Even before the release of Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!, accolades had started coming in for Abhay Deol who is said to have delivered his career best performance in this Dibakar Banerjee directed film.

The film had been screened for select friends along with cast and crew members and the response was unanimous that it is Abhay's film all the way. The young man may be termed as media shy or reclusive by quite a few but with every release of his, he seems to be opening up.

Hours before the release of his 'best promoted' film till date (as he himself loves to acknowledge), Abhay Deol catches up with Joginder Tuteja and talks about poor marketing killing some of his earlier films and how he is just not confident enough of facing the camera as a conventional hero!

Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye! is your sixth release. Also, the first that is being aggressively promoted. Happy?
(Says animatedly) Yeeeeah, my first movie which is being promoted. Of course it is a happy moment. During most of my releases earlier, people have asked me that why do I act only in non-commercial films.

To this I have always replied that most of my films have turned out to be non-commercial mainly due to lack of marketing. Otherwise tell me, wasn't Manorama - Six Feet Under commercial?

Today's its DVDs are selling like hot cakes. The maximum I can do is act in a film but after that it is left to the marketing team to take over the charge. I can support them though, as required.

But isn't it disappointing to see a good film of yours being killed time and again due to poor marketing? Same was the case with Ek Chalis Ki Last Local too.
Quite honestly, I don't focus anymore on marketing; it's the producer's job. I have my own support system and at least so far, I am continuing to get work. Today, I may not be making great money but I that hope from OLLO onwards, effective marketing helps on that as well.

Talking about OLLO, I guess pre-release screenings have been fetching quite a good response?
Yes, there have been a few screenings for friends, cast and crew and the response has been unanimously good.

But then, I have been in the industry for some time now and have to differentiate between what is true and what is coming from thin air. You can actually feel whether what you hear is truth or just sweet talk.

People may come and tell me that the film is good; they could be nice to me and polite. So in a way I have to alienate myself from things that I hear around me even if it is all positive.

Abhay, you continue to play the kind of characters which don't really fall into the boundaries of a 'typical hero'. A conscious call?
I have always picked up characters that are relatable. Truly speaking, for me heroic characters are not exciting to play. Best stories are those that generate apathy.

I find more depth when it comes to playing a vulnerable character. Seriously, I shy away from larger than life characters and I don't even think that I am capable of playing such a role. Am I closed to the idea of experimenting on those lines?

No, I am not but then I have to look at the content and story as well. Every story should have a back up part as well and not just concentrated on a single man playing a hero.

Was it the lure of playing a conman that excited you most to be a part of OLLO?
It wasn't like because Lucky is a conman, it is exciting enough to enact his part. What excited me most was the basic plot of OLLO.

When I met Dibakar, I was amazed with his research and the way he was envisioning the film. He was serious about bringing this story on screen and was quite convinced that it would be possible to do so and still make it commercially viable.

Dibakar is the first director you have worked with who comes with a prior movie making experience. Some high for you after working in five straight films with debutant directors?
(Laughs) Yes, you certainly feel a difference. It counts when you work with someone who has been through the experience of making a movie.

Besides your basic skills as a director, it is things like post production, packaging, marketing and distribution where a filmmaker's prior experience makes a difference.

If he or she is someone who has been through the grind, a lot of things come into account; you can be clear and economical with some good predictability being demonstrated in the work you do.

Has he tried to be out of the box again with OLLO?
I don't think that he is trying to be out of the box, neither am I. For both of us, the idea to make a movie is because we like the story; a character which I would love to enact. I want my films to be commercial successes.

Whether it is my first release Socha Na Tha or my last Manorama - I really look at each of them as commercial. There is no point in making the kind of film which no one is going to see.

Dibakar has got his finger on the pulse of Indian audience; he knows to the T that what it is that the audience would want. He has a nice and balanced way to make the kind of cinema which is rooted in the Indian culture. We did see that in Khosla Ka Ghosla too, didn't we?