Abhay Deol, who impressed one and all with his superlative performance in Dev D earlier this year, took part in the second New Stream Panel discussion at the ongoing 11th Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival. The talented actor, who has created a niche for himself doing off-beat roles time and again, was present at the New Stream Panel discussion along with his Dev D co-star Kalki and director Anurag Kashyap.

The New Stream Panel discussion is a new introduction in the Festival, where crew members of some off-beat films made in the mainstream genre share their insights with the audience. Speaking at the discussion, Abhay said, “I was able to emote well in the film because Anurag gave me the freedom to do things naturally and spontaneously.”

Abhay also said that festivals like Osian’s Cinefan Film Festival provide a perfect platform to serious actors like himself who do not fit in the larger-than-life roles and are not picked up by makers of art cinema who think he belongs to commercial cinema.

The actor, apart from his acting assignments, is also busy with his production house- Forbidden Films, which is all set to make an action film called Basra set in the Iraqi city of the same name.