5 Reasons Why We Love Abhay Deol The Man, As Much As We Love Abhay Deol The Actor

Bollywood, given the massive reach it enjoys, becomes a trendsetter for almost every aspect of our lives. While we will always be thankful to Bollywood for teaching us a thing or two about romance and fashion, Bollywood’s portrayal of toxic masculinity has always been an issue.

While many actors promote this notion consciously and some unconsciously, there are only a handful of men in Bollywood that young boys should really look up to. One of them is surely Abhay Deol. Not only is he an actor par excellence, but his opinions about different social issues make him a man that is the true definition of modern Indian men. Here are some statements by Abhay on some really important issues that made us love the man as much as we love the actor.

Photoshop Truths

Recently, Abhay called out cosmetic giant Estee Lauder for their unreal photoshop job. And to prove that he practices what he preaches, Abhay uploaded a collage of his picture with and without photoshop job. In a world where celebs are constantly losing touch with reality, this felt like such a refreshing change.

#MeToo Movement

Whatever little success the #metoo movement saw in Bollywood, one of the most heart-warming things to happen was men in the industry openly supporting the movement. Many like Farhan Akhtar put forward some pertinent points and one of them was surely Abhay. He said, “It’s important that people’s voices are heard. There is a lot of venting going on. It could be the beginning of the change. We have to reflect upon what’s next and how we utilize this anger and put it in the right direction.” How incredibly sorted is that.

Fairness Cream

From singing odes to the ‘Gora Mukhda’ to obsessing over ‘Chittiyan Kalaiyaan’, Bollywood’s fixation with white skin has always been a constant. It is perhaps for the same reason that many Bollywood celebs do not think twice before endorsing something as regressive as fairness creams. We could not help but admire Abhay Deol’s courage when he openly slammed biggies like Deepika Padukone, Shah Rukh Khan, Sonam Kapoor and Siddharth Malhotra for endorsing the problematic product and the idea behind it.

Sex Talk

No matter how much progress we make, sex is still a taboo topic. Thus it feels really refreshing when celebs come and openly talk about it as it helps to de-stigmatize the discussion around sex. We loved it when Abhay spoke about it in a candid manner and said, “"Even I am baffled by our society's obsession with sex." Even I am baffled by our society’s obsession with sex. I enjoy it, I crave it, I pursue it. I don’t hide the fact. I feel a tinge of shame admitting it. It always takes a moment for the logical part of my brain to put the shame aside.”

Raid On Couples

Mostly, Bollywood celebs try their level best to avoid speaking about certain controversies. However, when the issue of police raids on young couple came up, Abhay was one celebrity who did not take the silent route. He went on to say, “booking young kids for a crime they didn’t commit, physically and mentally abusing them publicly? To me, it looks more like it was the police that was guilty of 'public indecency'.All this because they were young adults having sex. How liberated can you be!? They must be punished. By any law out there. Many believe moral policing is a way to get rid of ‘western influences’, like liberal views on sex (it always starts with those) within our society. That there are outdated British laws from the Victorian age on sex and sexuality still in effect in India today, is lost on those constantly claiming that liberal views on sex (such as premarital sex) come from Western countries, and conservative views come from India.”