Abhay Deol opens up on the difficulties of growing up in a family of superstars like Dharmendra and Sunny Deol in the ’80s

Abhay Deol is known for his niche movies and unique characters which continue to remain in the hearts of the audience over the years - be it 'Dev D' or 'Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara' or 'Socha Na Tha'. However, Abhay always was in a way disconnected to fame and movies after a point. He grew up while seeing stardom around him, having his uncle Dharmendra and then when Sunny Deol made his debut in the 1980s. Later, even when Bobby Deol was launched with 'Barsaat', he had a huge fan following. In a recent interview, Abhay has spoken about how it was for him to grow up in a family like this and the challenges that come along.

He said in an interview with Jai Madaan, "At home in the beginning, it was never like somebody is a star, they were like papa, uncle, bhaiya for us. It is when you grow up that you realise that hum alag hain (we are different)." He added, "We are not like ordinary people because we get recognised wherever we go. Our last name is recognised. And you kind of get singled out because in school, whether someone was a fan of my family and we would get extra special treatment by teachers."


But here was a con! The actor added, "But when someone is not a fan, and they think that your family is not good, so they would put difficulties in your path. You have to always be on guard, knowing whether this person will be nice or bad to me. You come in knowing that you will be pre-judged."

Earlier this year, in a chat with 'The Dirty Magazine, Abhay spoke about seeing fame around him during his childhood. He revealed, "The fame was at a different level. I mean, I was a kid in the ’80s. Before the advent of technology and travel and knowledge and access to a whole world of entertainment. And so the kind of celebrity worship at the time, I saw that with my uncle [Dharmendra]. And then when bhaiyya [Sunny Deol] was launched in the early ’80s, I saw the crazy fame around him."

Because of this, he never liked going to school. "I never liked going to school and being asked personal questions about the family; people were always talking. Some teachers would be extremely nice to me just because of my last name, others would be particularly bad with me because of it. Just depended on the individual and what they thought of celebrity."