I would have hit the bottle: Abhay Deol

He may not be the luckiest actor in town but Abhay Deol is certainly amongst the most fearless. As he gets ready to roll out his own, unconventional take on Devdas we talk to him about the now famous Emosanal Attyachar and more...

Apart from doing drugs (as shown in the promos) what are the other wild things that the new Devdas indulges in?

I think what you see in the promos is pretty wild already. It's not so much about drugs. It's about one man's mental space. His obsession with another character. The vulnerabilities of the character draw him towards those substances.

But it's the story of Devdas, which we all know. So what's so novel about your version?

We have made it contemporary. That's the biggest change. Devdas is an iconic subject and character but I would like to look at ours as an original approach. I would like to believe Dev.D has infused a new life into Devdas. When you have an established setup like Devdas' plot the risk increases. But I have played him the way the original writer would have perceived it. The changes will be visible on the surface. He wouldn't wear a hat today or drive cars from 1917. But barring that we haven't tampered with essence of the subject.

Bhansali and Shah Rukh Khan received a lot of flak for their Devdas. Aren't you apprehensive about how fans would react to your interpretation of the classic?

To be really honest I haven’t thought about that. I kept my focus on what my intentions were in doing this film and coming up with the concept. If I were to think about Bhansali's version and my personal views on that film I wouldn't have made Dev.D. The idea was to raise the bar in my way and go ahead with it.

Devdas is accused of being a male chauvinist and at the same time a person without guts. How do you personally read the character?

He is definitely a spoilt brat. His addiction comes from his personality. Given the way he loves Paro and obsesses over her, it's almost like he is addicted to her. It makes full sense for him to drown himself into drugs and alcohol. He is a highly emotional personal who wouldn't have gone astray had he got support and right guidance in life.