall man but he does not posses gymnasium built muscular body. He does not look like a greek god as his uncle Dharmendra looked in his youthful years. That’s why a film like Socha Na Tha suited him well and he fully exploited the opportunity. He started with a low budget but genuine film which does not go over the top in its treatment.
There was an actor, called Amol Palekar(now famous director), who gave several hit films in the era of Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra. Amol Palekar was very different from any above mentioned actor. He acted in different films and he played different roles. His roles of middle class ordinary man are not even compared with similar roles played by Naseeruddin Shah or Farooq Sheikh. Amol’s light films which often had full dose of comedy created their own impact.
People join hindi film industry to become heros like Raj-Dev-Dilip, or Rajesh Khanna or Amitabh, Dharmendra, Vinod Khanna etc and few join it to become someone like Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri or Nana Patekar but seldom anyone will say he wishes to become an actor like Amol Palekar.
With his first film Socha Na tha Abhay Deol generated hope that he can fill the gap generated by the absence of Amol Palekar and his kind of films. Abhay’s second film Ahista Ahista further strengthened that hope.
He did good in comedy scenes in both the films and he improved his performance in emotional scenes (where he had to confess and atone for his own mistakes in his second film). He certainly improved a lot in his second film in comparison to his first film. And that is the sign of a progressive actor.
Abhay can do what Amol Palekaar could do in late 70s. Abhay looks genuine as a common man and his acting style is not loud. He does not try to over power his character without a need.
If directors wish to recreate those kind of films like, Chitchor, chhoti Si baat, Golmal, Naram Garam etc then Abhay can provide them the right actor who could play lead characters in such films. These films may have small dreams but to fulfil those common ordinary dreams we need actors like Amol Palekar and Abhay Deol. Masses can associate with such characters and actors. For now, satisfaction is there to see someone capable to go on the path of Amol Palekar, an actor and star in his own category. Who knows Amol Palekar, who is now a reputed director, himself casts Abhay in any or some of his films.
Amol Palker had a very special trait of taking pauses in between the words in a dialogue and normally he took these pauses at some unexpected places and this kind of dialogue delivery made Amol Palekar a special actor. Abhay also has that touch in his dialogue delivery. Sometimes he just speak non-stop and sometimes he, unexpectedly, takes pauses.
Last night after viewing Socha Na thasecond time, I felt an urge to write on him and stopped publishing an already written post. He is commercially successful or not at present, is immaterial. He gave satisfaction of watching an actor with a difference and he has potential to play the role of ordinary man with authenticity, and this thing matters.
SNT, reveals that cameraman should have taken care in handling his actors through his camera and Abhay has suffered at several places from this factor in SNT. In Ahista Ahista he has got better camera treatment.
As a new actor, he is a hope. Some of the similarities do not make him limited to Amol Palekar only. Rather this factor generates a vast horizon before him. That genre of films need to be made. People have always liked those kind of light films. Till now he has done only light roles but he has potential and he represents lineage of Dharmendra, a very fine actor, and he must have potential to play many other types of roles, which we will witness in coming years.
Tags: Acting
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
RK:
Genuine, as you said, is word best describes abhay deol, his choice of roles are also okay for a newcomer…
now it’s up to the writers and directors to use him and give audience the much needed variety, a genre, like the amol palekar days…
btw. i have to add. i love amol palekar, his films r so simple and leisurely placed with great humour and music..
Abhay Deol is a very good actor. But I don’t think he is in the position to select good roles. He has only one hit, Honeymoon Travels PVT Ltd, which had a lot of good actors. The negative aspect of him are his look.
I loved Socha Na Tha very much. But my friends did not want to watch it. They said that he is a bad actor. I asked why. They replied that he has a bad face. Some people judge acting by their face. If anybody sits and watches Socha Na Tha or Ahista Ahista, I am sure that they will be a fan of Abhay Deol.
abhay has been passable for me so far.. something about him (possibly his delivery) is very feminine, which shows in his performances and is a huge distracting factor for me.. he’s a newcomer on the horizon, so obviously he doesn’t have demanding power over script selections.. you take what you can get.. here’s hoping he gets better.. maybe an intense role would do him good and show his versatility..
to early to judge abhay right now. He has bad looks to his disadvantage. As an actor it is too early to judge him as he has not done a variety of roles. So far he is just about ok.
No hard feelings R.K. but to compare Abhay Deol to Amol Palekar is like comparing Rajpal Yadav to Hrithik Roshan. :o
oh yeah! absolutely. he is THE Deol.
My words RK,
1-2 months earlier me and my friend were discussing about Abhay Deol and his films, SNT and AA, and my friend said the same thing, he compared Abhay with Amol Palekar! Then we were discussing/comparing these 2 actors. Of course Abhay has to travel a lot, but i guess till now he’s on Amol’s path.
Abhay unDeol…Actually is a hope for parallel cinema…:)
Now that Abhay has a Hit song going for him thanks to, ‘Laree Choote’ from Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, maybe things would be different, we all know having a Hit song to your name is half the battle won. Face or dialogue delivery does not matter when one is singing on the train.
I think RK is right. Today Abhay stands at the same place where Amol Palekar stood many years ago. He is filling the same space. Are they equal? Now, that is a different matter.
I have a different take on this.
Amol had the songs from Golmaal, Chitchor, Rajnigandha going for him. The song Aane waala pal remains a classic. Like it or not songs are part of Hindi cinema. Besides acting, Amol Palekar had those classic songs going for him. Those songs made him dear to the General middle class public that he often represented in the Hindi Cinema.
‘Laree Choote’ is nice but is it gonna be Abhay
I dunno about comparing Abhay Deol to Amol Palekar as I think they have different styles, and most importantly belong to completley different times.
Nevertheless Abhay is a refreshingly welcome addition to the mayhem of Hindi cinema. He’s got a very sincere, down to earth demeanor, he’s got a quiet charisma and a certain charm about him. Its these qualities that make him such a great fit for such realistic characters.
As for looks, I’d say he’s a fairly decent looking guy, as do the girls I’ve talked to. Sure, he’s not a Hritik or an Akshay but then again if he was would be such a great fit to play the everyman?
He fits into that middleclass mould because the common man can relate to him and his cinema. If there ever was a boy next door of our generation, here he is.
And he’s got solid acting talent! Unique too, he doesn’t try to be a Dharmendra or anyone else for that matter. Watch, his style will grow on people, even those who aren’t fans will learn to like him.
Abhay’s definately got a future because he’s managed to carve a niche for himself in a short span. Personally I’m looking forward to seeing more Abhay Deol starrers.
Let’s hope ECKLL and Manorama hit the box office bullseye…
You know who else fits into that common man mould very well? Priyanshu Chatterjee. Such a likeable actor with such talent. I still enjoy watching “Tum Bin” and “Pinjar”. What intensity in that scene where he sets Manoj Bajpai’s farm on fire… you could see a fire in his eyes..
Its too bad enough filmmakers didn’t pick up on this guy and offer him quality parts. I hate seeing such wasted potential…
i beg to diasgree tony, i find priyanshu is good only in serious roles. he is damn bad when it comes to comedy, did u see AAp Ko Pehle BHi Kabh Dekha Hai, damn bad :((
Really Amit? I actually liked Priyanshu in AKPBKDH… Especially his scenes with Om Puri…
and I know this was a terribly bad film, but I thought Priyanshu was the best thing in Dil Ka Rishta… he was really funny in that scene where he didn’t have the $$ to pay for her birthday…
i loved abhay deol in ’socha na tha’…..and ayasha takia too….any comments guys?
raaj
liked socha na tha. but not a big fan of abhay deol. actually the film was good and both abhay and ayesha did justice to it. but as a debutant he is really good. unlike other body-shoddy and model types,he is refreshing change.
striker, agree with u. he sounds so feminine in his dialogue delivery.
i also think that there is a feminin touch to him. body language is funy. don’t feel anything while watching. you know? no excitemint.
Watched Ahista Ahista only because I designed the site & was pleasantly surprised to see Abhay Deol doing a decent job of it!. I think he is good except that he really needs to work on his intensity… sometimes.. rather quite a few times he seems quite flat
Jai: yes Abhay shows genuinity and scinecerity in acting. He is relatively new and have been improving a lot with every new film. so hope he goes ahead. Roles can be related to his desitiny at present as being a new comer he may have less choices but overall he has been doing good till now.
Justin: Its true that some go for face value but Abhay is fine. camermen has to take care of angles in which he is capturing his actors. It all depends on mood of the character, an actor is playing. and he is not into a beauty contest. Its all about acting skill and he is good there. Slowly camerammen will be familiar with his good and average and bad angles. Moreover it has to be connected with the chracter he is playing.
Majority of Indian audiences, have never been with permanently fixed opinion. Millions are here who start liking an actor once they see him/her in successful films and people in their vicinity praise the actor. I am sure Abhay has potential and it will fetch him fortune as an actor.:)
Striker: Not feminine exactly but soft looks and attitude did not deter Raj Kapoor, Bharat Bhushan and Amol Palekar, becoming good and successful actors. Directors and camermen play a good role in using their actors and extracting the best out of them. Cameraman has to see which kind of look and angle will work with this particular character this actor is playing and Director has to see how this actor displays the emotions on screen.
Abhay looked different in SNT and AA. I dont know if it was deliberate on his part but it was there.
In SNT, he was pampered younger son and who was happy in becoming second and less powerful before his love interest, Karin. His charactre was willing to be dominated by Karin. In that way we can find that actress was with a masculine powers and she behaved that way. Moreover its first film of its director also so we cant be sure about his methodology and philosophy. Because same Abhay at times dominates Karin and Ayesha Takia in SNT. First film can emphasise the potential only, as its entirely possible that so many things were lacking on parts of Director/Actor/cameraman/costume designer/makeup man etc.
His looks in checked shirts in AA were definitely better than his looks in T shirts in SNT.:)
Actors also search their ways slowly. Progressing way is the only option.
Amit: Its not a trial to say that Abhay matches Amol Palekar in acting. Abhay has long way to go. Point was that if there is some category of acting than Abhay (till now) falls in that category where Amol Palekar had Acted.
Nitin: certainly Abhay has to go on a long path. For a good actor path is always long if he does not want to be trapped in a fixed image. Every good actor anywhere in the world has been changing his roles every few years.
Atray: Dont know about parallel or cross section cinema,. but defintely he may bring us good films:)
I really like Abhay. I enjoyed his performance in Socha Na Tha and loved him in Ahista Ahista, which I watched last night.
Agree with Tony Mera Naam – Abhay is refreshing, sincere and down to earth. He
Vinayak: thanks for reminding many of good songs of Amol Palekar. He got some wonderful songs and he had this carefree demeanour to perform on the songs, something which PremNath did in songs like Na Mangoo sona chandi in Bobby.
This is also true that songs are important part of hindi films and if someone gets good songs to lip-sync then there are good chances that his/her career will seea high among indian audience.:)
Tony: yes you are right that Abhay does not try to copy his uncle or brothers and in small career span of 2.5 films, he has been successful in making him noticed. He has good future ahead. I also look forward to see this actor in variety of roles.:)
Phoenixnu: you are right in the crowd of gymnasium toned model turned actors, Abhay brings more hopes as an actor. His is not a striking success that he can have fan list. But sometimes slow but steady progress is far better than a career which sees sudden heights and then a fall:)
As a new comer he may have so many other shortcomings, which he should remove or improve in his next films:)
G@u, nice to know that you made site for AA. On Intensity factor if he or any other actor cant act at that intense level then its equal problem of his directors also who prefered to capture his performance at that moment when he was not efficiently intense. But it may be a journey of first time directors also. They also progress with every successive films.:)
I really like Abhay. I enjoyed his performance in Socha Na Tha and loved him in Ahista Ahista, which I watched last night.
Agree with Tony Mera Naam – Abhay is refreshing, sincere and down to earth. He
Monica:
so now Abhay has female fans also. Thats a good sign for him, else in hindi cinema most of the girl viewers force producers and distributers to think and then they force directors to cast models with good looks but less acting ability.:)
Even before SNT was released I was looking forward to watching the new Deol on screen. I had read somewhere that another Deol boy will be gracing the Bollywood scene soon. Of course many people including myself considering his family name had already labeled him as another action hero. But to everyone’s surprise Abhay unlike other newcomers from filmy families made a quite entrance. So SNT was released without a huge promos and certainly there wasn’t a big premier party. Despite lack of proper promotion, SNT being a small budget movie did really well. Not many watched the movie in the cinema but handful of those who did certainly enjoyed it. I didn’t watch the movie until it was on DVD but wasn’t disappointed at all. Abhay is undoubtedly a gem of an actor despite lacking a masculinity of his famous cousin brothers. He has taken many risks doing non-mainstream cinema and staying away from the typical hero roles. His realistic and moderate approach in portraying roles of a common man has earned him ample praise from the critics. He is a great actor in the making…I believe before we start comparing him to anyone or perhaps label as an actor doing certain type of movies…We as audience should watch his work and give him a chance to grow on screen. So far, all the movies he has done…His delivery style along with his looks has improved from one movie to another. He is charming and a brilliant dancer ( I know who thought Abhay Deol could dance right?). He is a unique actor who has taken risks rather following the footsteps of others. I’m anxiously awaiting the release of his upcoming movies especially Dev D. I look forward to seeing his take on Devdas:)
Abhay Deol despite being a versitle actor is overrated!
as said earlier
abhay is a great actor and a man by heart
i hav personally met him where he was near to my town for a shooting scene…..
his acting looks realist..
as our own life goes and what dialogues v deliver in our life and d face expressions of our in day to day life…abhay has expressed that expressions..
his acting looks real
there is not much style like moving body or making faces like shahrukh khan..
or just showing of body..
and at last i think he is above all….
as his acting in ahista ahista and
When i first saw Abhay Deol first time in SNT,two thoughts came to mind.One was the real successor of Dharmendra legacy and another was we got a new Amol Palekar, but i am amazed that i am not the only one ti think so. I have yet another,may be fanciful,proposition.I think he can prove to be the best bet for YRF.They,no doubt, have SRK by their side,yet they can make some fresh beginning with the juniormost deol.Further i want both SRK and AD with Dharmendra in an Imtiyaz Ali film.Ali, to me, is in the league of Hrishikesh mukherjee who made some of the most unforgettable films like chupke chupke,satyakam,anupama etc. I put forth another proposition ie …………..the top 5 actors ever,in that order are Dharmendra,Shahrukh,Amitabh,Dilip kumar and Rajkumar. Any takers?