Panaji, Apr 04, 2025, IANS

Panaji, April 4 (IANS) Bollywood actor Abhay Deol has opened up about his love for Goa, revealing that his romance with the state began when he was “very young.” Abhay was spotted at the launch of the digital guidebook “Goa Unseen,” by Airbnb in collaboration with Goa Tourism. Talking about his love affair with Goa, Abhay said, “It started very, very young. In fact, now I'm getting a flash: the first time I came, I had gotten an advertisement for this one drink, which didn't stay in the market. I must have been 18 years old, and it was somewhere in the 90s, so mid to late 90s is when I first came here.” “We of course did those things if we were younger, so we were here to listen to music, to party, and to go to cafes and bars, and from there on it's morphed as I've grown older obviously; you move beyond those things.” Abhay now has been living in Goa, also known as the Pearl of the Orient. “I in fact bought a piece of land in Goa, I built my house here, and I've been living here now since 2017,” added the actor, who has worked in films such as “Dev.D,” “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara,” “Road Movie,” and “Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!” The Guidebook was launched in the presence of Shri Rohan Khaunte, Minister for Tourism, Government of Goa, Amanpreet Singh Bajaj, Airbnb's Country Head for India and Southeast Asia and Abhay. The actor was also seen in the film “Bun Tikki." “Bun Tikki’ also features Shabana Azmi and Zeenat Aman, alongside Nushrratt Bharucha and Rohaan Preet Singh. The film is based in the serene setting of Nainital. The film follows the journeys of seven-year-old Shanu and his single father, Sidhant. Shanu grapples with self-discovery amid societal challenges, while Sidhant navigates grief and societal pressures as a single parent trying to understand his child.