Panaji, Nov 24: Abhay Deol is yet to win an award for his acting prowess despite impressing audiences with films like "Dev D" and "Shanghai", but the actor says he has no regrets as award functions in our country are a sham.
The 36-year-old said he'd rather dance and get paid on the shows than receive and award.
"Awards are a sham and just a show. People either go to the functions if they are getting one or if they are being paid. And people on the jury have told me why a particular person is given the award, and it is obviously not for the acting skills but for personal interests," Abhay said on the sidelines of the NFDC Film Bazaar here.
He feels not getting an award means he is probably doing good work.
"If I am not getting an award that means I am doing it right. I have been called so many times to these functions saying they are giving me an award but I believe that is just silly. I would rather prefer being paid for dancing on these events. It's a good way of earning more money," he added.
Besides being an actor, Abhay is also trying his hands at production. Though his first production "Road, Movie" did not take off well he says he is being cautious with his second project "Basra".
"My first production did not take off so I am very cautious about the second one. I am being very calculative about everything. As a producer I want to explore projects which other people are afraid to. I want to write and develop scripts which are close to my heart and then package them in a mainstream film," he said.
Abhay also said that as a producer he is realising the difficulties of finding a market for niche films, which is something he also faced as an actor.
"Distribution in our industry for niche films is unfair.
How much ever we say it does not exist, it does. With power some try to monopolise the market. That is why some niche films or small budget films are tagged flop because they don't find the perfect publicity and market.
"'Manorama Six Feet Under' was ruined because of this, when it released it hardly did any business though over a period it did through DVDs. But it was termed a flop even when people liked it because of the number game. In our industry it is the first weekend collection which matters.
"Also the govt is not doing anything on their part. We should have a low price for small budget films, but govt does not do that. We don't have unity in our industry to tackle and solve these issues," he added.
The actor is currently shooting for a cameo in "Raanjhaana" opposite Sonam Kapoor and South star Dhanush.
