The king of comedies: Ajay Devgn

“Right scripts have been coming my way and I find myself enjoying comedies as much as action films. Perfect timing coupled with the right dose of humour brings out the best in any actor. Fortunately,I seem to have found a right footing here,” says Ajay during a long distance call from Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu where he is shooting for Priyadarshan’s film Garam Hawa.

Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?,he says,is a comedy,but with a touch of emotion. “It falls in the Hrishikesh Mukherjee genre. I am not comparing this film with his work,yet I would like to say that the feel and the emotions will be liked by all. It has clean humour yet quite ribtickling. A sweet film,it will have people coming out of the theatres smiling and laughing,” promises Ajay,who has been a fan of Hrishida and manages to catch his films whenever he finds the time. “All his films are great and Chupke Chupke is one of my favourites,” shares Ajay.

The actor,who plays the character of Puneet in the film,says that it is about today’s life in a city. Puneet and Munmun are married and live in Mumbai with their son. They are a working couple and so support and help each other in every way,right from household chores to paying the bills and so on. They lead a busy life and when there is a visitor in the house from the village who later refuses to go back but keeps making various demands,the couple faces a major dilemma. Asked whether he has ever faced such a problem in real life where an atithi refused to go back,Ajay laughs saying,“Thankfully,I have never encountered it. But I know many people who had to face so much of pareshaani because of unwanted callers at their homes.” It was these experiences that were incorporated to the film,he says.

Atithi…has Konkona Sen Sharma as Ajay’s wife and Paresh Rawal as the unwanted guest. “I worked with Konkona in Omkara,but this is the first time that we have been paired together. She is a fantastic actress and for the character of Munmun,we wanted someone who made the character look real. We had a good subject and wanted to make people laugh. But every time we faced the camera to can a scene,both Konkona and I would burst out laughing because our lines were very funny. It took both of us two days to settle down before we gave perfect shots,” recalls the actor who matched steps with Paresh Rawal,the genius in comedy.

According to Ajay,Paresh has a brilliant sense of timing and the two got along very well and because director Ashwini Dhir is a good writer himself,the film has come out just perfect. Ajay lets us know that they started shooting the film in November 2009. “And it is ready for release in March,in record time. That is how systematic things were while shooting,” He adds that Atithi… targets the single screen as well as the multiplex audience.

Talking about Warner Bros Pictures,the National award winner says that they have done their best to give whatever the film deserved. The producer of Atithi… is the young Amita Pathak. “As she is Kumar Mangat’s daughter,I have known her since a long time. She is taking keen interest in filmmaking and is a fast learner. I never needed to help her as her father was also there for her,but I was always there whenever she wanted any guidance. Like a true producer she was always present on the sets,” states the actor who is known for being a prankster on the sets.

When asked what he was up to while shooting for Atithi,Ajay laughs saying that the entire shooting was hilarious so there was not about just one but many funny moments. “Of the scenes that I found the funniest is of the Ramayan wherein I played,of all people,Ravan,Paresh was Hanuman and Konkona became Mandodari. It was the Lanka scene and was quite maddening while shooting for it.”

Ajay has an excellent line-up of films for the year. While his 3D animation film Toonpur Ka Superhero is complete and will soon hit the theatres,Golmaal 3 takes off in April in Goa. To be directed by his favourite pal,Rohit Shetty,it will also have Kareena Kapoor,Kunal Khemu,Shreyas Talpade,Mithun Chakraborty and Ratna Pathak Shah in the cast. Arshad Warsi seems to have patched up with Ajay and Rohit as he has an important role in the film. “It was not a major issue and has now been settled amicably,” says Ajay dismissively. Of Golmaal 3,the actor says,“It will be even funnier,a step ahead of what we have already done. An added advantage is that the film will have a lot of relationships,a touch of emotion and bonding.” It will release during Diwali,a tradition that they have been following lately. And the sequel to All The Best will go on floors by the year end.

All this has Ajay itching to do an action and the actor has once again teamed with Rohit to remake the Malayalam film Puthiya Mugham in Hindi. The shooting for this yet untitled campus-based film will commence in October or November. Rajneeti is another film that Ajay is looking forward to with another favourite filmmaker Prakash Jha. He is also playing a smuggler-turned-film producer in Milan Luthria’s Once Upon A Time In Mumbai,a character that has been inspired by Haji Mastan.

Then there is Priyadarshan’s Garam Hawa that has Bipasha Basu,Akshaye Khanna and Amita Pathak in the cast. Talking about the long spell in Karaikudi for the film,Ajay says,he did not enjoy it as it was a small village where the shooting took place. The weather was too hot and the unit had to stay in a private bungalow owned by a lady. As there was no gym around,Ajay had to convert a room in the bungalow into a gym with equipments that he hauled from Mumbai.

When queried about the controversy that surrounded his wife Kajol’s last release My Name Is Khan,Ajay says,“I have been away from Mumbai for a long time. First I was at my farmhouse in Karjat and then I went to Karaikudi where there was nothing to keep us posted. I have not yet seen the film so it is difficult for me to comment.”

So is it true that he has taken a keen interest in plantation of vegetables at his farmhouse. Ajay laughs heartily,“It is my mother,who has been doing it for over twenty years. I have only been helping her in my little way.”