Abhay Deol & The Cast Of Disney’s “Spin” Tells Us Why It’s Better To Let Your Kids Chase Their Own Dreams

Disney Channel is releasing their latest film Spin which comes out today. It revolves around Rhea who — while navigating her high school life and her familial obligations at her father’s restaurant — discovers another level of creativity through DJ-ing. The film stars Abhay Deol (who plays Rhea’s dad), Aryan Simhadri (who plays Rhea’s brother) and Avantika (Rhea) all chatted with me about their respective roles, the magic of music and the value of not only speaking out but in listening as well.

When I heard the premise of the film, I was stoked. Seriously stoked. Mainly because throughout this pandemic DJs have kept me going. It was a virtual communal experience where Instagram alerts announcing a session would lead me on an incredible fantasia of orchestrations spun by DJs from around the world who were also in lockdown and spinning from their respective living rooms. As I also love vinyl (evidenced by my extensive Jazz LPs I have), I have since become obsessed with DJs and their tracks, the technical aspects of it all and how a gifted ear can thread together such unlikely musical bedfellows.

So when I found out that Disney is releasing a movie featuring an Indian-American teen who wants to pursue her own DJ dreams, I was hooked. Spin, premiering tonight on Disney Channel, tells the story of one Indian-American teen, Rhea, who while balancing her work obligations at her family’s restaurant with her STEM dreams at school, discovers her knack for spinning vinyl.

Rhea’s (Avantika) family is complete with her father Arvind played by Abhay Deol, (yes that Deol), her brother Rohan (Aryan Simhadri) and her Asha Nanni (Meera Syal). Directed by Manjari Makijany (Skater Girl), the story also has Rhea surrounded by her wonderfully eclectic group of high school friends. Her pals who not only help her with her school but all that comes with it, including the circuitous world of high school crushes. And then there’s the music. Rhea taps into her musical intuition (gifted to her by her late mother) revealing a fantastic universe of notes and rhythms that she had never experienced before — one vinyl rotation at a time.

Avantika has firmly cemented her place in Disney’s streaming world with projects including Mira, The Royal Detective and Diary of a Future President in her portfolio. However, she has not done a motion picture yet — in English to be exact. Before Spin, she honed her skills working in Tamil and Telugu projects, but her LA dreams persisted. And it looked like it would come to fruition when at the age of 12 she auditioned for her first English language film which happened to be Spin. The film didn’t immediately take off however. Instead, it paced itself akin to the cadence of an extended remix, and it was put back on the shelf for more tweaks. Three years later, in early 2020 when she was 15,  Spin was ready for her. She auditioned for the role (again) and landed it (again) flying to Toronto to film in late summer/early fall of last year. “It was a big full circle moment,” she enthused. “The first English [film] audition I ever did was the first English movie that I booked.”

For Deol, it was Makijany who kept circling on his radar for some time. He already knew her as they were family friends, and as soon as the film was ready to go, he got the call and he was in.

Simhadri’s sartorial choices may have been a game-changer for him. “I went in for the audition all dressed up, I was in like the full suit and tux, and no one else was. And I was like, ‘Oh shoot.’,” he giggled. “But hey, you know, maybe that’s what helped me book the job.”

Seeing ourselves in mainstream productions as main characters and not just tokenized sidekicks is relatively new. The first major effort was Mindy Kaling’s gigantic Netflix hit, Never Have I Ever. Disney and Spin picks up that baton and brilliantly presents this relatable family that’s authentic. Because authenticity is key when it comes to South Asian representation.

“It was great to be represented in such a way, to be front and center as as an Indian American family,” Deol adds. “And beyond the representation, if you just go beyond the surface, it’s just a regular story about a little kid growing up and her family. It could be any sort of ethnic background. And so, it was making a statement without making a statement.”

The authenticity is not only expressed in terms of a relatable family, even the dynamics that exist when it comes to dreams — those envisioned by the child vs. dreams envisioned by the parents for that child. One powerful scene plays out in Rhea’s classroom during a parent-teacher meeting where Arvind (who helms the family restaurant) assumes that his daughter’s dreams are aligned with his plans for her. An assumption questioned by Rhea’s teacher.

“That’s what is beautiful about it because it is relatable. It happens,” Deol explains. “He just takes her interest in the restaurant business and working with him to be an ambition of her own. He’s really caught in the romance of thinking that his daughter wants to be just like him. He doesn’t take into the fact that while that may be true when she’s 10, 11, and 12. Children grow. And ambitions change. And that’s something he does not see.”

“I love that scene.” Avantika adds. “I think it highlights an important part of our community where sometimes parents can be unaware of their child’s true passion and true interests because they are so consumed with making sure that their child leads a stable, comfortable life and it comes from good intentions. But sometimes a child’s passions can be swept away. And I think this film is a great representation of that, because while it doesn’t necessarily demonize Rhea’s dad and show him as an ill-intentioned person, it also highlights the fact that this is something that is very common in South Asian families.”

The interesting reversal of traditional gender roles in the film stood out to me.  Rhea is a coder, interested in the STEM space, while her brother Rohan is interested in introducing an innovative take on the taco at the restaurant. She was surprised that I noticed. “I’m so glad you kind of mentioned that! You’re actually the first person to mention that!” She exclaimed. “It’s something that I found was really notable about the movie as well. And I think one of the big reasons why people didn’t ask questions about it was because it’s seamlessly integrated into the film, and it’s not made to seem like it’s weird. Rhea likes coding and she’s interested in engineering and STEM. Rohan wants to become a chef and he’s interested in cooking. It just is what it is. I think that also goes to show how subliminally we can educate people and show them that the gender roles can be reversed, and it can be very normalized and that it’s totally okay.”

And of course, there’s that music. The film poignantly showcases the story-telling ability that a collection of musical notes possess. You just get swept away into the vortex of percussions, mixing switches and the inimitable power of the LP. It’s magic.

And speaking of magic…

During production, the cast bonded over one specific form of entertainment. Magic tricks. Aryan — a budding magician — kept everyone entertained with his sleight of hand. Avantika enjoyed being part of the behind-the-scenes prep work before he would reveal it to the masses on set. “It was like seeing my little brother have fun and kind of show his tricks to everyone,” She mused. “And everyone was so amazed by him. I just felt really proud.”

Rewinding back to the idea of pursuing your own dreams, I asked Deol if he ever had that conversation with his father Ajit Deol who is a noted producer and writer and his uncle, the iconic Bollywood actor, Dharmendra.

“It was kind of taken for granted at home that I would be an actor.” Deol confessed. “For a long time, I denied the fact that I wanted to be one. And as is with any classic Indian family, they would be like, “Sure, sure, you can be an actor. But maybe you want to be an engineer [or a] doctor?” I didn’t get into [acting] because of that privilege, because I felt that I wouldn’t be taken seriously.”

Deol continued, “People would presume there was an easy path for me. And I didn’t do the mainstream cinema that my family does. That was a conversation I had with my uncle about the choices I made and not following in the footsteps in terms of my choices. And he just said, ‘Look, I have seen your work. You are a good actor. You can’t put a good actor down. Just follow your heart.’ So, even when things got really bad, when I was fighting the system, it was nice to have his support and backing. Just emotionally, I didn’t look at it from a career perspective as much as I did from an emotional one.”

Avantika hopes that Spin will provide an opportunity for families to openly talk about the idea of dreams and assumptions when it comes to parents and their children, especially in our South Asian culture where such life choices are decided (mostly by the parents) early on.

“I hope that audience [understands] — parents and kids alike — that you can take your time, find your passion, explore, and don’t ever limit yourself to one thing. The sky is the limit. You can have your cake and eat it too.”

Spin premieres on the Disney Channel on Friday August 13, 2021.

Main Image Photo Credit: Disney