Abhay Deol: “Studios only respond to what’s selling”

Abhay Deol has been receiving praise from across the board for his nuanced and restrained act in Netflix’s gripping series Trial By Fire. Known to often wear his heart on his sleeve and not mince words, Abhay speaks to Film Companion’s Sneha Menon Desai about the changing taste of the audiences, being gaslit by the industry and the price he paid for being reactionary.

Abhay sheds light on why the Hindi film industry could be languishing right now. The actor says, “Post pandemic people are wondering what is wrong with the public, why has their taste changed so much – it’s because they are that much more exposed to stuff from around the world. The generation that came right after mine grew up with the internet so they are not going to be the same audience that you were catering to in the last thirty-forty years.”

Abhay shares his opinion on how the movie business works as he says, “Studios only respond to what’s selling – if something’s selling then why change it. That’s why no change ever happens. Now when the audience taste changes and they start rejecting what they’ve been given then they are forced to reinvent.”

Talking about the cost of being a non-conformist, Abhay adds, “You don’t have to be a difficult person to be difficult to deal with – the difficulty can come from your idealism not your demands. If you are an idealist and reactionary the way I was you can easily be taken advantage of. People will use that, they will manipulate you. But that is only if you are trying to make a statement and hold on to your individuality. You should be aware of yourself because your conduct can be easily gaslit.”