Abhay Deol

Abhay Deol ( born 15 March 1976) is a Jatt Sikh-Punjabi
family originally from Ludhiana,Punjab,India. He is an Indian film actor and producer. A member of Bollywood's Deol film dynasty, Deol has appeared in such films as Dev.D and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!. He has been called "the new face of Indian cinema" and is portrayed as the thinking woman's sex symbol in the media.
Career

Abhay Deol has avoided the commercial cinema that his family is known for. He stated in an interview with Rediff that he is not into acting because of his famous uncle and his cousin, but that he was involved in theatre in school. "At 18, I decided to take the plunge. It took me 10 years because I didn't want to leave my education to get into films."

He made his film debut in the 2005 film Socha Na Tha. The film made little impact at the box office, but got him good reviews for his performance. His second film was Ahista Ahista in 2006 which also earned him positive critical reviews. His first 2007 release was Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. which has a mufti-star cast and emerged as a box office success.His second 2007 release was Ek Chalis Ki Last Local. His third film in 2007 Manorama Six Feet Under, won the Best Film at the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival in New York City. He also won a Best Actor award for his role. His 2008 movie Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! was a big hit, not just with critics but with the masses as well and established him as a dependable mainstream actor.

Abhay Deol is also the pivotal person behind the 2009 Bollywood film Dev.D, a modern day version of Devdas which he himself devised, and in which he enacts the title role. About being compared to Shah Rukh Khan and veteran Dilip Kumar, who have played Devdas in the past, Deol told Radio Sargam "I'm not too scared of the comparisons. I am aware of the fact but I don't get into that too much. After all, I was compared to my brothers and uncle when I came to the industry. So I am used to it and only worry about my work. So after them, it would very well be Shah Rukh Khan".

Dev.D, directed by Anurag Kashyap, released on 6 February 2009 and was critically acclaimed. The Times of India gave 5 out 5 stars to the movie and it did very well at the box office.

Deol has been the cover of Man's World and Time Out Mumbai, with titles such as "the new face of Indian cinema". He placed seventh on Zoom's "50 Most Desirable Hotties" poll for 2009.He has often been described in the media as the thinking woman's sex symbol.

His latest release is Road, Movie with Tannishtha Chatterjee. Deol has also started producing films through his company Forbidden Films. For Basra, the first film under his new production company,Deol learned the Israeli martial art Krav Maga.He also trained to be a deep-sea diver for his film Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara which was filmed in Spain.

Personal life
Abhay lives in Mumbai, where he also grew up. He is a self-described fan of "cinema that has the 'real' element" and lists his favourite films as Chupke Chupke, Mother India, and Dr. Strangelove.Filmography
Year Film Role Other notes
2005 Socha Na Tha Viren Nominated, Filmfare Best Male Debut Award
2006 Ahista Ahista Ankush
2007 Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd. Aspi
Ek Chalis Ki Last Local Nilesh
Manorama Six Feet Under Satyaveer
2008 Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! Lucky Movie won the National Award for Best Popular Film
2009 Dev.D Dev Movie won 6 Filmfare Awards in 2009
Meridian Lines Vijay
2010 Road, Movie Vishnu Special screening at the Toronto International Film Festival
Zindagi Milegi Na Dobara Filming
Basra Amal Sinha
Aisha Arjun
Darkness Visible
Neither the Veil Nor the Four Walls Directed by Afia Nathaniel