AJAY DEVGN: IT'S NOT COOL TO THROW TANTRUMS ON SET

By Himesh Mankad, Mumbai Mirror | Updated: Feb 19, 2019, 11.29 AM IST

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iNTERVIEW: AJAY DEVGN, ACTOR

Dressed in a blue shirt and black jeans, Ajay Devgn is flanked by his guards as he arrives at a suburban hotel. He greets fans before proceeding to his suite. After a walk in the balcony, the actor settles down for a chat with Mirror and discusses his upcoming comedy, Total Dhamaal, the changing concept of stardom and staying level-headed. Excerpts:

It's not about the franchise, it's always about the script. Total Dhamaal makes you laugh and I want to be associated with clean comedies that appeal to families.

As an actor, one looks out for things that have not been done before. Yes, there have been instances when I thought a film would work and it didn't or even when I realised we weren't achieving what we had set out to. The failure is always at the script level. This one had an interesting premise and since the script excited me, I was happy to come on board. Induji (filmmaker Indra Kumar) has made some really funny films in the past, and I am hopeful we will succeed in tickling the funny bone this time too.

We all improvise, that's a part of acting in a comedy film. But the director has to take a call to ensure that the scene is not stretched. It's all about stopping at the right time to create the desired impact.

I try not to repeat myself and that's not just restricted to comedies I played a don in both Company and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, but the two characters had different arcs. One was serious but with a sense of humour while the other was menacing but always smiling.

I like to swap genres. After Golmaal, I don't want to do a Dhamaal immediately, maybe a Raid first. After this, I have Tanhaji and De De Pyaar De. That's how I come back to the genre with a different mind-set.

How do you describe a star? Yes, there is an audience that likes a particular actor and goes to see his films in the theatres, but after the initial euphoria, it is the film that works. You need a great film first, after that a star can take the script to another level. It is always the film that creates a star and while I wouldn't want to take anything away from stars, I'd say that today if the film works, everything works.

None, I did whatever I chose to, even accepting films for emotional reasons knowing they wouldn't work. That was how it was in our era.

I have been in this industry for almost 30 years now, seen how people behave on sets and what people expect. I'm a technician's son, so I know it's not cool to throw tantrums because you are a star. Everybody's contribution is important.

(Cuts in) It's not because of Baahubali. We were planning Sons of Sardaar (SoS) before that but it didn't materialise.

It's a fabulous script, I wouldn't spend big money on it otherwise. We start shooting for the climax soon and wrap up by May for a November release.

Every film that I do is ambitious. Yes, this one demands a certain scale. We needed Saif as only he justifies the role. You don't cast big actors because you want a strong ensemble cast.

That's a fabulous script, being produced by Boney Kapoor. It will roll as soon as I finish shooting Tanhaji. It's a mix of football and human emotions. Today's generation is into football and in a couple of years, the sport will become big in India. This is about the man who brought the only cup in football to the country.

Singham 3 will roll soon but we don't have a date yet. Chanakyawill start by the end of the year. It's a period film in an exciting space.

He discussed it with me long ago. It's a fabulous world that he is trying to create.

Why not? There have been no discussions yet but you never know what the future holds.