Birthday Special: EK BAAP (VEERU DEVGN) NE AJAY KO KAISE KAMYABI KE RUNWAY PAR LAAYA AUR AB… BY ALI PETER JOHN

In the 80s and 90s, there were many fathers who were running from one temple to another and even to different churches and mosques to pray for the success of their sons who were still not finding the right directions in life - Ali Peter John

Veeru Devgn, who had risen from the ranks of an ordinary fighter and was made an action director by Manoj Kumar was one of them. He had a son named Vishal who studied at the Mithibai College with star kids like Bobby Deol, Goldie Behl and Shrishti Behl.

I used to see Veeru Devgn outside the church in Mahim, standing at the statue of Jesus Christ with his eyes closed and his right hand raised to the top of the statue.

One afternoon when the crowd was not so big, I waited for Veeru ji to finish his prayers and when he came down, I asked him what he was praying for so fervently and without even opening his eyes, he said, “Mere bête ki kaamyabi ke liye dooa maang raha hoon.

Woh director banna chahta hai, lekin mujhe usse hero banana hai. Ishwar aur Maai ki marzi hogi toh who ek din hero ban jayega”. Veeru ji kept praying at the Mahim church and I saw him there every Wednesday at the same time when I too went there to pray with all the faith and hope…

Time passed. I fell seriously sick and was admitted to the Holy Spirit Hospital in Andheri (East) and I had literally lost touch with the world and especially the film industry where I had spent the best years of my life…

When I came out, there was a lot of noise about a new star called Ajay Devgn and when I saw him surrounded by a group of boys which included my own photographer R. Krishna who told me that the boy was a new star and his name was Ajay Devgn and he had made it big after the grand success of “Phool Aur Kaante”.

I did not pay any attention to him that evening at the Filmistan Studios and even on the next day at the Sunny Recording Studio where he was again surrounded by the same boys and my photographer.

But, I was in for a very big surprise the next morning. A young man who was very ordinary and had no looks or personality had barged into the cabin of the renowned filmmaker Shakti Samanta and had made an attempt to stab him and when he was arrested by the Andheri police and questioned all that he had to say was, “Yeh bade bade film wale agar Ajay Devgn jaise laundo ko hero bana sakte hai, toh mujhe kyun nahi bana sakte?” The boy was given a firing and left off, but that scene stayed on in my mind…

Ajay (his name had been changed from Vishal to Ajay for luck) was soon recognized as an action hero and was seen in ‘B’ grade films in which his father Veeru ji was mostly the action director and there was not a day when he was not rushed to a nearby doctor or a hospital for broken bones and torn ligaments and muscles.

He however was recognized as a better actor after films like “Vijaypath” and “Haqeeqat” and things got better for him when Mahesh Bhatt signed him for films like “Zakham” and “Najaayaz”.

I was on the Jury of the National Awards and “Zakham” was an entry. It was time to decide the Best Actor and the Jury which was predominantly South Indian opted for Mammootty, the popular Malayalam actor, but there was something about Ajay’s performance that had moved me and I asked the Chairman of the Jury Mr. TVS Raju why we couldn’t break traditions and give two awards in the male category and the entire Jury agreed and I was very thrilled that I could be instrumental in getting Ajay Devgn his first National Award.

Ajay went on improving as an actor and took a new direction when he teamed up with Kajol and worked as a romantic hero with her in several films till they fell in love and got married.

I felt very happy when Ajay built his own bungalow opposite the bungalow of Dharmendra and the Deol family, where he had a special section of rooms for his father who was ailing and was not even in a condition to recognize his near and dear ones. It was in this new bungalow that Veeru ji died in his sleep.

And how I wished he could be in his senses and very much alive to see the grand success of his son for whom he used to shake up all the gods and goddesses with his prayers.

Ajay had not forgotten his dream to be a director and kept learning from all the directors he worked with and also from some of the great actors, like Amitabh Bachchan.

He got his first chance to direct a film when he made “You, Me Aur Hum”. It was a moderate success, but he tasted commercial and artistic success when he directed “Shivaay”.

And he has just completed “Runway 34” which he calls his most ambitious and exciting film. The film is based on the narrow escape of a Jet airways flight had between Doha and Kochi and Captain Vikrant Khanna was the pilot and Ajay Devgn plays the pilot in “Runway 34”.

The other roles are played by Rakul Preet Singh, Akansha Singh and Ajajingra Dhar. Ajay, the producer and director is all praise for Amitabh Bachchan for the way in which he has played his role in the film and says that he has had a very good rapport with Amitabh because he has done six films with him and has always learned from him.

Ajay, the director says he would not have made the film if Amitabh Bachchan had said ‘no’ to the role offered to him.

“Runway 34” will arrive on the runway to the theatres soon and it is on this runway that will depend the real take-off of Ajay Devgn as the actor and the director. This is an era of exciting films. Will “Runway 34” add to the excitement?