Ajay Devgn Of Today Who I Know As Raju & Vishal Since The Last 30 Years

Raju urf Vishal urf Ajay Devgn Aaj Tum Jiyo hazaaron saal! Recently, the macho mega-star actor-producer-director Ajay Devgn celebrated his 52nd birthday - Jyothi Venkatesh

Incidentally this year (2021), also marks the 30th year of Ajay’s super-hit action debut-thriller ‘Phool Aur Kaante’, directed by Kuku Kohli which released in 1991 I remember Veeru Devgan who was the No 1 action master during the 80’s and 90’s calling me on my landline and telling me excitedly that his son Vishal was all set to make his debut as a leading man with producer Dinesh Patel and director Kuku Kohli’s film Phool Aur Kaante very shortly.

Veeru wanted to not only celebrate his son’s achievement but also introduce his son to me officially for an interview at his house.

I had earlier met the introvert and brooding Vishal oops Raju oops today known as Ajay Devgn who was nicknamed the odd boy with a long nose by the journalists at the party at the Hotel Sun N Sand to celebrate the completion of his maiden film Phool Aur Kaante.

Though it has been a long time since I actually could meet up with Veeru who was not keeping good health, I was shocked and sad when the news trickled in that Veeru had died at Surya hospital in Santa Cruz where he was being treated.

Veeru was just ten years elder to me. With films like Dharti Ki Godh Mein, Mr Natwarlal, Tridev, Mr India, Kranti, Roop Ki Rani, Choron Ka Raja, Himmatwala, Loha, Khatron Ke Khilari, Dilwale, Shehanshah and last but not the least Phool Aur Kaante which marked the debut of his son Ajay Devgn on top of two motorcycles, Veeru was the cynosure of every eye and was waiting for the day when he could launch his own son as a leading man in Bollywood.

Veeru Devgan has worked as stunt director in more than 80 films, with several stars, including Dharmendra, Dilip Kumar, Vinod Khanna and Jeetendra.

The day I had gone to his house for dinner to meet his son Ajay, on Veeru’s invitation, Veeru had actually taken time off from a stunt rehearsal and present at home for two hours with me in the presence of his son Ajay.

Veeru had specially brought a bottle of scotch for me and opened it. While Veeru and I were drinking, I asked Ajay to join us and after a lot of coaxing he opted for chilled beer.

Like a fond father, Veeru was present in the same room at his house, when I interviewed Ajay.

It was his first ever interview to the press and as usual he was tongue- tied and a boy of a few words as he was an introvert.

Though I could not make a brooding introvert like him into being an extrovert, I succeeded in making him my friend.

After excusing himself profusely, Veeru left us and I asked Ajay if he would like to have scotch at least now, after his father had let home and he immediately left his beer glass and opted to have scotch. Such was the immense respect that he had for his father.

The next time Veeru rang me up was when he was throwing a party to launch the completion of his ambitious directorial venture Hindustan Ki Kasam starring Ajay, Amitabh Bachchan, Sushmita Sen and Manisha Koirala.

Veeru invited me to attend the party at the Hotel Centaur and asked me to be with his son, who he had christened Vishal only because he was a great fan of Manoj Kumar on whose Kranti he had worked, as the action master though by now he had become a big star and actually did not need the ‘crutch’ of a journalist friend like me to tackle the press

Like his son Ajay, Veeru was also a man of few words though like every Punjabi, he too was quite a boisterous guy in the company of his few real friends.

It was thanks to Veeru’s way of bringing up his son Ajay that till today Ajay continues to be very humble.

In fact I had never seen him smoking any cigarette in front of his parents though Ajay is a chain smoker even when he sets out to give interviews to us scribes before the release of every film of his.

Over the last few years, the veteran action master was rarely seen making public appearances.

He was last seen in public earlier in February this year when he had attended the special screening of son Ajay Devgn-starrer ‘Total Dhamaal’ at a Mumbai theatre.

Action choreographer Sham Kaushal, who was earlier a colleague to Veeru Devgan, remembers the veteran and has fond memories of Veeru having helped in many times professionally.

Sham Kaushal, who incidentally, like Veeru is also the father of a star son like Vicky Kaushal, looks back at the days when Devgan senior was a mentor to him, and had helped him out.

The only time when I have seen talk on and on and wax eloquent was one day when I was travelling with him for his house in Juhu to Colaba where Ajay and I were headed to attend the wedding reception of actor Mohnish Behl.

Ajay was injured in a stunt action sequence for a film of his and had to walk along carrying crutches.

Ajay Devgn

In the over one hour journey, in his car, Ajay spoke at length about his father and how he had struggled to bring him up and his siblings and how he had dreamt of making him a star and not a stunt director.

During those days when there were no mobile phones, Veeru used to contact me on the landline though these days Ajay Devgn has become such a super duper star that he does not even part with his own contact number to me but directs anyone including me who wants to contact him to do so via his pr guy Parag Desai.

Not many are aware of the fact that Veeru was a very helpful guy. When Shatrughan Sinha was courting with his would be wife Poonam yaane ki Sonakshi Sinha’s mother on the sets of Dharti Ki Godh Mein, Veeru , Shatru told me had spirited away his future mother in law in order to enable Shatru to ride away with his lady love during an action scene.

Shatru also remembers Veeruji as a disciplined man who used to fast twice a week and after his retirement was very happy to devote all his time to his family and dote on his grandson Yug as a fond dadaji.

The next time I met Ajay Devgn, he had already turned out to be a mega star and was at Mauritius where I had gone with the late producer Champak Jain of Venus Films which was producing the film to cover the shooting of Main Khilari Tu Anari.

Present at the venue was Shilpa Shetty with whom Akshay shot for the breezy romantic number Main Khilari Tu Anari the very next day of my having landed there in Mauritius.

Ratan Jain, elder brother of Champak had actually asked the PRO of the film Ajit Ghosh to fetch me to Mauritius with him but he insisted on getting his journalist friends from important papers like Screen, Filmfare, Cine Blitz and Stardust for the outdoors and not me alone and in anger, Ratan retaliated by cancelling the idea of taking him along and just took me.

It was a lovely trip for five days and my first ever visit to Mauritius way back in 1993. Ajay was not shooting for Main Khilari Tu Anari but for Abbas Mustan’s film with Tabu as his leading lady. Unfortunately that film was shelved half way through.

The day after the shooting of the first day of the song, for Main Khilari Tu Anari Akshay was free and offered to drive the car in the beaches of Mauritius where hardly anyone other than the unit was present.

The staunch teetotaller that Akki is, he shunned beer whereas I spent time drinking chilled beer at noon by the beach.

While driving the car back, he skidded it over the sand dunes in the beach and we almost were about to be overturned and when I told Ratan what had happened, Akshay was livid with anger but could only mutter aap ro apne pet mein kuch nahi rakhte hain.

The same evening, Abbas of Abbas and Mustan duo was all set to celebrate his birthday in the hotel where we were staying and there was a big bash in the evening which was also attended by Saif Ali Khan, Rajeshwari, who were shooting for a film and Tabu and Ajay Devgn who were shooting with Abbas-Mustan besides Shilpa Shetty.

Akshay and Ajay are big prank masters in the industry and decided to teach ‘me’ playfully a lesson by dumping me into the pool when I was gossiping with Tabu and Shilpa Shetty by the pool with a glass of scotch.

Ajay Devgn

Just before I was dumped, I was telling Tabu and Shilpa that I did not know swimming at all and when they saw me struggling to come outside the pool.

Shilpa started screaming at both of them and ultimately it was Ajay and Akshay who removed their pants and jumped in only their underwear to rescue me from swimming and drowning.

I decided to take my own sweet revenge by pretending to be ‘breathless’ when Ajay, Akshay and Ratan placed me by the poolside.

Though I thought that Tabu or Shilpa would try to save me, when Ratan Jain tried to resuscitate me by placing his lips on my lips, I was startled and decided to jump up and it turned out to be a memorable night for everyone in the unit that day- a birthday neither Abbas, Mustan, Ajay, Akshay, Shilpa or for that matter Tabu would be able to forget till date, I presume.

I for one, can and would never ever forget that memorable evening in Mauritius where I had literally sprung from death to life thanks to Ratan Jain, Ajay Devgn, the prankster, with Akshay Kumar for his company

Ajay Devgn is celebrating his 52nd birthday, I, on behalf of bollyy.com and Mayapuri wish him a very happy 52nd birthday and a loooooong career of more than three decades.