‘It is like a dream to direct Amitabh Bachchan’

Says Ajay Devgn, who is directing the veteran actor in Mayday, and reveals what drives him to bring real-life stories to the big screen

ctor, producer, and director, Ajay A

Devgn has about 100 films to his credit. The two-time National Award winner never fails to churn out moolah at the box office with his content-driven films. In the last two years, Ajay’s Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior and the recently-released Bhuj: The Pride of India, both based on true events, have billed him as one of the most successful actors in the industry. However, we wonder if Ajay, looking at the trend, is more inclined towards picking up reallife stories. And we are assured by the actor that he is indeed keen on exploring real-life stories. Recently, we caught up with the actor, who is gearing up for his OTT debut with Rudra, to know more about his upcoming projects, directing Amitabh Bachchan in Mayday, and more. Excerpts:

How was your experience of working on a story based on true events? Does that come with pressure?

It does! The pressure is that they have done such great work in their life that you can’t fault them. There is a pressure of maintaining the dignity of the character. The story has to be portrayed as it was in real life with certain cinematic liberties without going wrong anywhere. For instance, in Bhuj we used background music in a warfare scene, that’s the creative liberty we took to make the film look dramatic, otherwise, the movie won’t have an impact on the audience. In a war drama, it is important to keep it subtle.

You have teamed up with Sanjay Leela Bhansali for Gangubai

Kathiawadi. How is this second inning coming up for you?

It’s a small role in Gangubai Kathiawadi. To tell you the truth, it didn’t feel like many years had passed since we worked together in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. It felt like yesterday. We share a good rapport. Let’s hope we get a chance to work again on a bigger scale.

You are directing Amitabh Bachchan in Mayday. Tell us about it.

Who wouldn’t like to direct and work with him! He comes on time and doesn’t leave the set till the work is finished. He is like a child. Even if you ask him to go and relax in his van, he won’t listen. Rather, he would be on the set reading his lines. It is like a dream to direct Amitji.

After Tanhaji and Bhuj, can we expect more women-centric films from your banner?

Of course! The idea is to bring forth the stories of unsung warriors... doesn’t matter men or women. We want to pick up stories of the people who are inspirational. We want everyone to know about their sacrifices. To answer your question, if we get any woman-centric story we will work on it. In fact, there is a great story about the queen and princess of Kashmir. We are exploring that idea.

What other projects you are busy with? We have Gobar. The script is almost complete and we are planning to start the casting process soon. Then we have Maidaan, which still has some portions pending to shoot. Mayday is nearly complete, and we planning to release it in April next year.