SP 26 worked only for section of audience: Ajay

Ajay Devgn on his frequent trips to Gujarat, the math of making masala potboilers and more in an interview with TOI

Gujarat seems to be a must in your itinerary of promoting films.
I have business commitments here and that brings me to the state often. And all my films work in here, so why not? I was here sometime back to meet Mr Narendra Modi to attend his hangout session. If he becomes the next PM, then the country will benefit from his expertise and good administration. I am looking at the bigger picture here.

You have been doing a lot of typical masala potboilers recently. Don't you feel you could do something different, like Akshay Kumar did in Special 26?
Let me tell you, I was offered Special 26, but I didn't do it because the film had its own limitations. It worked alright, but only for a certain group of audiences. On the other hand, I cater to the masses and not just a certain section of the audience. My films are about entertaining the entire family.

You mean that films like Son Of Sardaar only can entertain and earn money? How would you explain the success of films like 3 Idiots or Barfi?
It's not only about the masala potboilers. I was the amongst the first ones to experiment with different genres of making films. I won two National Awards for Zakhm and The Legend of Bhagat Singh. But, of late I haven't come across a script that will excite me enough to venture into something different. Sometimes, big stars like me become a liability for small budget films and that's why I stick to doing big budget films. I only want my films make the audience forget their worries and give them value for their money. But having said that, I am doing a film like Satyagraha as well.

You seem to be promoting Sonakshi Sinha's career?
I am not promoting anyone. However, I do feel that Sonakshi is a good actress. After watching her on screen for the first time itself I could make out that she'd do well.

There were rumours of an alleged affair with Kangana Ranaut floating around sometime back. Your comment.
Kangana is just a co-actor. And this is something so trivial that the rumours died down immediately. In fact Kangana filed a PIL as well against the publication that wrote about it. My family and friends did not bother about it at all, so I didn't even remember this.

You seem to be comfortable working with Amitabh Bachchan but not with stars like Salman Khan or Shah Rukh Khan.
Currently, I am doing only one film with Amitabh Bachchan. Salman is a friend and I don't mind working with him, but I haven't been offered any film with him recently. As far as Shah Rukh is concerned, he is just an acquaintance. I need to be comfortable on the sets when I am working. I prefer to work in peace without the fear of getting manipulated, not that any star has tried to manipulate me, but I work with people I am comfortable with. Besides, if the film has two big stars, it unnecessarily goes into big budgets.