Ajay Devgan – one of Bollywood's most talented and under-rated actors of today's Bollywood film industry spoke to Ikonz about the release of his new film 'Singham'. Ajay took time out his busy schedule to talk about the film, his inspector saab role, what is was like working with tamil actress Kajal Aggarwal for the first time, his favourite song in the movie and his hot new phsyique!
By Reena Combo
IKONZ: What attracted you the most to the script?
AJAY: I’ve been wanting to do an action film for quite some time now but the scripts just haven’t been right. Rohit told me about ‘Singham’ and just by reading the script I was gripped; the narratives, high octane drama and action sequences wouldn’t let me put it down. ‘Singham’ is an out and out action / drama film which we don’t get to see much nowadays in India. It’s got its share of romance and entertainment too and we hope it will appeal to the masses.
IKONZ: Apart from being in Hindi, how is this film different to the Tamil version, for example were there any changes made in the narrative?
AJAY: The basic storyline of the film is the same however the screenplay is very different. I’d say around 70% of the film is different from the original and you’ll know this if you see both the films. One similarity the film has is that the villain both versions of the film is the same – Prakash Raj. He’s excellent.
IKONZ:What do you think audiences will mainly take away from watching this movie?
AJAY: Generally it’s an entertaining film. It really explores the issue of corruption and with that automatically will come edge of the seat explosive action and high octane drama.
IKONZ: Can you begin by telling Ikonz a bit about the film ‘Singham’?
AJAY: ‘Singham’ is set in a small village in Maharashta where corruption is rife and crooked politicians rule the village…and the police force. My role in the film is of Bajirao Singham, one of the only honest police officers in the village. His single minded vision is to eradicate all the corruption, by all means necessary. The plot line is also intertwined with a romantic backdrop but ‘Singham’ is through and through a homage to the 70’s Bollywood action genre where there’s cinematic punch in the both the narrative and action sequences.
IKONZ: What was the experience of working with Kajal Aggarwal like?
AJAY: She is a lovely, talented girl. I think she has a great future ahead in Bollywood. A thorough professional.
IKONZ: The music of ‘Singham’ is said to be quite enigmatic. What’s your favourite track from the film and why?
AJAY: I like the song Saathiya, it is beautiful and soulful, and has already turned out to be very popular with audiences.
IKONZ: You seem to get into the shoes of an inspector in your films well, do you not feel if you do similar character’s you’ll get pigeon-holed by producers?
AJAY: I try to vary my films and roles, to avoid the “pigeon-holed” status. Whether it’s Comedy, Romance or Action. I rarely have a consecutive string of films of the same genre for example, in one I was working on a high impact drama around the issue of honour killings and the next was an out and out family entertainer in the form of ‘Golmaal 3’.
IKONZ: We haven’t seen you in an action role for a while, what was it like doing the action scenes and do you have any stories to share with us from working on the sets?
AJAY: A lot of fun energy . There were a lot of hand to hand combat scenes which were really good fun to shoot. But also rather dangerous, one wrong move and someone could end up with a black eye. I do love action films though, I feel as though it is in my DNA.
IKONZ:Looks like you’ve been working out?
AJAY: I certainly have, and it wasn’t easy.
IKONZ: Finally a message for all the Ikonz readers reading this…..?
Thank you for your unfettered support in me – if it wasn’t for my fans, I would not be where I am today. And please don’t forget to get yourselves out to watch ‘Singham’! I hope you enjoy it as much as we have enjoyed making it.
