Abhay Deol: Bollywood awards are just an exercise to appease actors

Panaji: Taking a dig at the numerous Bollywood awards, actor Abhay Deol said Saturday that most awards are either rigged or actors attend them because they are paid for their presence.

"Talk to any actor off record and he will tell you, you either go because you are winning an award or you go because you are getting paid. Otherwise, you don't go," Abhay said during an interactive session at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) here.

"In that case, pay me and I'll perform. If you tell me you are awarding talent, then no. It is just an exercise in appeasing those you have worked with or appeasing those you want to work with," he said candidly.

Arjun Rampal, Abhay Deol, Manoj Bajpayee, Kabir Bedi, Anjali Patil and Esha Gupta are in the star cast of the film.
Directed by Prakash Jha, 'Chakravyuh' is a political thriller.
'Chakravyuh' is expected to hit the screens on October 24, 2012. (All the stills have been taken from the official trailer of the film.)
Prakash Jha's last two films 'Aarakshan' and 'Raajneeti' created many controversies. Do you think 'Chakravyuh' will also face the same problem?
The film focusses on the issue of Naxalites. Manoj Bajpayee succeeds in surprising us with his new look.
After Anurag Kashyap's 'Gangs of Wasseypur', it will be interesting to see Manoj Bajpayee playing a Naxalite leader.
Arjun Rampal plays a police officer in the film. This lean look, moustache and the uniform really suit him.
Arjun Rampal is one of the extremely busy actors these days. Apart from 'Chakravyuh', he is busy promoting his upcoming film 'Heroine' and shooting for other films.
Known for his acting skills, Abhay Deol plays Arjun Rampal's friend in the film. He joins hands with Naxalites so that he can help Arjun in his mission.
However, after staying with them, Abhay Deol get to see the other side of the story. Abhay Deol was last seen in 'Shanghai'.
Esha Gupta who made her Bollywood debut with 'Jannat 2' will be seen in a de-glam avatar in the film.
Esha Gupta plays an IPS officer in the film. She says that she is ready to be moulded in any role.
Apparently, Jha was really impressed with Esha Gupta's confidence and her language skills, and that is why he asked her to be a part of 'Chakravyuh'.
Anjali Patil also plays a Naxalite in the film. She is a gold medalist from National School of Drama.
She won critical acclaim for her film 'Delhi in a Day', which was screened at Mumbai film festival.
Internationally acclaimed actor Kabir Bedi also plays an important role in the film.
If rumours are to believed, Katrina Kaif was supposed to be a part of 'Chakravyuh'. However, she said no to the film to accommodate Karan Johar's 'Dostana 2'.
The star cast of the film is impressive. Let's wait and watch whether Prakash Jha succeeds in wooing the audiences with 'Chakravyuh' or not.

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Abhay Deol said that most awards are either rigged or actors attend them because they are paid for their presence.

He recalled an instance from 2009 when his movie 'Dev D', a radical take on the iconic 'Devdas' film, rocked the theatres, and despite an electrifying and a well-appreciated performance, Abhay was not nominated for any awards.

"I was promoting 'Road, Movie' at the time the Filmfare Awards were happening, and no one wanted to talk to me about 'Road...'. The entire press wanted to know why I wasn't selected for an award. And I said, 'It was a family fare. If you are part of the family, then you will get it.' And I stick by that," Abhay said.

"The validation that I might be doing something right is the fact that I didn't get the award," he joked.