’I’m a lazy actor’

Ajay Devgn says that he has never internalised his characters. he plays the game by his own rules as a wacky nutjob in All The Best or a political hotshot in Rajneeti

Ajay Devgn says that he has never internalised his characters. he plays the game by his own rules as a wacky nutjob in All The Best or a political hotshot in Rajneeti

He's under the weather, but committed to the interview. So with a wan smile, Ajay Devgn complies, for the sake of his home production All The Best, releasing this Diwali.

Immediately, he's exasperated by the curiosity over the changing of the spelling of Devgan to Devgn. After all, like Yusuf Khan (Dilip Kumar), Jatin Khanna (Rajesh Khanna), Rajiv Bhatia (Akshay Kumar) and Ravi Kapoor (Jeetendra), Ajay too was Vishal Devgan once and got used to his screen name pretty quickly.

"My family has been asking me to change this for the last 12 years, for my overall well-being. I've been uncomfortable with the idea, mainly because I would have to answer these questions. Eventually, I agreed."

And in the same casual, crisp manner, Ajay makes short shrift of the rest of the interview.

All The Best has you teaming with Rohit Shetty again. It even looks like the sequel, Golmaal 3.
Golmaal 3 is next year. All The Best is different that's why we deliberately didn't cast anyone from Golmaal's line-up.

Maybe people feel this way because it's a comedy, it's Rohit Shetty, it stays in that genre. And if people feel it's Golmaal 3, we'll only benefit from it.

Looks like you've cracked a formula... comedy, cars smashing against each other, huge dance numbers.
Yeah, basically a complete entertainer. What every group of people will enjoy, except for the critics! That's not a problem to us because eventually, the film should run.

I know critics are important, but do you know there are some 400 critics today? On every channel, there are two people discussing films when they don't even understand film-making. How can you say what's right or wrong? You're harming someone's career or a producer who must have put in all his life's savings. It's not fair. There has to be some kind of qualification before you become a critic.

Does it intimidate you that All The Best is coming with big-starrers like Blue and Main Aur Mrs Khanna?
See, we always wanted this date, even before we started shooting. We fought for it, in spite of whatever issues (the multiplex strike). When we announced the film, we were the only ones in that slot. According to schedule, these films, including my own London Dreams, were slotted for August.

There's news over how you were insecure with the footage given to Salman Khan in Vipul Shah's
London Dreams...
(Shrugs and smiles) Once you hear your role, you take it on because it's good. Then you have no right to be insecure about anything. In London Dreams, I actually have a longer role than Salman's, but it doesn't matter.

It's about the characters. You don't count the number of scenes you have.

Salman and I are comfortable with each other because we share the same attitude. We're not insecure, not worried. We understand each other; that's why it worked in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam as well.

You're a pop singer in London Dreams. Do you sing at all, even to your daughter Nysa?
(Laughs) No, I don't. I'm terrible at it.

Like the scene in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in which you sing?
That is what I am actually! People thought it was a great performance, but I sing like that, badly. But Nysa would never say that about her father.

You're in Prakash Jha's multi-starrer on politics, Rajneeti. His films are intense affairs. Do you internalise those emotions?
(Smiles, shakes his head) I'm a very lazy actor. I go with what I feel. It's great to have a good director, it gets easier. Rajneeti has conflicts between all the characters. The bottom line is that it's Mahabharat in politics. If Ranbir (Kapoor) is playing Arjun, I'm Karan, Nana (Patekar) is Krishna. He's the man behind the whole game. The conflicts are in the climax.

You've made short social films, like the one against plastic. What do you feel is wrong in politics?
Everything is wrong because everything is wrong in us. It's never our problem. We don't take things seriously. We should blame ourselves first; maybe then the system will change.

Ever thought of joining politics?
Never, it's not a game I can play. That's where we're wrong. We consider politics as something we'd never want to be a part of. However, we're all affected by what our government does. I've never wanted to campaign despite the offers because I've never felt strongly for any leader. There are actor friends in politics, but they know, 'Don't ask him. Anything else, but this.'
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There's curiosity about Once Upon A Time In Bombay because of it allegedly being don Haji Mastan's story.
I loved the script. We have another title that I like more Bambai Raat Ki Baahon Mein. It's a little lyrical and nice. It's about crime in Bombay, so it suits it.u00a0

What's the status on your Toonpur Ka Super Hero?
Such films take a year in post-production. It's an animated world with live characters; it's never been done before. It's happening for the first time in India we're looking at a release next May.

Toonpur is about this division in the toon world where the Dev Toons and the Toon Asurs (the rakshasas) are at war with one another. The Dev Toons feel they need someone to rescue them. They're movie-crazy, so they catch this action star, played by me, because they think he's a super hero.

I took on this gamble because Toonpur is a nice script. Animation in our country hasn't worked much, but I love these films. I go with Nysa for every animation film, I can see Lion King 25 times. But in our country, we only target kids. Toonpur for me is a comedy, a fun film.

The new fad is 3-D. Ever thought of experimenting with that?
It's been done in India before. Techniques have gotten better, but you need the right kind of script. Sometimes, it can be a headache. The last 3-D film I saw with Nysa was Ice Age 3. I saw most of the kids remove the specs because they couldn't handle it.

Kajol has been shooting My Name Is Khan in America. Has that meant more dad time for you?
No, I was in Goa for two months and Nysa was with her. Holidays were on, so it was planned this way. Kajol actually came down four times to Goa.

What's the secret of a long-term relationship like yours?
Everyone has a different secret. The bottom-line is, you should really like the person love is besides the point. It's important to like the person or it just won't work. Secondly, you make an effort for that person because you like her. You can't take her for granted. You want the person to be happy.

Kajol is an actress that people gush about. How do you pay her a compliment?
We've crossed that. She's a fabulous actress, but now we just tell each other, 'You've done well.' (laughs)

Are you planning your next directorial venture?
Next year. We're working on the script. I'm toying with two ideas.

What are the lessons you learnt from U Me Aur Hum?
Basically, you should be confident and not mix two genres just so that you can make it more commercial and have audiences come in. U Me Aur Hum worked great, especially overseas and the response was that the second half worked. But there was that insecurity that I needed to put in entertainment, so I ended up mixing genres.

You choose eclectic roles. What is the type of cinema you enjoy?
Comedy and action (grins). Honestly, the kind of films I make, I don't even watch. I find them slow and boring. There's so much pressure that when you sit down to watch a film, you just want to be entertained. You say, "Today, I don't want to think."

You started out as an assistant director to Shekhar Kapur, then became a hero, a director, a producer. What goals do you have left in cinema?
I have no goals. I go with the flow. If tomorrow I feel like taking a six-month break, I'll do that. I won't worry about whether I'll get roles or not.

Who am I working for? Myself. I need to enjoy the process. I'm not a very ambitious person. I'm happy with the way I work because it's on my terms and conditions.

People feel you're one of the more secure actors.
I'm comfortable in my space. I have a confidence coming from working on my own terms. Insecure people lack that. When I don't do what I see other actors doing, when I watch them compromise, I feel superior to them.

Kajol too admits she isn't ambitious.
Yes, she won't do a thing for any sake if she's not happy to do it. That's why we feel superior to other actors.
We don't discuss films at home. If you took our opinion when both of us we were sitting together, you'd hear that we think 99 per cent of our industry can't act!

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