Abhay Deol Rejects Labels Around His Sexuality, Says 'This Might Sound Controversial But...'

Actor Abhay Deol says he refuses the “Western way” of identifying sexuality and believes in operating without any labels, which primarily exists for the comfort of others to “neatly slot” an individual. When asked how he perceives sexuality, he replied “as a spectrum,” emphasizing his refusal to adopt the Western method of identification because “it’s so black and white.”

He elaborated on the Eastern approach, highlighting its recognition of the whole person. “I don’t define my sexuality, and this might sound controversial but for me it’s not something that I think can be defined. 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,” he explained in an interview with Dirty Magazine.

For Abhay, star of films such as Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Dev D, and Oye Lucky Lucky Oye, masculinity is the “ability to make people feel safe and included.” He noted that as a man, he does feel like a “protector and provider,” though he acknowledged this could either be an individual experience or “conditioning.”

“But there is a sense of taking charge and leading. Having said that I would happily give it up to a woman too if she wanted to take charge and lead, that’s also part of my masculinity.”

When it was noted that his views do not make him a “toxic” man, Abhay added, “It’s very easy to be provocative through violence and sex, it’s much harder to be provocative through silence. How the f**k do I provoke you by not saying anything? That’s what interests me.”

Meanwhile, Abhay Deol has teamed up with emerging international EDM artist PIA in the visually striking music video Follow the Toad, directed by filmmaker Joe Sill. The video, shot in a single day using cutting-edge virtual production techniques, transports viewers to a fantastical world inspired by iconic adventures like Indiana Jones and The Lord of the Rings.

Additionally, Abhay Deol, completed nineteen years of his acting career in 2024. The actor, who made his debut with the film Socha Na Tha, took a trip down memory lane during the occasion and said “feels like it was only yesterday.”