Industry has changed, people try to control: AJAY DEVGAN

Ajay Devgn, 44, is a man's man and a friend's friend. He knows he is sensitive and can be easily fooled and, thus, chooses to keep people at bay to avoid them hurting him. He loves his daughter and mother the most and is most attracted to his wife Kajol's honesty. He knows he is dependable and prides himself on taking care of his family.

Barring two years in his career, he has had a hit every year and feels lucky and secure to not know what bad times are all about. Ahead of hisupcoming release Satyagraha, he talks to Times of India about his parents' love story, his middle-class morals and why he believes it's imperative for the industry to unite. Excerpts:

'Satyagraha' essentially is about a father-son relationship. Let's talk about your father Veeru Devgn?
He was born in Amritsar and was brought up by his mother and her brother, as his father had died. They wanted him to get into the police department as that was considered respectable, but he wanted to be a part of films. He ran away from home with '3 in his pocket, but was caught without a ticket and put behind bars for a week, as he did not have the money to pay the penalty. His family found him and took him back to Punjab. But he was clear and had an ego that he would make it in films, so again he ran away. He came to Mumbai, but had no place. He keeps telling us about this taxi guy, who saw him and allowed him to sleep in his taxi against the condition that he would wash his taxi everyday. There was a time when he had not eaten for several days and this Maharashtrian lady, who was a banana-seller gave him bananas to eat without charging him, as she knew he was hungry. He then started working as a carpenter and eventually, though it may sound filmi, he became a local goonda of Sion-Koliwada. There were two gangs and they would get into street fights. One day, action director Ravi Khanna, who later became his guru, saw him fighting on the street and made him his assistant. Eventually, Khannaji's health started deteriorating and he would send my dad to direct in place of him and that's how, after struggling for several years, he graduated to becoming an action director. My father does not keep very well now. The reasons for his ill health can't be pinpointed, but he is in his own zone due to damage in his brain, probably due to all his accidents.

How did your parents meet?
My mother used to work in a telephone exchange. My father saw her at a bus stop. He would park his bike at the bus stop and get on to the bus she took to work. He followed her for four years before talking to her, when she agreed to meet him at the Mahalakshmi temple, where all of us go even today. She was a Sindhi and when, after two years of seeing each other, she broke the news to her parents, they asked her, 'What 'does he do?' He called her to his set to see what he did. Coincidentally, the day she went, he was doing an action sequence of breaking a real glass. As soon as she entered, he had an accident and got 44 stiches on his head and she said, 'I can't marry you as your job is too risky.' Finally, of course, her parents did not agree and she left her house to marry him.

Let's talk about your life before films?
While he was a fighter when I was born, by the time my younger sister was born, my father became an action director and really grew to become the most respected one. He gave us everything and even as a child, I had a Mercedes to myself. As a kid, I was always running away from my father as he was a disciplinarian and a workaholic. I was not allowed to go out after a certain time, but fortunately since he was out most of the time, I did not mind it. My mother was lenient and would cover up for me. I was a terrible student, had my group of friends and had my own style of wooing girls in a non-cliched way, where they would not even come to know I was wooing them. I have done everything possible that could have taken me behind bars also, but that is a part of growing up.

Three directors who consider you their friend say you are the most dependable guy and the person they would go to when their chips are down. What makes you like that?
It's all about your upbringing. When you see your parents doing the right thing, that is what you learn. We live with my parents in one house and touchwood, we have a big house, so no one is getting onto each other's toes. I am not saying those who do, don't have their limitations, but even people who have big houses turn around and look at you and say, 'Oh, you still live with your parents?' I don't understand that. Why would you leave your parents? They have looked after you all your life. Today, the way Kajol and I respect each other's parents is what our children will learn. What else is upbringing? I believe in having a few friends, but very honest friends. And, somewhere down the line, I am extremely sensitive. So, I keep people at bay as I know they can hurt me. I have seen my father screaming at a producer saying he will not come the next day till his money is given. And then the producer would come home crying and my father would not only go for the shoot, but would also land up giving him '50,000 for the shoot, if the producer did not have the money. I have seen that and it comes back to you. The good and bad you do is all here. I am simple and still have middle-class morals. I have struck a balance between what we have to pick up from the West and how to maintain our culture. If I commit something, I will stick to it. It upsets me when I see people today wanting to become bigger by making someone else smaller. They will sweet-talk on your face and bitch behind your back. If you were to say anything bad about my friends, I would not take it. The warmth within the industry has gone. When we started, we would walk into each other's set at any point of time, stop their shooting and have fun together. There was this one family feeling, which has gone. There is more professionalism and corporatisation. Youngsters today are smarter. Even today, a filmmaker can make me emotional and make me do a film if his chips are down. The younger generation will not do that.

Who do you consider your friends in the industry?
Salman, Sanju, Abhishek and Sunil Shetty and many more, and I know we will not harm each other in any way.

You always try and clear the air with people you care for. Is that true?
Earlier I was aggressive in the industry and used to have a terrible anger problem and would even beat up people sometimes. But I have learnt to control it and try to understand the other person's point of view, which is not good as they take advantage. People can easily fool me. Earlier I would fight, but now I disconnect if someone cheats me.

Some of your best work has been with Prakash Jha, be it 'Gangaajal', 'Apaharan' or now 'Satyagraha'. He seems to be one of your favourite directors.
Prakash Jha always finds this balance of telling a gripping story, simultaneously putting a point forward. He makes aggressive films that suit my image.

You have worked with Mr Bachchan in many films. What is he like as a co-star?
It's too late in life for me to say that, since he is not a co-star anymore for me. Professionally, he makes you feel very comfortable. Not only today, but this is true of even when I had started. He knows that his aura can overpower your performance and therefore makes you comfortable. He has no ego hassles and the most important thing, apart from him being a great actor, is that he is much more dedicated than any of us even today. If you don't stop him, he will rehearse the scene 200 times, where we will be saying, 'Ready ready, take.' His dedication ashames you even though he has been working twice as long as you have. He is the one who loves his work. I have known him since I was a kid and I know that he will go out of his way to help me if he can.

You were left alone in your fight last year during Diwali when 'Son Of Sardaar' clashed with 'Jab Tak Hai Jaan'. We saw a similar clash recently on Eid when 'Once Upon A Time In Mumbai Dobaara' shifted their date. Do you feel vindicated for the stand you took then?
A holiday makes all the difference to your film, so the fight for dates will go on. But dates are not an issue. Earlier also, two films would happily release on Diwali and they would both be hits (be it Aamir's Dil and Sunny's Ghayal or again Aamir's Lagaan and Sunny's Gadar). But now with people trying to control theatres, and not allowing the other film to get them, I feel like saying, 'Good for you all.' When I was fighting, I was saying that I was not doing it for myself, but was doing it for the industry, but no one supported me. What upsets me is you can't con a person. If you have made a commitment, you have to meet it. The industry has changed. Earlier, there were no contracts, yet people stuck by their commitment. Today, in spite of contracts, we have issues. Till there is no unity, it will not work and I'm happy they are suffering for not taking a stance. I hope our industry will get united on this issue so that I, as a producer, cannot take anyone for a ride and no one can take me for one.