Abhay Deol, who hails from a family of Bollywood stars, recently opened up about his tough childhood and the biases he faced due to his lineage. In an interview with Humans of Bombay, the actor revealed that a teacher used to insult him in class simply because she disliked his famous family.
Coming from the illustrious Deol clan—his uncle being the legendary Dharmendra and his cousins Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol—Abhay acknowledged that growing up in a film family set him apart from the average Indian household. He shared that there were experiences he had that someone from a non-famous background would never go through.
Reflecting on his school days, Abhay shared that being part of a film family often led to judgments from others. He mentioned that personal questions about his family’s public image were frequently directed at him, with some teachers treating him favorably due to their admiration for his family, while others were particularly strict, perceiving him as privileged and undeserving of that privilege.
One particular incident stood out in his memory—his tuition teacher, who repeatedly humiliated him in front of classmates. She would frequently insult him in class, make public remarks about his family because she didn’t like them and even reference news reports, saying things like, “You people do this.”
“As a kid, you get shocked and internalise these things because you can’t speak out. As an adult, I feel she was a very troubled person to insult a child and his family in front of the class. It wasn’t even in a regular class—it was in tuition. My friends kept quiet because of how harshly she spoke about my family,” Abhay shared.
Despite facing such challenges, Abhay carved his own path in the industry with critically acclaimed films like Dev.D, Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Up next, he will be seen in Bun Tikki, directed by Faraz Arif Ansari. The film also features Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, and Anjali Anand in key roles.
