Actors don't think about genres: Ajay Devgn

Ajay has been a part of Bollywood for over two decades

Bollywood actor Ajay Devgn said as an actor he does not pay attention to the type of films he does and likes to switch from one genre to another.

"When you are an actor you do not think about genres... When you are doing comedy you do think, ‘Oh I wish I was doing a serious film as it takes less energy’. Comedy needs a lot of energy and timing. When you are doing action you feel tired. I like to switch and do different things,” Ajay said at a press session on Monday after being felicitated at the CII Big Picture Summit 2015 for his contribution to the Indian cinema.

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"I’ve been very lucky. If I’ve tried a comedy, it has worked. Or if I tried drama or a serious film, they too have worked. So people are more comfortable coming to me for doing such films, which a lot of people try and if it doesn’t work they get scared,” the 46-year-old added.

Ajay, who has been a part of Bollywood for over two decades, was felicitated at the opening day of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) summit by Sudhanshu Vats, chairman, CII National Committee on Media and Entertainment and Group CEO, Viacom 18 Media Pvt. Ltd.

During the event, Ajay also stressed upon how they can match themselves with Hollywood by "ending piracy and increasing the number of screens in India".

Asked about which director he most liked working with, Ajay said, "I've worked with every kind of director. In the 1990s I was the first actor who started working in so called ‘art cinema’. Today it is not called art cinema as there are no films like Dil Kya Kare or directors like Govind Nihalani, Rituparno Ghosh."

"I had those films where people thought I was crazy -- a commercial actor doing films like those. But I learned a lot from those films. Also, I’ve a lot of respect for Mahesh Bhatt. The only thing I tell everybody and tell him also is that I wish he could come back and direct again. His last film that he directed was Zakhm for which I got a National Award and after that he quit. So I really miss him," he added.

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Ajay, who is married to actress Kajol, is also known for donning hats of a director and a producer as well.

When asked which work he likes more, the Singham actor said: "I won’t say that donning the hat of a producer is my favourite one, but I love doing it because it stresses you out too much. Rest, as an actor or a director, I’m pretty comfortable handling both, so I don’t have to worry about that."

"Where direction is considered, I’m very comfortable because of my father. When I was 11 years old, I used to edit his sequences, which were very difficult for people to edit. It was a lot of training at that point of time because I loved my work and learned from it,” concluded Ajay.