Ajay Devgn: Not the last action hero

Ajay Devgn is sceptical of returning to action flicks.

MUMBAI:

He started off as an action hero with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991, but Ajay Devgn, who returns to the genre after eight years with Singham, says he was not very keen to sign the film.

“Even though I started as an action hero, I had not done an action film for the past eight years and I was sceptical whether I will be able to do it or not,” said Devgn, who is married to Bollywood actor Kajol.

“I waited for all these years before exploring the genre again because I was not getting the right script. But Singham was fabulous. It is hard-hitting and creates a balance between entertainment and being sensible. Also, the film has amazing action sequences,” added the 42-year-old actor who has been a part of Bollywood for two decades.

Devgn’s last out and out action flick was the 2003 release Qayamat. After that he shifted focus to comedies like the Golmaal series, All The Best and Sunday. He also acted in Omkara, London Dreams and Raajneeti among others.

His upcoming film, which stars southern star Kajal Aggarwal, is a Hindi remake of Tamil film Singam. It will be releasing this Friday, on July 22. Ajay Devgn plays the role of a cop and displays six-pack abs. “I didn’t have to do a lot in terms of training. I trained a little more than usual and followed a more strict diet for two months,” he reveals.

After Singham’s promos were released, many comparisons were being made with Salman Khan’s Dabangg. However Devgn put wagging tongues to rest and publicised, “We have nothing to do with Dabangg. The only similarity is that both of the lead actors, Salman and I are wearing uniforms, that’s it. So there should be no comparisons.”

Devgn was quite touched when Khan appreciated his look in the film, “I discovered that Salman liked my appearance and expressed it on Twitter. It made me feel nice. This shows that there is no rivalry among us, unlike the reports that go around.”



Published in The Express Tribune, July 21^st, 2011.