Meet actor who used to sell t-shirts despite growing up in filmy family, also works as DJ, still unmarried at 48, he is.

This college dropout who trained in acting and theatre for three years at The City College of New York, belongs to a legendary Bollywood family. He initially wanted to skip Bollywood and go straight to Hollywood, but as he grew older, he realized the importance of his cultural roots and the comfort of working in his native language. He reportedly used to sell T-shirts and earned money by drawing on T-shirts and selling them in Goa's flea market before becoming an actor. 

Abhay Deol has always carved his own path, defying expectations as a member of the illustrious Deol family. With a career spanning unconventional roles and films, he's become the face of independent cinema. From Dev D, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye to Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, his choices have been bold and eclectic. But for the actor, it was never his motive in life to be famous. "Because I grew up in a filmy family. I saw fame up close as a child. I didn’t like it because your privacy goes away. A lot is written about you. I used to literally hate fame and the media. Because growing up I saw a lot written about family, being questioned as a kid, 'Is it true, is that true?' It used to make me angry.” he had told Mashable in an interview. 

Born in 1976 to Ajit Deol and Usha Deol, Abhay is the nephew of actor Dharmendra and cousin of Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol. He debuted in a movie in 2005 opposite Imtiaz Ali in the romantic comedy Socha Na Tha. Since the success of his first film, he earned recognition with Anurag Kashyap’s Dev D. Although he may have not achieved box-office success he is counted among Bollywood's most talented actors for his offbeat roles and unconventional filmography.

Abhay has been open about his unconventional views on sexuality, stating that he doesn't define his own and believes it exists on a spectrum. Additionally, he had a public fallout with director Anurag Kashyap after working on the 2009 film Dev D. The two had differing visions for the film's ending, with Deol preferring a darker conclusion and Kashyap opting for a happier one. In 2024, Abhay made his debut as a DJ at a newly opened arcade in Ahmedabad.

Abhay has been quite open about his personal life. He dated former Miss Great Britain Preeti Desai and has been in a committed live-in relationship for four years, embracing their unconventional arrangement without hesitation. Still being unmarried at 48, he has been vocal about his views on marriage, considering it a cultural construct rather than a natural institution, and remains undecided about formalizing their union.

Meanwhile, Abhay is currently awaiting release of Bun Tikki which also stars Shabana Azmi and Zeenat Aman. He also announced a new romantic film, 'Don't You Be My Neighbour', featuring Australian actor Natasha Bassett as his co-star in 2024.