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`I am a director's actor'

ANUJ KUMAR

As `Apaharan' hits theatres this Friday, here is a peek into the world of Ajay Devgan

THE BROODING WINNER: Ajay Devgan has survived many troughs and remains a force to reckon with in the industry. Photo: Anu Pushkarna

He has never been this Khan who has to drink rum to play Devdas, he has never been that Khan who had to grow his moustache to get the feel of Mangal Pandey. Still some 15 years after he proposed at the turnstiles with "Phool Aur Kaante", Ajay Devgan remains a phenomenon in the film industry that just refuses to be pushed from the premier league.

When his fellow actors starved to get the feel of hunger strike in "The Legend of Bhagat Singh", he refused to, for Ajay feels, "You don't need to be hungry to get the feel of hunger". When it comes to acting he knows no method.

Silently, he has worked with a range of directors that few can show in their resume. From Govind Nihalani and Mani Ratnam to Raj Kumar Santoshi, Ramgopal Varma and Rituparno Ghosh. Not to forget his favourite Prakash Jha. After the success of "Gangaajal", the two will show up again this Friday in "Apaharan." In fact it's their third film together, the first being "Dil Kya Kare" which Ajay himself produced.

Prakash, for whom cinema transcends technique to an expression, terms Ajay an economic actor, who economises on emotions and is very spontaneous. "He can't overdo anything." Right, recall Malik in "Company" or Michael in "Yuva" or rewind a few years back when he delivered his first National Award winning performance in Mahesh Bhatt's "Zakhm". You will know what the word understatement can spell on big screen.

Director's actor

Ajay attests his friend's point. "I am a director's actor. I did try method acting but it didn't work for me. I rely on the filmmaker for I believe the subject is closest to him and it's the actor's duty to bring his vision alive. Forget about taking home, I forget about the scene the moment it has been canned but the director lives the subject. It doesn't mean I don't give my inputs but running on parallel tracks won't take the film anywhere."

Talking about "Apaharan", Ajay holds after "Gangaajal", Prakash has again succeeded in marrying social message with the commercial. Based on the kidnapping syndicates that operate in Bihar, the film is based on real incidents. "We all read about kidnapping stories in the media but we don't know how the network operates. Being from the state, Prakash does. How the big-wigs are involved, how panwallahs work as transit points... there is also an inherent humour in the professionalism these people show in kidnapping somebody."

However, Ajay quickly points out the film is not just about kidnapping. "It provides the background but the subject is more about the relationship that an idealist father and his son share."

Ajay reveals it's about how a son who wants to be a law enforcer changes sides with one of the reasons being his father didn't back him. He becomes famous only to discover this was not what he wanted out of life.

Any similarities to his relationship with his father, the action director Veru Devgan, who didn't push his son's case until he proved himself? "In a way yes, but I never wanted to be an actor myself. I was working as an assistant director until one day Kuku Kohli asked me to do some action scenes and the next day I was doing `Phool Aur Kaante'." What is also not similar to real life is his brooding persona that he carries on the screen and the trademark look that he has been selling to the media for years. Beyond screen Ajay is fun. He can comment on Prakash for directing the media, he can play pranks on his co-stars. If in "Kaal" it was John, here it was Bipasha Basu. "On the second day of shooting I was told that I am late for shooting when I was not. And when I reached the spot I was greeted with a huge garland and a roadside band played some desi numbers. The entire episode was choreographed by Ajay," reveals Bipasha.

Ask Ajay and he presents the same impish smile, however, the man has indeed turned media savvy post marriage. "I don't know what media savvy means and if you mean my appearance in advertisements for a telecom major and participating in `Kaun Banega Crorepati,' it has to do with what they offered. The advertisements are different from the usual posing ones. These are more of an extension of the actor that I am. I accepted to appear on KBC because we played for charity and of course Amitji."

Different roles

So, would Ajay keep himself immersed in these hyper-intense roles, which some believe he gets written for himself?

"I have been trying different roles all through but unfortunately they have not been noticed. I have tried comedy so many times and it is not that they haven't worked at the box office. Both `Ishq' and `Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha' were hits. To me comedy can't be buffoonery; it has to be backed by content. Recently I have finished another `Golmaal'." And what about the "Zameers" and "Blackmails" that he does by the dozen? They may keep the Harry Bawejas employed but bring his success average down every year.

" `Zameer' was supposed to be directed by acclaimed South Indian director Bharathan but he unfortunately expired in the interim. But, yes, I do quite a few films for friends and now want to cut down on them."

For now, with Vishal Bhardwaj's take on Shakespeare's "Othello", where he is playing the title role ready to go on sets, Ajay is again set to go under another the master's chisel.

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