Why Abhay Deol boycotted award shows after Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara

During this lockdown, Abhay Deol has been sharing throwback to his previous films Ek Chalis Ki Last Local (2007), Manorama Six Feet Under (2007), and Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! (2008). Yesterday when he spoke about his road movie Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011), directed by Zoya Akhtar, he also called out award shows and how they treat actors, revealing how he has boycotted them since. 

“I would like to mention that almost all the award functions demoted me and Farhan [Akhtar] from main leads, and nominated us as 'supporting actors',” he wrote. “Hrithik [Roshan] and Katrina [Kaif] were nominated as 'actors in a leading role'. So by the industry’s own logic, this was a film about a man and a woman falling in love, with the man supported by his friends for whatever decisions he takes.”

“There are many covert and overt ways in which people in the industry lobby against you. In this case it was shamelessly overt. I of course boycotted the awards but Farhan was ok with it,” he concluded the post with the hashtag ‘Family Fare Awards’.

Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara was about a life-changing trip taken by three best friends, where each one comes to undertake a significant decision about their future. In the week following actor Sushant Singh Rajput’s suicide, many in the industry have pointed out the unbalanced, often fake, facade stars have to put up. There is often a different treatment for those who are seen as outsiders and those who are insiders, coming from a film family. 

Abhay is veteran actor Dharmendra’s nephew though he has stayed away from the career choices of his cousins Sunny and Bobby.