Ajay Devgn is one of the most handsome actors in Bollywood, who, even at this age, with his intense looks and baritone voice, never misses a chance to captivate millions of hearts. The actor has worked in a number of films, including Raid, Omkara, Runway 34, Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, Singham Returns, and many others. However, now, we stumbled upon an old interview, wherein he can be heard revealing how he was pushed into doing his debut film. Moreover, Ajay revealed the real reason behind changing his original name 'Vishal'.
In a throwback interview with Mayank Shekhar for one of the episodes of Sit with HITLIST, Mid-Day, Ajay Devgn revealed how he was practically pushed into doing his debut movie, Phool Aur Kaante, which was released in 1991. He shared that right from the age of 8-9, he had started helping his father with editing movies and mainly the difficult action scenes. Thus, by the age of 12-13, he had already started making his own films, and also shared how he used to use a lot of special effects and also created his own sets.
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However, he further talked about how altogether, he was pushed into the acting line. He shared that his father was once visited by an eminent filmmaker, Sandesh Kohli. At that time, the director told Ajay's father about his next film, Phool Aur Kaante. So, Ajay's father asked him to act in it. But even after being resistant initially, he had to work on the same, and this is how he was pushed into the film line. Ajay explained:
"One fine evening, I came home to find [director] Sandesh Kohli sitting with dad. My father had always wanted me to be an actor, train in action. He told me that Kohliji was doing a film [Phool Aur Kaante] and he wanted me to be in it. My first reaction was, 'Are you mad? I am 18, enjoying life.' I flatly refused it. This was in October, 1990. By November, I was shooting — practically pushed into it. I did my debut film with the attitude that if it works, good. I will work very hard. But if it doesn't work, I won't roam around with a portfolio. I'll go back to filmmaking. But the film worked. Ever since, there hasn't been any time to sit and think."
In the same conversation, Ajay was asked if he was also fulfilling his parents' dreams just like Abhishek Bachchan, Salman Khan and others. To this, Ajay humbly answered that his father too, wanted to become an actor but ended up becoming a fighter. Thus, Ajay's father deeply wanted to make him an actor. However, yet again, revealing how he was just pushed into the acting genre right at the time when he was enjoying his teen years, the actor shared:
"Even my father. When he came from Punjab, he wanted to be an actor; but he ended up being a fighter. Maybe that's why he wanted me to be an actor. My father was very close to Manoj (Kumar) saab, and was also second unit director with him. Manoj saab gave dad his first break as an action director. Yes, but I don't think any of us were doing it [with the idea of] trying to fulfill our parents' dreams. If they wanted us to do that, of course, we would. But at 18-19, none of us cared much. Like I said, I was forced into it."
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In one of the segments of the same conversation, Ajay was then asked about the real reason why he changed his name. Originally Ajay's name was Vishal, however, later, he changed it mainly because of his acting career. Explaining the reason behind it, Ajay shared that when he made his film debut, there was more than one actor with the same name. Moreover, Indian actor, film director, screenwriter, lyricist and editor, Manoj Kumar's son's name was also Vishal. Thus, to avoid confusion, Ajay changed his name. He shared:
"I'll tell you why. In 1991, a couple of actors with the name Vishal were being launched. One of them was Manoj (Kumar) saab's son. There was major confusion. One of us had to change our name. So I did!"
What do you think about Ajay's honest revelations? Let us know!
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