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Ajay Devgn is one actor who loves to be behind the camera too. He realises that the situation at the box office currently has taken a very ugly turn but he feels that one shouldn’t entertain people who want to extort you and your talent. All proud to be the man behind his passion project, Shivaay, he promises that his next titled Sons Of Sardaar will be even bigger in scale than Shivaay.
Q: Shivaay is a story about a father and a daughter. Did you connect with it instantly because you have felt that emotion in your personal life as well?
Ajay Devgn: I didn’t spend a lot of time with Nysa for the last one-and-a-half year so she was very upset with me. But after watching the trailer she told me that she was proud of me and she understood why.
I’ll share one incident with you. My nephew is fifteen and he is kind of a dude. He is into football and only watches Hollywood films, you know how today’s kids are. I showed him a song that I have recently released and he started crying after watching half the song and ran to his room all embarrassed because he doesn’t show his emotions.
Nysa started making fun of him and when she saw the song, she had tears in her eyes too and so did Kajol. So the film is made of such emotions and that is the connect you’re getting. Kajol said a very beautiful thing, “This is the first song which is like a love song depicting the connect between a father and a daughter.”
Q: Whenever two big films release together, things get bad at the box office. But this time with KRK stepping in, everything became extremely ugly. Didn’t it?
Ajay Devgn: It is very sad that it got ugly but otherwise the idea was not to make it ugly. I said it before also that it’s not a war between him and me. I never claimed that he was paid but he tried to extort me by saying that he got paid. How do I know that he got paid? He could be lying. I am sure he must be lying to me. I took a stand that I am not ready to be extorted. We should not influence such people and promote them in our industry and one should not even write about them. If you write about them then they get mileage.
Q: Many are praising the visual appeal that Shivaay brings to the table. We get to see how strong your hand is when it comes to the technicals of a film.
Ajay Devgn: Apart from acting, I used to do everything myself from a very young age. I started editing when I was a kid and have always been technically very strong because of my father and because I was an assistant director with Shekhar Kapur and others. That comes very easily to me and it is what I always wanted to do. I know there is a huge gap between the last film I directed and Shivaay because I don’t want to make it a business. The emotion between a father and a daughter inspired me and then I created a very simple story around it. Hopefully next time with Sons of Sardaar, the gap will be less.
The youth likes to see Hollywood films and feels that Indian films are tacky but I feel they are connecting with the visuals of Shivaay. Here we have tried our best and come at par if not up. I have got a great response from people in Hollywood that the trailer looks amazing and I am proud that it is done in India.
Q:What about action? Would you ever want to direct someone else in a full fledged action film?
Ajay Devgn: Action is in my blood and I would love to direct another star in a fully packed action film. Doing two jobs (acting and directing) is not tough but very tiring. I would love to not sit for long hours in make up and everything and instead sit and direct a film.
Q: Speaking of Sons Of Sardaar, we also hear that Raj Kumar Santoshi is making a film on the same topic. Wouldn’t that be a clash of interest?
Ajay Devgn: But I have confidence in myself. You will see the visuals of what I will make and know the difference. Whoever wants to make it can make it. Hopefully Sons Of Sardaar would be larger than Shivaay. We would start by the end of next year. Honestly it is not just about the scale but the story demands it to be like this. I would love to make a small film as well if I get a beautiful story that does not demand such a big scale. It is not about how big you are making it, it is about how you are making it.
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