Abhay Deol Opens Up About Fame Family and His Self-Destructive Phase

By Mar 4, 2025 0

At the peak of his career, just before Dev D released in 2009, Abhay Deol moved to New York to escape the overwhelming fame and attention. “I was finding it hard to deal with the attention and fame because I started getting flashbacks of when I was a kid. I was a sensitive child and I didn’t like the attention. I liked the art, creativity, and medium. I knew that Dev D was going to be big, but I didn’t want to be famous. But at the same time, I wanted to act,” he shared. Struggling with this conflict, he focused on the negatives and chose to walk away instead of facing them.

Coming from a well-known film family, Abhay had seen the downsides of stardom early on. As the son of Ajit Deol and the nephew of Dharmendra, with cousins like Sunny, Bobby, and Esha Deol, he was never enamoured by fame. “A lot of people will first chase that and they usually get bitten once they hit a peak. I was already bitten,” he said. Despite his love for acting, he felt lost in the industry and unsure of how to navigate it. He knew the industry had its struggles, but he wasn’t sure how to deal with them.

His time in New York, however, became a self-destructive phase. “When I went there, I knew it wasn’t going to be forever because I was just indulging. I was very destructive,” he admitted. Over time, he learned to separate his personal life from work and avoid emotional burnout. “You should just embrace the privilege of being an actor and stop taking yourself so seriously.” Even though he tried to escape his struggles, the internal turmoil only grew stronger during that period.

Reflecting on the industry, he recalled witnessing the struggles of his family and the harsh realities of fame. “It’s called the glamorous industry, but there’s nothing glamorous in it,” he said. Despite his fears, he never regretted his decision. “I didn’t care about the stardom; I cared about the acting,” he affirmed