[Throwback] Abhay Deol: 'It's normal to worship penis in our country, then why is sex demonised so often?'

One of the few actors in Bollywood, who don't fear to speak his mind, is Abhay Deol. Apart from slamming A-listed stars including Shah Rukh Khan for endorsing fairness cream products and thereby encouraging racism, Abhay had made some bold statements in the past as well.

Back in 2015, when Mumbai police raided some hotel rooms and rounded up some couples, it evoked criticism from many sections, some even called it a case of 'moral policing'. Abhay had also slammed the police and had expressed his anger on Facebook.

Calling the arrest an act of public indecency, the Dev.D actor had written on social media: "I was brought up by the same values as any other from my country, which may come as a surprise to those who think people born into the film industry are brought up with a different set of values (usually loose and privileged). So I get it. The taboo that comes with the topic of sex in my society. But booking young kids for a crime they didn't commit, physically and mentally abusing them publicly? To me it looks more like it was the police that was guilty of 'public indecency'"

On being asked further on this, Abhay had told Mumbai Mirror, "Making us feel ashamed of ourselves through sex is the oldest and easiest trick in the book. People all over the world have been doing it for generations. In fact, it's gone from being a trick, to becoming a culture by itself. It was introduced through the Hindu religion at one time, and the only way for many to enforce it today is through laws."

"Ironically, many of the more puritanical views on sex aren't even a part of our Vedic texts. Our history shows we had a scientific way of living and if you want to speak specifically about sex, then that too was looked upon as being natural," he had said.

Abhay's statement raises eyebrows

The Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara actor's further statement might have raised a lot of eyebrows. "It's no coincidence that our mythology is peppered with details of the sex lives of our gods. It's normal to worship the penis in our country. So then, why is sex demonised so often? The answers lie in our culture... in the day-to-day lives of people in our country. Indulgence of any sort is harmful – ironically, it comes exactly for that very thing which we are trying to sweep under the rug," he concluded.