Abhay Deol: ‘Bollywood casts actors in their 50s opposite girls in their 20s, makes them look like a couple’

Abhay Deol has said that he has no qualms about playing a father to a teenage girl in his upcoming show, Disney’s Spin. He said that Bollywood does not mind casting a 50-year-old male actor opposite 20-year-old women and “make them look like a couple”.

Avantika Vandanapu plays Abhay Deol’s daughter on the show. Meera Syal and Simhadri will also be seen in Spin which will air in US on Disney channel, starting August 13. Makijany has directed the movie from a script by Carley Steiner and Josh A. Cagan. It will later premiere on Disney+ Hotstar from August 15.

Asked if he had any qualms about playing a dad to a teenager, Abhay Deol told Bollywood Life in an interview, “If I had to have qualms about anything then I would have had them 10-12 years ago doing what I was doing in Bollywood. I have never really held back, I am quite secure in who I am and where I come from. The Netflix show that I am doing spans 20 years, I go from 39 to 59. I can play my age, I can play 10-12 years younger still, so I am just having fun.”

He added, “As long as people are convinced that I am that role whether at 35 or 45, I would like to do both. You just got to take care of yourself so that you can pass for the ages that you play. I would like to stick to that window. Bollywood still will cast actors who are in their 50s opposite girls who are in their 20s and not even make it about an older man and younger girl, they will make them look like as a couple. In that environment, what does it matter?”

The top stars of Bollywood– from Salman Khan to Shah Rukh Khan and Ajay Devgn, have all been paired opposite young heroines, even after crossing the age of 50.

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Announcing the film, Abhay had earlier written on Instagram, “I am aware that most of my audience love me for making edgy, alternative narratives, that challenge the status quo. Which is why this film is all the more special as it is a departure from my own status quo, and catering to a much younger audience. Spin is a Disney film that will go live on their platform for US audiences on August 13. It is a gem of a movie, that will leave you smiling and feeling good. Blessed to be a part of it.”

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Abhay Deol recently featured in web series 1962: The War in the Hills.