'I do not feel the lack of recognition'

Abhay Deol, who used to be a poster child for parallel cinema in Bollywood, said that he cannot complain about lack of recognition, especially since people still come up to him and appreciate his work.

In an interview, the 'Zindagi Naa Milegi Dobara' star, who belongs to the Deol family of actors, was asked if he has received the sort of recognition that he feels he deserves from the industry.

"People want to interview me, I get interviewed. People recognise me, they tell me they love my work. I do not feel the lack of recognition at all. If there is any lack, then it is the lack of investing in PR machinery to keep me in the news all the time and project a star image, which I was never interested in. So, I do lack that star image, which I must feed. Because all the stars have a PR machinery behind them that feeds into that narrative. I do not have that and that is by choice," he shared.

He added, "But I cannot sit here and say that I am not recognized. People love my work and they tell me that all the time. It is sad that in India particularly, more so than in America, you must constantly feed the beast and stay in the news. We have created a system where, unless I see you every other day endorsing 10 brands, you are not recognised. What happened to just the fact that people love you and say that they do and that journalists want to speak to you and papers are interested in what you have to say?"

Abhay also said that he is still able to choose his roles and does not have to take whatever offers come his way.

"If that is not a success, I do not know what is," he said.