Abhay Deol is back with his latest Netflix series Trial by Fire, which was released Friday. The highly anticipated series is all the rage among critics and Indian audiences alike. The actor has spoken extensively about the struggle of portraying Shekhar Krishnamoorthy who lost his teenage children in the 1997 Uphaar Cinema fire, on which the show is based.
But Abhay had never met Shekhar before or while shooting for the series — until after the final scene was shot.
“To keep the integrity of it [the series and make it] relatable to all, Prashant [Nair] did not want me to sit down with Shekhar and take from him. He wanted us to finish the product and [then] meet [the Krishnamoorthys],” Abhay Deol told ThePrint.
That worked out in Deol, Rajshri Deshpande (who plays Neelam, Shekhar’s wife), and Nair’s (the director) favour — the real-life case is painfully brought to life.
It all came on the back of Abhay Deol’s insight into acting, plot, and tragedy portrayal. The 45-year-old actor zeroes down on what the real task was: “It was a challenge not because it was tragic but because it was true,” he says.
Challenging characters don’t daunt Abhay Deol. In his 17-year-long career, he has played the raw, real, and ‘experimental’ and almost always garnered criticism in his favour. He doesn’t give in to the masala blockbuster template of Hindi cinema — a category apart from Dharmendra’s Yamla Pagla Deewana (2011) mould.
Also read: With Netflix’s Trial by Fire, OTTs finally get tragedies right
Heroes among us
Abhay Deol’s rootedness in the relatability of cinema reflects a larger thought process on fandom, acting, and hero-worship. To him, heroes come in all shapes and sizes.
“I am just continuing to do what I have been doing for 17 years — to show that heroes are among us,” he says. Be it Trial By Fire’s Shekhar or Shanghai’s (2012) Krishnan, to Deol, heroes aren’t ultra-macho figures who break the screen but those who respond artfully, insightfully to the world around them.
Choosing roles comes naturally and easily to Deol: “I have always been attracted to characters that are relatable.” From Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007) to Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008) to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), the actor has played his roles with deep conviction.
And that’s how he has created his niche with films that the other Deol men — Bobby and Sunny — would probably never pick. Abhay became a ‘cool’ Indie actor way before it was actually cool in India.
Embracing it through the years
Calling a spade a spade, though, has its own hangups in the industry. After 17 years in Bollywood, Deol says that he may have changed in certain aspects.
“I am a little easier on myself. I was very harsh on myself and had very high expectations from others too. I was very reactionary when I did not get to experiment or change something. [But] I am more embracing now,” he says.
The actor previously worked in multiple OTT ventures such as SonyLiv’s JL50 (2020) and Disney+ Hotstar’s 1962: The War in the Hills (2021). Trial By Fire definitely pushes the envelope of his acting skills. Deol, whose recent favourites are The White Lotus and Euphoria, believes that OTTs have upped the ante for filmmaking in other ways too. “OTT platforms have all the good parts of Bollywood and those that don’t exist in Bollywood [anymore],” he says.
While Bollywood continues to be dominated by the highs and lows of box office collections, with the ‘boycott’ situation plaguing it — the latest target is Shah Rukh Khan’s Pathaan — Abhay Deol says he has nothing to lose. He has perfected his brand of work, and OTTs are an opportunity to make more films and shows.
“Whatever has to come my way, will come my way,” he says, with a hint of secret satisfaction in his voice.
(Edited by Humra Laeeq)