Ajay Devgn: I try to direct films that aren’t easy to make

Actor-filmmaker Ajay Devgn’s Runway 34 marks his third directorial venture after U Me Aur Hum (2008) and Shivaay (2016). Though he has been having frequent film releases that stars him, his directorial outings have been far and few, and he attributes the long gaps to being extremely selective about them.

He explains, “I always try to direct films that aren’t easy to make, technically, be it Shivaay or Runway 34. I like films that challenge me during its making. If there’s a story which inspires me so much that I feel like telling it myself, only then I direct it, otherwise there’s no point.”

Going ahead, he wants to direct smaller films too. “I don’t think I’m a brand,” Devgn says, adding, “There’s no game plan to direct different genres because there’s no fascination for any particular one. I would like to try different things. I would to direct a very small film too, someday. I think ‘Ajay Devgn’ doesn’t only mean big films.”

Apart from directing Runway 34, the film also sees him playing one of the leads. Quiz him if the director and the actor in him came in conflict while filming, and the 53-year-old says, “It happened very rarely. As an actor, I grasp a character depending on what I’m thinking as a director. So, it organically works in favour for the actor in me also.”

What makes the thriller even more special for the RRR actor is the fact that he has directed the iconic actor Amitabh Bachchan in it. But the latter’s stature and stardom never came in the way of directing him or giving him inputs, reveals Devgn.

“I’ve known him ever since I was a child. We’ve worked on many films, and we share a great rapport. I’ve an equation with him where I can tell him anything that I want to, and he doesn’t mind it. We’re very comfortable with each other. He inspires you to direct him,” he shares.

Talking about his experience of working with Bachchan, Devgn, who has shared screen space with him in films like Major Saab (1998), Khakee (2004) and Satyagraha (2013), says, “He’s amazing. The kind of hard work he still puts in is incredible. He just loves his job. When he’s on a set, he forgets everything else. When he’s doing a shot, it changes the whole atmosphere on the set. We’re all very blessed to be working with him.”