Call me casual: Abhay Deol

You're a true rock star, dude.

You looked so natural on the ramp!" was what someone said to Abhay Deol after his ramp walk for designer Ritu Beri on Day I of the Wills Lifestyle India Fashion Week.

This 'different Deol' doesn't want to be referred to like that anymore. He'd rather be called "pretty straight up, casual and adventurous."
"That I'm the different Deol has been written about for four years in a row, and I don't know what I can say to that now," he says. This was Abhay's debut on the runway. "I was only happy and excited, I wasn't nervous. I like Ritu and what she stands for," he said.
When we caught hold of Ritu, she said that Abhay is the "elusive, exclusive guy, who can't be put into any slot. He wasn't my showstopper, because we didn't need a showstopper – my outfit was my showstopper."

Abhay's been shooting for Aisha – the film based on Jane Austen's Emma in which he's cast opposite Sonam Kapoor – in Delhi too. Is this his attempt to do offbeat stuff? "I don't see my work as offbeat. It's something I like to do and am comfortable with," he said. But he does do offbeat stuff – like going off to the US for a welding course just after the success of Dev. D? "I did, and I also think it's logical for me to take a break if I've shot three films back-to-back," he answered.
Learning a form of martial art on the sets of Aisha these days, Abhay says, "I'm learning that for my next film, Basra. I've also signed another film." That makes it three again – Aisha, Basra and the third he's signed. What's he doing in his next break? "I've yet to decide," he says.