Actor Ajay Devgn, who has notched up hits in both comedy and serious films, tells Ayushi Sharma that he relates to both because the purpose is wholesome entertainment
Just the way he made his entry in the Hindi film industry with his trademark leg split stunt in the 1991 classic, Phool Aur Kaante, actor Ajay Devgn straddles the genre of comedy and serious films with equal ease. And reminiscing the same pose from his debut, his latest film, De De Pyar De, resurrects the famous split in the poster, except for the fact that the bikes have been replaced by cars and co-stars Tabu and Rakul Preet Singh are sitting on them.
The promos of De De Pyar De were mired in controversy because of their sexist tone and tenor. But Ajay is ready for defence. He says, “When you watch the film, you wouldn’t ask this question. The film revolves around a character who is 50 and dates a girl half his age. The highs and lows that they go through when they meet his ex-wife form the crux of the film. My defence is that you won’t ask the question after watching the film as you would realise that the question was incorrect. It is actually a progressive film as the women characters are very strong.”
Talking a little more about his latest outing, he says, “It is a slice of life. It has drama and emotions. Sometimes when the most important and relevant things are presented in a light-hearted way, they hit hard. This film has a sense of maturity. It’s presented in an entertaining and humorous manner. I would put it in the category of Badhaai Ho.”
The actor believes that the basic and the most crucial function of cinema is to entertain the audience. “Have you ever thought why people even watch films?” he questions and goes on to answer it as well, “The primary reason is that they want to feel relaxed.”
If they want to be informed, he feels, people would watch documentaries, read books or attend lectures. Then he questions, “Why do you watch films? Because you want to relax. Is there any other reason? Films are made for entertainment so that the audience can have a good time. Even a film on Mahatma Gandhi’s life would have twists and turns. If you go to a restaurant, you go there to eat rather than to observe or watch a lecture. If you want to approach a topic, you have to do it in a funny manner, otherwise people aren’t interested. It helps to put your message across humourously because then the audience agrees with it. You are entertained and the message also comes across easily.”
Yet he is not so structured in his choice of roles. “I don’t know. I hear scripts and follow my heart. It’s not intentional. But I would like to switch all the time because otherwise aisa lagega ki mai vahi cheez baar baar kar raha hoon. Everytime you go back to a genre, you are exploring something new, because you are coming from a different mind space. So that is what keeps me going,” he says. What has really worked for him is that his choices in all the genres seem to hit the bull’s eye most of the time. “I guess I’m very lucky that different kinds of films have worked for me. There are so many actors who are struggling to change their genre but the audience does not accept them. It’s like they want to see them play only one kind of characters. So I have been very lucky. But then, I would say I started doing it before anyone else did, like in Zakhm. Mainstream actors did not even touch such films with a bargepole at that time,” he says.
Ajay believes that there is no genre for an actor. “You just become the character. You do what the script demands,” says the actor who is playing his age this time around.
While approaching a character, he says, “I have been working for many years now. We see and observe people and imbibe their personalities and thought processes.”
The film clearly signals a change in content as this subject hasn’t been touched upon often in mainstream cinema. Ajay attributes it to the audience. “Content has evolved with them. What they preferred earlier was what we did. Because of the exposure to international platforms they have evolved. Today, even seven or eight-year-olds are well aware of good content. You cannot fool them. We have to change the same way as the audience. Actors, of course, benefit from it as we get the scope to do something different. I was abused for the kind of films that I did earlier. But now the audience watches these. So what can I do?” he says with a shrug.
His co-star in the film, Tabu, recently said that he was the most bankable actor. So how does it feel when someone puts so much of faith in you? “Luckily, all the films that we have done together have worked. It’s not about faith. It’s about trusting each other. We’ve known each other for 30 years. I would not like to coerce her into accepting a role and she knows that. When I hear a script, realise that it is a strong character, then I discuss with the producer and the director that Tabu can pull it off well. Then I talk to her and tell her to listen to the script and do it if she likes it.”
That they have known each other for long also means that often people want him to convince her to be a part of a film. “Often people approach me and say Tabu would look good in this role and I reply that the role is not worthy of her. She is a great actress. You need to justify her presence. It has to be something extraordinary. She’s a performer and not just a heroine,” says he.
He points out that the nuance and depth in his work came over the years. “It’s a slow progression. I haven’t changed overnight. You grow with experience. You learn from it. You learn from your mistakes as well as those that other people make. You don’t even realise that there is evolution. It’s one step everyday so you take 10 in equal number of days. But you can’t reach the 10th step in one day,” he says as he stands up to leave. One more step in his evolution as an actor.
Photo: Pankaj Kumar
