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of.. Dr. Emmet Brown ! ?
I hope I am mistaken... cos this would be suicidal for Indian movies !
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Ajay’s success results from an admixture of his non-conventional looks, coupled with his changing hair styles and lean physique. He is some one with whom the masses can
identify with
ntry into Hindi films, was nothing short of spectacular.
Standing tall, astride 2 motorcycles, this son of the famous stunt director Veeru Devgan, announced his presence to the Indian audiences, in 1991, in Kuku Kohli’s Phool Aur Kaante. Co- starring Madhoo and Amrish Puri, the film was a success, due to good performances, and brilliant action sequences, inspite of competing with another good film, Lamhe. Little did we know then, that one day, he would become one of the most consistent performers in the industry. Since then, Ajay has been steadily climbing the ladder of success, albeit slowly, and today is regarded as probably the most bankable and dependable actor, of our times. In a period, where flops at the box office are the rule, rather than the exception, Ajay has delivered hit after hit, over the span of the last 2 years. Winner of two National awards for Best Actor - for Zakhm in 2000 and for The Legend of Bhagat Singh in 2003 - this actor has arrived, and is well and truly on his way, to becoming a superstar.
For the first few years of his life, Ajay was slotted and typecast as an action hero, for action was his forte. One could see some of the best stunts in films like Phool Aur Kaante, Divyashakti, Platform, Gundaraaj, Vijaypath, Haqueeqat etc. In 1994, one saw the early sparks of a good actor in him in Dilwale, where he played Arun Saxena, a lover who becomes mentally unstable. Co-starring Sunil Shetty and Raveena Tandon, this film did well. In 1995, in Naajayaz, he portrayed a police inspector, who discovers that he is the illegitimate son of an underworld don. Once again, Ajay gave a very sensitive performance, and his agony and anguish were well projected. Switching from a terrorist in Diljale to comic roles in Ishq and in Hum Kissi Se Kum Nahin, must have taken a lot of grit, determination and effort, but he did a fairly decent job. He was back to his action in Major Saab, in 1998, where he played a NCC cadet, who loves challenges, and who is willing to take any risk, for his girl or for his country. He held his own, against the towering Amitabh Bachchan, in this film. 1998 also saw him in the role of Shekhar, a coo- as-a-cucumber petty thief, who falls in love with Sanjana (Kajol), in Pyar To Hona Hi Tha. The romance on the screen, and chemistry between these two, was palpable and electric. From here on, his career graph zoomed, with some brilliant performances in films like Zakhm, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Kachche Dhaage, Lajja, Company, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Deewangee, Bhoot, Qayamat and Gangaajal.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam probably marked the turning point of his career, where he shed his action hero image, and effortlessly slipped into the role of an actor who is mature, restrained, and who can deliver more with his eyes in a single scene, than many can do in a whole film. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is known to be a perfectionist, took a calculated risk, by casting Ajay as Vanraj, in his film. The film was a runaway success, and audiences across the country were pleasantly surprised to see Ajay turn in a splendid performance, as a distressed husband, torn apart by circumstances, when he discovers after marriage, that his wife is in love with someone else.
Success chased him after this, and almost every film of his, was a hit at the box office. Whether it was as Malik in Company, or as Tarang Bharadwaj in Deewangee, as the worried husband of Bhoot, or as the depressed and drugged Rachit of Qayamat, he enthralled one and all, with his restrained, fire and ice performances. So complete was his hold on the audience, in Qayamat, as his eyes burned a hole into them, that it took them a while to realise, that Ajay did not utter a single word, in the second half of the film, save in the last frame. To accept such a role and emerge a winner, where an actor cannot use one the best weapons in his armoury -his voice-, to convey his emotions, is in itself a great deed. In recent times, one can only remember Kamal Haasan in Pushpak, or the great Charlie Chaplin, in his silent movies, who could successfully carry the burden of such a role.
After pursuing and wooing Kajol in films like Gundaraj, Hulchul, Ishq, Pyar To Hona Hi Tha, Dil Kya Kare, and Raju Chacha, he got married to her, after a five year long courtship, on the February 24, 1999. The rock solid stability of his marriage, and the birth of his daughter, Nysa, have only taken him, and his career, to newer heights. Getting married and starting a family, has definitely boosted Ajay’s career. How much credit for his success goes to Kajol, only Ajay will know.
His excellent performances, apart from earning him awards and accolades, had many a reputed filmmaker, making a beeline for him. His forthcoming ventures include Deepak Bahry’s Parwana, Rohit Shetty’s Zameen, Rajkumar Santoshi’s Khakee, and J.P.Dutta’s LOC. Apart from this, he is also slated to star alongside Kareena Kapoor, in a film by the famous Bengali film maker Rituparno Ghosh, who is making his debut in Hindi cinema. Aparna Sen will direct him in a Pritish Nandy Communications film, titled Gulel, which is supposed to be a story of a hunter and his prey, while directors Abbas-Mastan have cast Ajay to play the role of a father to a 22-year-old newcomer, in their forthcoming film. He will be playing a scientist, who has invented a unique car, and Tabu will be playing his wife . Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, a Hindi multi-starrer will see him in the company of Simran, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor and Rani Mukerji. Indra Kumar and Ashok Thakeria’s forthcoming comedy has Ajay working side by side with Vivek Oberoi and Ritesh Deshmukh. Ajay will also be seen in Ram Gopal Varma’s Ek. Very few actors in this country can boast of having worked with such a wide array of filmmakers, filmmakers, who range from those who make out and out commercial films, to those who dabble in art films, and in parallel cinema. This truly is a sign of an accomplished actor and all the directors with whom Ajay has worked, are in high praise of his acting talents, as well as his good natured behaviour, and the absence of airs and starry tantrums.
Apart from the two National awards which he has won, for Best Actor, one for Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm in 2000 and for Santoshi’s The Legend Of Bhagat Singh, Ajay also has won many other awards. These include the critics award in the year 2002 for Company and The Legend of Bhagat Singh, the 1998 Best Actor Screen award for Zakhm, and a shared (with Shah Rukh Khan for Devdas) Best Actor Screen award in 2003 for Company. He is also the recipient of The Foundation of Promotion of Film Arts and Crafts (FPFAC) award, for 2003, as well as the Rajiv Gandhi award for the Best Actor in 2003.
What is it that makes the man so good, in his films? Is it his choice of films? Is it luck? Is it talent and hard work? Is it his stable marriage, and the birth of a child? Or is it his directors? The answers to these questions may never be found, and his success probably results from an admixture of all these, and more. Ajay’s non-conventional looks, coupled with his changing hair styles and lean physique, probably appeal to the masses. He is probably more like them, someone with whom the masses can identify. Maybe it is his instincts, that have brought him, where he is today. In a career spanning over a decade, and after 50 odd films, it s obvious that Ajay is here to stay. Inspite of a few forgettable performances and films, Ajay Devgan has persevered, taking risks with new roles, and giving every role his very best.
It has been said that some people are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Ajay Devgan was neither born great, nor has greatness been thrust upon him. Most definitely, he has earned his spurs, the hard way.
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