Some actors host charity events, others large parties. Yet, others prefer giving interviews while a few ring wedding bells. All of these are ways of garnering attention right before the release of a movie. However, we’re not here to discuss marketing strategies but rather Abhay Deol’s interview on IndiaFM, regarding his new movie, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local.
Smartly dressed in a grey shirt, Abhay Deol begins his interview by introducing himself, although most of us don’t need an introduction, despite him being only three movies old. He is Sunny and Bobby’s cousin, which makes him Dharmendra’s bhatija – or nephew. In a special interview for IndiaFM, he speaks about his new movie, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. Directed by Sanjay Khanduri and co-starring Neha Dhupia, Abhay calls it “a dark comedy.”
Regarding the Deol attached to his name, he admits that it does come with some added responsibility. When he first came in, Abhay says “people expected me to be a certain way…or they took me for granted…and so it worked both for me and against me at the same time.” Now, looking back on it, he says it has definitely worked for him because the people who disregarded him initially for being from the film family are starting to respect his acting. On the idol question, Abhay says that he looks to his tauji for inspiration. “I think he’s the best actor this industry has had, I mean, Chupke Chupke, Satyakam, Sholay.”
Beginning chronologically, we go all the way back to Aahista Aahista, where Abhay’s performance was acclaimed by critics but the movie didn’t fare very well. To that, he responds with “Unfortunately, it didn’t do as well as I expected…I think it’s a great film.” After that, Abhay appeared in Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd., which had a whole multitude of actors and actresses. When asked for his reason of doing “an ensemble piece” Abhay answered with a quite simple but perfectly acceptable reason: “The role is damn good.” He also adds, “I really honestly didn’t expect them to say [wow, it was very well done and performed].”
How about that title though? “Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, yeh kya hai?” According to Abhay, that’s the typical response. “Immediately, people get interested just because of the name.” And the world of media is all about generating interest.
Logo ke din kharab hote hain. Yahaan to sala raat kharab hai.
This entire 8 minute mini-show is interspersed with clips from the movie (the line above is taken from one of these). Background music also compliments the rather fast-paced clips. Another different and almost revolutionary aspect of this movie, as you may have heard, is that the music has been scored by multiple artists. “It’s nice to see that a Hindi film has a soundtrack being one of many artistes,” says Abhay. According to him, none of the songs are lip-synched; they all play in the background. Therefore, “the music is very centric to the movie….the words just caught the essence of the moment” (because they don’t have to be sung by one of the actors).
Everybody knows that when you’re acting and you don’t know anything about the subject matter, audiences can very easily tell. So had Abhay Deol ever traveled by a Mumbai local train? Apparently, this question has been asked several times because his answer is, “Yes, for the millionth time, I have.” And for a whole year too, when he was 18 and studying. His answer is accompanied by a trademark smile, so you can’t even get mad at him for almost-snapping.
Now, the next question is probably the one that will get you sitting up on the edge of your seat, although Abhay’s response is boring enough that you probably should stay slouched as you are. His kiss with Neha Dhupia. He says, “It hasn’t been placed there for titillation or marketing purposes, it’s there because it kind of makes the moment happen in a very positive way.” While a quote-worthy line, this doesn’t give us much to talk about. He then goes on to repeat that “Neha is a friend” about ten times (just kidding, it was only two). Although he does admit that kissing on-camera is always just a bit uncomfortable because so many people are watching you and the director is saying stuff like “C’mon, hurry up” etc. What did impress me was his cool demeanor when replying to the inquiry about his link-ups with Minissha and Soha Ali: “That’s part of the parcel of the process of being in the public eye…it’ll come, it’ll go.”
Abhay Deol’s upcoming projects include Manorma – Six Feet Under, Merdian, and another he is to begin filming in July. “[Ek Chalis Ki Last Local] is an out-and-out entertainer. It’s really well-written…I think it’s one of the funniest dark comedies to come out of this industry…it has a lot going for itself. It doesn’t deal with any political issues…it’s just there for you to go and unwind and have a good laugh.” Som there you have it; Abhay Deol and Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. Both the movie and the up-and-coming actor look quite different…and promising!
