Abhay Deol played the role of Viren Oberoi in Socha Na Tha (2005).
Despite belonging to the Deol family, known for intense actioners, Abhay Deol has preferred movies which fall under the ‘off-beat’ category. These include Dev.D, Ek Chalis Ki Last Local, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, Manorama Six Feet Under and Shanghai among more.
Abhay also ventured into the digital medium with Chopsticks (Netflix) and Line of Descent (ZEE5), apart from stepping into Tamil cinema with Hero and Idhu Vedhalam Sollum Kadhai.
But how did Abhay land his debut role in Imtiaz Ali’s directorial debut Socha Na Tha which completed 15 years last month? Here’s what Abhay Deol shared:
1. How did you land your acting debut project – Socha Na Tha?
A friend introduced me to Imtiaz Ali, who then narrated the story to me. He was in talks with a producer who wasn’t responding to him. I had liked the story very much, and I knew my brother Sunny (Deol) would take a chance with a newcomer if he believed in him. So I took him to my brother who immediately signed him on to make the movie under Vijayta Films. I remember telling him that bhaiyya will hear it and say, “this character is just like the real-life Abhay,” which is exactly what he did!
2. What do you remember of your first day on set?
I remember which scene it was. It was in the college where my character comes to say goodbye to the girl, and her brother sees us and freaks out. I was very comfortable from day one as was Ayesha Takia. I grew up on sets, so I was already familiar with the environment.
3. Were you nervous? How many retakes did you take?
Not at all! Acting was the only thing I was ever confident of in my life, from an early age. Ayesha was very natural and has talent, so it made the work easy from the first day itself. I don’t remember how many takes it took, but I do remember things going smoothly.
4. How was the rapport with your co-stars when you got to meet or work with them again later?
Ayesha was my co-star. We didn’t work together again, but I did bump into Ayesha and her husband many years later. It brought back many memories. We told her husband a few stories of our shooting days and had a laugh!
5. If given a chance to go back to your debut role, what’s that one thing you’d like to change or do better?
My hairdo and sideburns hands down! And maybe some of my outfits.
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6. One film or role that inspired you to become an actor?
I remember as a kid I saw a poster of Dilip Kumar as Devdas and I said to myself, “I will play Devdas one day.” Years later, I sold the idea to Anurag Kashyap and made the movie (Dev.D).