Abhay Deol on his sexuality: 'All of us have a masculine and feminine within us'

Abhay Deol Pic/Instagram

Bollywood's seasoned actor Abhay Deol, who is making a comeback with ‘Bun Tikki' opened up about his sexuality. He refused to put any labels as per Western norms calling it a slot for the other person's comfort. The actor also asserted that we're all "they/them" and shared that he has embraced all experiences in his life.

Abhay told The Dirty Magazine, "I refuse the Western way of identifying sexuality because it's so black and white. The Eastern approach is so different, it recognizes the whole of us. I don't define my sexuality, and this might sound controversial but for me, it's not something that I think can be defined."

He added, "I think it's more for the other person's comfort so that they can put you in a box, neatly slot you. Why should I define myself in Western terms? I have embraced all experiences in my life and I continue to do so. I don't know how to label that, I don't want to label that. All of us have a masculine and feminine within us, so in my opinion, we are all they/them."

Nineteen years ago, Abhay Deol made his debut with the film 'Socha Na Tha'. Helmed by Imtiaz Ali, it also featured Ayesha Takia.

On the professional front, Abhay starred in the crime drama series 'Trial by Fire', written by Prashant Nair, and Kevin Luperchio and directed by Prashant and Randeep Jha, and Avani Deshpande. It also stars Ashish Vidyarthi, Anupam Kher, Rajshri Deshpande, Rajesh Tailang, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Shilpa Shukla in pivotal roles.

Meanwhile, Abhay Deol is gearing up for his next 'Bun Tikki' alongside Shabana Azmi and Zeenat Aman.

Earlier, Abhay shared a picture with his co-stars Shabana and Zeenat along with a sweet note. "I was quite the under-confident, under-achieving, bullied child. No one had any expectations of me and neither did I inspire confidence from anyone. But that's the beauty of life, anything is possible, so don't stop learning. Now here I am, working with these two legends, @thezeenataman and @azmishabana18."

The film is directed by Faraz Arif Ansari and also stars actor Jyoti Deshpande, Dinesh Malhotra, and Marijke Desouza will produce the film under the umbrella of Manish Malhotra's Stage 5 Productions.