Birthday Special: Ajay Devgn - More than just an action hero!

Ajay Devgn. File pic

It was back in 1991 when Ajay Devgn stormed into cinemas with his blockbuster debut which was 'Phool Aur Kaante'. His entry scene atop two speeding bikes is for the ages. In these three decades, he has established himself as an intense actor with those brooding eyes. But there's a lot more to him than these adjectives and some of his films are proof of:

ROMANCE

In both Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devgn falls in love with a woman who loves someone else. In both films, he vows to unite the two who have been separated by destiny. And as expected, in both films, he wins the woman over. Before the two films, we often saw the leading man in elaborate action scenes, performing some jaw-dropping stunts. When he tried his hand at romance, he managed to pull off a lovestruck man as well as showcase vulnerability when needed.

HORROR

In Ram Gopal Varma's Bhoot, Devgn became one of the only actors from his contemporaries to have the courage to attempt such a genre. Horror was not a genre that got the cash registers ringing. But Ram Gopal Varma brought together an ensemble of Devgn, Rekha, Nana Patekar, and Urmila Matondkar to make a film that went on to create a huge impact and was a benchmark of sorts for many years.

COMEDY

Rohit Shetty and Ajay Devgn seem to be a match made in heaven, and the box office. With as many as a dozen collaborations, nearly all of the director-actor duo's movies have been successful. Among the firsts, (and finest) Golmaal that came out in 2006, Devgn showed his knack for comedy, surrendering himself to the lunacy with ease and effect. Of course, it went on to become a massively lapped up franchise with one thunderous blockbuster after another. The franchise spawned three sequels with another in the pipeline