2nd April : Happy Birthday Ajay Devgn, Read : Unknown facts about Ajay

Lesser known facts about the charming dashing rocking star Ajay Devgn:
>A polished actor that he is, Ajay has won two National Awards, one for Best Actor for ‘Zakhm’ and other for Best Actor for ‘The Legend Of Bhagat Singh’.
>Ajay’s best performance till date has been in ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ where he played the role of Aishwarya’s husband.
>The actor with intense eyes was the first choice for Bajirao’s role in ‘Bajirao Mastani’ but the deal couldn’t work out because of monetary issues.
>Another among the unknown facts about Ajay Devgn is that he doesn’t enjoy serious movies and prefers light comedies. He loves doing movies with his buddy Rohit Shetty.
>Ajay is quite close to Rohit Shetty and they have attended many birthday parties together as kids. Their dads too shared the same career as stuntmen in Bollywood and the bond was inevitable.Most of his closest friends are from outside the film industry from his college days. Apart from Abhishek Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Rohit Shetty, Devgn has no friends from the industry.
>Mr. Devgn is a family oriented person, a doting dad and a loving husband. Besides, he is very close to his parents and touches their feet every morning before stepping out.
>‘Drishyam’ was already made in Tamil and Malayalam and the lead role was played by Kamal Haasan and Mohanlal respectively. Ajay did a commendable job and matched his counterparts well.
>After ‘Phool aur Kante’, his second film, ‘Jigar’ became one of the top grosser of that time.
>Kajol recently revealed on Kapil Sharma’s show that the actor had promised her before marriage that he would take her on an extensive two-month honeymoon. They had planned a world tour but after a month Ajay asked Kajol if they could return home. Kajol pointed out that he was terribly homesick and that was the reason they returned from the honeymoon midway.
> Ajay was the first person Abhishek Bachchan told about his marriage plans outside immediate family.
>He later received Padma Shri award in 2016. Also, in 2016 his 2nd directorial venture, Shivaay was highly appreciated for its outstanding cinematography and VFX.
>Before becoming parents to Nysa and Yug—Ajay and Kajol dated each other for five long years. It was in 1995 that the two fell in love and delivered a couple of hits together on screen. In 1999, the duo decided to take the plunge and got married in a traditional Maharashtrian style wedding.
>Ajay Devgn dated Raveena Tandon during the 80s, but apparently left her for Karisma Kapoor when he fell madly in love with her.
>Ajay Devgn is the first Indian actor to own Maserati Quattroporte.
>Ajay Devgn receives CII Excellence Award in Cinema
Known to be one of the finest actors in Bollywood, Ajay Devgn has many awards in his kitty. Yet again, the actor was honoured with the CII Excellence Award in Cinema, in New Delhi. While speaking at the 4th edition of the CII Big Picture Summit 2015, Ajay clarified that he does not have any plans of joining politics and also spoke about the recent Bihar rally, which went out of control. The Drishyam actor tweeted that he felt honoured to have received the award.
>Born as Vishal Veeru Devgan, he changed his name to Ajay Devgn for the Hindi film industry. Ajay’s father Veeru Devgn is a well-known stunt choreographer and his mother Veena Devgn is a film producer. Ajay changed the spelling of his surname from Devgan to Devgn on the insistence of his family. He was born in Delhi, but studied at Silver Beach High School and went to Mumbai’s famous Mithibai College. Has a cousin brother called Anil, who is also a producer. Ajay played a cameo in Anil’s film Haal–e–Dil. The two are often mistaken to be real brothers.
>Ajay made his debut in Phool Aur Kaante in 1991, but is mistaken for child artist Master Chotu who appeared in the film Pyari Behna in 1985. Interestingly, Ajay was the first choice for Rakesh Roshan’s Karan Arjun where he was considered for Salman Khan’s role. Even in the film Darr, after Aamir Khan refused to play SRK’s role, Ajay Devgn was considered for the part which eventually went to Shah Rukh Khan. He made his directorial debut with wife Kajol in the film U Me Aur Hum.
>Ajay met his future wife Kajol on the sets of Hulchul but only started dating her during their second film Gunda Raj. They were termed as an unlikely couple due to their contrasting personalities. According to an interview in The Tribune, Devgn was quoted saying, “We never resorted to the usual ‘I Love you,’ routine. A proposal never happened. We grew with each other. Marriage was never discussed, but it was always imminent.” Ajay is known to be a prankster on sets. He is also known for his stunts and action in his films.
>While he did the critically acclaimed film Zakhm opposite Pooja Bhatt, the duo was also meant to do Girvee which was supposed to be directed by Mahesh Bhatt. But the film got shelved after 20% of the shooting was completed. The story of his films being shelved does not stop here. It is alleged that a film called Singer starring Ajay Devgn was completed, but never saw the light of day due to its producers being implicated in the 1993 Mumbai bomb blast case. In 1999, Devgn was to star in Feroz Khan’s Qurbaan Tujh Pe Mere Jaan along with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Fardeen Khan, but that film too got shelved.
>According to an interview in Hindustan Times, Ajay said that he feels all awards in India are rigged. “You know how the business operates, it’s a money making thing. They have to sell the function to the TV channel, promising that big stars will turn up. So, whichever star says they’ll come and perform, gets the award. I haven’t been to an award function in 15 years. Even Aamir (Khan) doesn’t go. They are such a farce,” he was quoted saying in the interview. Has won 3 Filmfare awards and has been nominated several times. Ajay considers himself to be lucky as he did not have to struggle in Bollywood, except for putting in some hard work. He derives strength from his parents. In an interview to The Times of India, he said, “My parents are my source of strength, especially my father. He worked very hard and my mother showed me the right way. Upbringing is very important for children. Also, a person of strength is one who makes the right decision at the right time and can stick to it.” Ajay enjoys films from the 1970s (Hindi). He would visit Jeetendra on the sets of the original Himmatwala (1983).
Our Team wishes you a blockbuster healthy year with success & more energy to you! All the best for your upcoming films too!

• INDIA 121 BY NIRMAL MUTHA