Ajay Devgn feels that big stars do not sign up for small budget films as they are afraid of breaking their image. He tells Neeti Nigam that he chose to play the character of a simple man because the script appealed to him
For the past few years, actor Ajay Devgn has either done comedy or action films. After the debacle of Action Jackson, he is back with Drishyam which does not touch any of this genre. He says, “It is a gripping thriller. My role is about a common man who is unfortunately blamed for a crime. He has to save his family and he is sharp enough to play mind games with the entire police force. He is as strong as Singham but he is not beating anybody up with his hands. This is more exciting as he manages to stay ahead of the police.”
At a time when action-driven or content-driven cinema is finding audience, how will Dhrishyam have an edge over othersIJ “If your film has good content, no matter which genre it belongs to, people will come to watch it. Such films spread through the word of mouth. Once the word spreads, people go for it,” he explains.
Drishyam is a remake of the Malayalam film of the same name where Devgn plays a cable operator. He feels that the audience love it when the common man uses tricks and becomes a hero. “I chose this film because after a long time I heard such a fabulous script and screenplay. My role is of a simple person with a very powerful character. Since he is a cable operator and has seen movies, he uses that knowledge to save his family. A common man becoming a hero always works,” he says.
Talking to us during the promotion of the film he said that he likes to be behind the camera just as much as in front of it. He explains, “Generally I’m in front of the camera, but I like being behind the camera also. That’s where I’m going to be seen in Shivaay (his next directorial venture). I feel more comfortable behind the camera. It comes easy to me because as a child, I’ve always worked on that side, as a technician’s son.”
A lot of young filmmakers are making brilliant cinema but they don’t cast big heroes as stars come with a set image. “I feel big heroes don’t sign small budget films as they are scared to even attempt it. They fear it may break their image. But they have started agreeing to it now. Some characters cannot be played by stars as they have a larger-than-life image. If somebody offers a weak role, I have to think twice before accepting it because I have to think whether the audience will accept me or not. The bottom line is that, somehow an image is formed which we find difficult to break,” says Devgn who believes that he doesn’t mind doing regional films, given that it has a strong script.
Devgn has recently seen Bajrangi Bhaijaan and feels that the movie is Salman’s best performance. He adds, “The film was done with a lot of honesty and he truly justified his character.”The Golmaal star is quite active on social networking sites. He feels that it is one of the best ways to engage audience with a film. “Earlier people got to know about the review of a Friday release by Sunday but now within few hours, you know the story. The bad part of this medium is that rumours are also spread fast. Some miscreants unnecessarily create panic. I discourage such acts,” he says, while adding that celebrities should be responsible about their tweets.