“I was awestruck when I met Indira Gandhi!” - Abhay Vakil

Some actors are just not what they seem to be! Abhay Vakil, who plays Pranjal and till recently also portrayed his negative twin Daksh in Zee's Paalkhi, undoubtedly tops the list. He has had a very colourful childhood, surrounded by VIPs and celebs! Abhay, who believes in keeping a low profile talks to Riya V Anandwala about his rather 'starry' childhood! Wow, that's some picture gallery... Actually, I know them all personally because of my father! He is a part of the Indo- American Society and also conducts a business that helps who want to immigrate to the USA. And as he is into the events and programmes, I met lots of film personalities through him. So, is that you with the Prime Minister? He had come to our place! He was my grandfather Professor. C.N. Vakil's economics student. We are still in touch with Dr Manmohan Singh and visit his house whenever we go to Delhi. So which one of these eminent people struck a chord with you! It definitely has to be the meeting with Mrs Indira Gandhi. It was truly an overwhelming experience. I was awestruck as I had always seen her on television and meeting her in person was a dream come true. She was very warm and incredibly phenomenonal. The touching part was that exactly after three months on the same date, she was assassinated and that left a very deep psychological effect on me. Did you get any special treatment in school, thanks to your contacts? Never! That's because I never told anyone in school that I had contacts with these people. I believed in keeping a low profile. Your childhood must have been quite happening! Nothing of that sort! In fact, I was a very quiet, reserved, well behaved and shy child. As I belonged to a household that valued education immensely, I was deeply involved with my studies. I was tagged as a typical bookworm and was never a brat. Pampered at home? Not really. I always used to grab everyone's attention because I was very quiet and obedient as a child. Never a bully then? I never used to bully anyone, but used to get bullied at times. Pranks then...? Oh yes! I remember two incidents of that sort. Once in the ninth grade, I was sitting on the last bench, extremely bored by the teacher teaching the worst subject ever, chemistry! I needed a break desperately, so I took a piece of paper and wrote "please zip up your pants". The chit traveled all through the class and the teacher found something fishy and found the chit. After reading it, he actually went out and checked his pants. Another incident was where I wanted to bunk another boring geometry lecture. So a friend and I put some fake blood on my nose and told the teacher that I had been involved in a fight with some guys who were criticising our school and I couldn't take it, so bashed them up. And then I asked him if he could excuse me for this lecture, as I had to go to the doctor. So, I guess in a way, I too was a brat! Were you interested in extra-curricular activities? Sort of. I have been into dance and magic. And then in college, I clubbed them together. I have done a diploma course in magic. Were you ambitious as a child? And how did acting happen? Well, I was ambitious about being a doctor, but then the actor in me broke through! Anything in particular which you always wanted to do as a child but couldn't do? Cricket! I always wanted play cricket in a better way, but ended up playing in my building compound! This happened because I studied the ICSE course, and that's very demanding!