Abhay Deol Claims Anurag Kashyap 'Didn't Direct Me at All' in Dev D, Says 'I Had Come Up With...'

Abhay Deol made a major mark in his career with Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D, a modern-day adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s classic Bengali novel Devdas. Not only did the 2009 film heaped praises by the critics but was also hailed by the cine-buffs for its originality and creativity. However that was the first and last time when Abhay Deol and Anurag Kashyap had collaborated. In one of his latest interviews, the actor refuted Anurag Kashyap’s allegations about him wanting to lodge in a 5-star hotel during the film shoot and also called him a list and a toxic person. Now the actor claims that he had come up with the idea of Dev D and Anurag Kashyap didn’t direct him at all.

While talking to Anupam Kher at his acting school, when Abhay Deol was asked whether he had ever collaborated with filmmakers who were inept at dealing with actors, Abhay shared, “It’s not often that this happens, but it happens. Like in Dev D, Anurag didn’t direct me at all. He didn’t say anything, he just let me be. But then, that was an idea I had come up with and a character I knew. So, it wasn’t even like I was asking him. He allowing me to do my thing, and not saying anything as a director to an actor, encouraged me to think what I’m doing must be right. And I continued doing that.”

He further quipped about directors who emotionally and physically wear down an actor for the sake of delivering a perfectly seamless scene. Abhay explained, “There are very famous directors who are known to break their actors, physically, emotionally. They feel if they can break you, they can get an honest performance out of you. I think those directors have a handicap… He can’t inspire you, and he has the arrogance to think that he or she is some maestro, and that you couldn’t have been capable of performing had you not been broken. That is highly untrue, don’t let anybody teach you that.”

For the unversed, Anurag Kashyap had alleged in one of his interviews that Abhay Deol had his feet on two separate boats in terms of wanting to do artistic films but with the perks of commercial flicks. The Dobaaraa filmmaker had quoted an example that Abhay Deol would ‘stay in a five-star hotel while the entire crew stayed in Paharganj’ in Delhi as the film ‘was made on a very tight budget’. Anurag Kashyap had further emphasised that other directors eventually distanced themselves from Abhay Deol due to the actor’s attitude. However, in a recent chat with News18 Showsha, Anurag Kashyap shared that he had tried to reach out to Abhay Deol and apologised to him earlier.

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