Does Devgn get the credit that he deserves? Perhaps not. But the box-office respects his work and talent. Like another one of my favourite actors in Hollywood - Steve McQueen - Devgn has developed the ability to emote through his brooding eyes. I remember walking into his father, fight master Veeru Devgan's office long years ago. The tiny office near ISKCON in Juhu was virtually empty with a couple of people hanging out.
As luck would have it, one of the young guys hanging out turned out to be Ajay Devgn. Phool Aur Kaante featuring a gawky young man had prised open the box-office. Ajay Devgn had arrived doing a split on two motorcycles. My boss Pritish Nandy, always one to spot a trend, asked me to track the callow youth. That is how I landed in the Juhu lane.
I found Devgn charming and simple. His father Veeru sat in on the interview. There was an unmistakable intensity about Devgn. An intensity which was to light up celluloid many years later. Devgn did many forgettable but successful films thereafter. Some that I remember were Vijaypath, Diljale, Jigar, Suhaag and Naajayaaz, where he showed a spark or two.
Beginning of the winning streak
He also did fun riot Ishq with Aamir Khan - it was a runaway hit. But it was Mahesh Bhatt's Zakhm that became a defining moment in Devgn's career in 1999; his ability to emote was established here. It also won him the National Award. This was followed by a characterisation that became a true watershed in his oeuvre - Malik in Company - where he played Dawood. Virtually with no dialogues, with a mere tilt of his head he acted through his eyes, a la McQueen.
His unconventional looks may have actually helped his cause in playing characters with shades of grey - as Michael Mukherjee in Yuva, where he was upstaged by Abhishek Bachchan; as Yashwant Angre in Khakee, where he was pitted against Amitabh Bachchan; as Omkara in Omkara, where 'Langda Tyagi' Saif Ali Khan walked away with all the accolades; and of course, Sultan Mirza in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai, where Emran Hashmi held his own.
Somewhere along the way, despite many turkeys, Devgn cannily understood the 'formula'. The formula to make Devgn a boxoffice A-lister. It has not been easy for Devgn to break in and then ensconce himself as a top drawer at the box-office. But he has managed it with sheer dint of hard work and an unerring understanding of what the viewers want.
The road has been long and arduous for Devgn - from the standout performance as Bhagat Singh to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam to Deewangee, for which he got the Filmfare best villain award to SP Amit Kumar in Gangajaal to Ajay Shastri in Apaharan to Bajirao Singham in Singham. Equally there have been disasters, none bigger than Raju Chacha, Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Shikar, Cash, Tezz, U Me Aur Hum and London Dreams.
His alliances with childhood buddy Rohit Shetty and Prakash Jha have worked very well for him; rather they have paid in spades for him. Some of his bravura performances in Gangajal, Apaharan, Rajneeti and Singham have turned him into one of the most bankable stars. The Golmaal franchise has contributed to his rise and rise. Interestingly, of the Rs.100-crore films, Devgn features in as many as three - Golmaal 3, Singham and Bol Bachchan. All three films have been directed by Rohit Shetty.
Ultra-exclusive Rs.100 crore club
It must be mentioned that the Rs.100-crore club is based on net domestic box-office revenues, which is the money that accrues to the distributor and/or producer. This club is the exclusive preserve of a handful of B-Town biggies - Aamir Khan with 3 Idiots and Ghajini, Salman Khan with Bodyguard, Ready and Dabaang, Hrithik Roshan with Agneepath, Shah Rukh Khan with Don 2 and Ra One, and latest entrant Akshay Kumar with Housefull 2 and Rowdy Rathore.
Increasingly as much as 40 per cent of all movie revenues now come from non-theatrical legs of the stool. The four-legged stool breaks down like this - domestic box-office, overseas territories, satellite rights, music and home video. Devgn has found his métier with a combination of action and comedy. In Bol Bachchan, he decided to combine the two, and though most people thought it was hare-brained, the movie has rocked at the box-office.
Many in the film industry liken Devgn to Dharmendra, who ploughed his furrow ceaselessly irrespective of who was the reigning superstar. From Rajendra Kumar to Shammi Kapoor to Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bachchan, Dharmendra was cock of the walk; he had his own audience that religiously watched his films.
He probably never got his due as an actor. I for one can never forget him in Satyakam. Between tomfoolery and action, Garam Dharam was a luminescent star, as big as they come, with a glorious run at the box-office; maybe he didn't know how to market himself effectively. Incidentally, he never won an award despite many great performances.
Devgn is like that, he creeps up on you, smoothly, you can run from him, but cannot hide. He has that ability with his screen presence, head tilted, blazing eyes, rasping voice to make you watch him. His relationship with Shetty for instance is one such thing, as symbiotic a relationship as two successful talented artistes should have.
In all this clutter of big films which bust box-office records, Devgn is ready with his next. Son of Sardar once again looks as if it will strike jackpot at the ticket counters. Again, as I said, Devgn seems to have worked out a formula - inane but zany comedy and action lifted from 'Madras cut' (southside cinema). Also remember that both Shetty and Devgn themselves are sons of two top fight masters and in their childhood, they must have seen their fathers perform.
Hungrily eyeing the mighty box-office
A number of big films are coming up on the marquee to tempt you into the theatres. The theatre of dreams has Salman's next offering, the much-anticipated Ek Tha Tiger, followed by Yash Chopra's as-yet-untitled remake of Daag featuring SRK, Katrina and Anushka, Aamir Khan's Talaash, Son of Sardar, and then of course Salman bhaijan's Dabaang 2 in December.
Prima facie, it will be safe to say that all five look like sure-shot winners. Actually the very contours of box-office as we knew it have changed dramatically. The onset of cineplexes and multiplexes and their concentration in two cities have altered the boxoffice balance once and for all. Fifty per cent of all domestic boxoffice revenues come from the National Capital Region and Greater Mumbai. And 60 per cent of this comes from multiplexes in these two regions.
Central Provinces Central India (CPCI) and Rajasthan contribute 10 per cent; East India comprising Bihar and Bengal predominantly contributes a similar 10 per cent. Nizam and Punjab share another 10 per cent, while the rest of the country accounts for the rest. The race to Rs.100 crore is a function of this new cinema paradigm in India and the arrival of the opening weekend phenomenon.
Raju as Devgn is known, though his real name is Vishal, has understood the mechanics of this new market order. In conjunction with Rohit Shetty, he is making films suited for the consumption patterns of this new multiplex generation. And it is working like clockwork.
He is the real kala ghoda or dark horse in the joust between the Khans, the one who sneaks ahead blindsiding one and all. Twenty years ago, Pritish Nandy had said to me, "Watch out for this boy, there is something about him." He called it right.
