When reality hits

By now, in his 26 years-plus career, Ajay Devgn has done them all - action dramas (starting with his debut film Phool Aur Kaante), family films (Drishyam), romantic movies (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam), thrillers (Deewangee), horror (Bhoot), offbeat cinema (Raincoat), comedies (the Golmaal franchise), and last but not least as a genre - biopics. Negative roles (Deewangee, Khakee) are also a special forte for the superstar, and he is waiting for a good one even today.

He has been a producer (All The Best) and director (Shivaay), even recorded songs (Bol Bachchan), ventured into regional cinema (the Marathi Viti Dandu in 2014 and Aapla Manus in 2018, which had his cameo as well). He was also the narrator for good friend Bobby Deol's home production Yamla Pagla Deewana. Apart from superstardom, Padma Shri Ajay Devgn has also won the National award twice (Zakhm, The Legend Of Bhagat Singh) and several other awards.

All of 16 years ago, he played Bhagat Singh in The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, effortlessly outdoing the rival movies made in that year on the martyr (2002) with his intense performance. Now, he is set to play a real-life income-tax officer in his dramatised biopic, Raid.

Ajay is in a hurry and wraps up the interview in less than 14 minutes! Never a big talker or someone prone to long answers, and often laconic in his replies, the actor is nevertheless quite frank and funny in his replies.

As for Raid, has he met the real man on whom his new film is based? "Yes, I did meet him," he replies. "That was important because this film is not just about that one incident, the raid, but also about the person he is. The person in question is income-tax commissioner Sharda Prashad Pandey, and we have to understand his honesty in this film. The most interesting point was that, over 30 years ago, no one had the courage to conduct an income tax raid on the man he raided, and finally unearth an incredible amount of black money. That, in today's times, would be valued at hundreds of crores."

Ajay's friend and the film's co-producer Kumar Mangat had the details of the real incident for more than 10 to 15 years, but he shared them with Ajay just a few years ago. "When I heard about this incident, I knew we had to make a film on this, but there was no script," says the actor. "The story had so many intriguing and fascinating layers. My director Raj Kumar Gupta and co-writer Ritesh Shah had to create a whole world just from an incident, and write a complete script based on it. Until we were sure, we could not convince others about the story."

Team spirit

Does he offer his inputs on such films? Says Ajay, "Every actor offers inputs on every film he does! And our director, whom we chose after having watched No One Killed Jessica, is a very sensible person. There is always back and forth in ideas, scenes and shots, and every film is teamwork." Asked whether his inputs are much more because he is a director himself, Ajay shakes his head and repeats the "teamwork" bit.

Does he think that now is the right time to make such unusual subjects? Has the audience changed? "Yes, they have, but now audiences are not just of one kind. The Internet, our exposure to world cinema, everything has influenced us. Today, even my watchman watches movies on his phone. So accordingly, we, as artistes and film-makers, are also changing. We can make stories that we couldn't make a few years earlier."

And yet, audiences welcome classic Hindi entertainers with open arms, like Golmaal Again. Nodding, he remarks, "For the audience, it has always been about entertainment. A social message is optional, not compulsory. At the end of the day, it is always about good films and bad films. Name one good film like Golmaal Again that has failed. Yes, bad films sometimes work on hype. As for entertainment, there is no fixed definition. It can be, for example, as much about the audience laughing as much about their tears."

Will the latest developments such as web series, Netflix and Amazon influence Hindi cinema's fortunes? "To a small extent, they will," he muses. "So, we must make films now that people will want to watch only on the big screen."

Marathi films and now television: Ajay is also expanding his horizons now. "I made Viti Dandu in 2014, and Aapla Manus this year. I don't plan that I must do regional films, TV or anything else," Ajay explains. "I should want to do specific projects, like the show I am doing on Baba Ramdev. I do not think, 'Now let's also do a TV show!' or 'Now, let's do a comedy and after that a thriller!' It is all about what is exciting when narrated to me. Someone asked me if I would act in one of my Marathi films. I will, if I get a script that interests me, but not just for the sake of doing it."

Co-star love

Coming back to Raid, this is his second film (after Baadshaho) with Ileana D'Cruz. How does he find her as a  co-star? Smiling, he says, "Ileana is a sweet girl who performs very well. As my wife in this film, she looks simple but is sharper than my character, so she gives him a push to do what is right."

And how was it working with Saurabh Shukla? "I have worked with him before, but in this film, the main conflict is between him and me. Saurabh has always been a great actor, and he is great fun to work with too. We have some great scenes, many of which are humorous. Ritesh has written some fabulous lines for us."

We ask a niggling question. From Aamir Khan (Ishq) and Salman Khan (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, London Dreams) and a Shah Rukh Khan home production (Kaal) to Akshay Kumar and so many stars including Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar and Ranbir Kapoor, Ajay has worked with all of them. Why do we not get to see multi-hero films like Khakee, Raajneeti and others now? "There are no good scripts," he answers diplomatically. But why is that? "I don't know, yaar!" he says dismissively, and then gets a shade frank. "I think that the topmost heroes do not want to do films together. But I am willing to work with anyone."

Is it because budgets would go out of hand with two or more major stars? With a gesture, Ajay dismisses the idea.

So, what do we have coming up next from him? Will Golmaal 5 be made soon as the buzz goes? "No, we will make Singham 3 first," he replies. "I am also doing a rom-com with director Akiv Ali, and my production Tanaji." He also admits that he is working on something that he may direct.

Tanaji would be another biopic. But was he also not making a film on the Saragarhi Mutiny? "Two or three people are making the  movie, so I have dropped it!" he smiles. "I will make it if those movies don't shape up well!" Chuckling, he quips, "Mazaak kar raha hoon (I am just joking)!"