100th film or first, anxiety remains the same: Ajay Devgn

Kolkata: Actor Ajay Devgn, who has scored a century in Bollywood with his latest venture ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’, said it is best to remove the two zeros after one as his 100th film gives him the same anxiety as his first.

Devgn, who is playing the titular role in the film, said there are many warriors lost in the pages of history and it was important to tell their stories to the world.

“We had probably read just two paragraphs about Tanhaji Malusare in history books. I am sure many in Bengal do not know about him. That is why the tag ‘unsung warrior’ is a part of the film’s title,” he told reporters at a press conference here.

‘Tanhaji’, the 50-year-old actor said, was just the beginning of a series of many more such biopics on other unsung heroes of the country that he would want to make.

Asked about his experience of working with Saif Ali Khan, who his playing his bete noire Uday Bhan in the film, Devgn said he could not have thought of a better actor to fit in the role.

“We two got along really well during the shooting of ‘Kachche Dhaage’ and ‘Omkara’. I wish we did more films together.”

Talking about wife Kajol, who is paired opposite him in the film, the two-time national award winner said, “It felt like home”.

The actor, while speaking about the preparation that went into the film, said, “It was important to understand the mindset of a warrior before playing him on screen. You need to have the psyche… that’s tough.”

On a question about the recent threat by a politician, who claimed that Devgn’s latest outing distorted history, the actor said it was wrong to make such comments without seeing the film.
He also said that certain events have to be dramatised while making a film.

“You might know two significant incidents about his life, but how do you move from that one incident to the other? Not everything is written. You have to dramatise it a bit,” he said.

Devgn, who has been in the industry for nearly 30 years, said he loves coming back to Kolkata, where he had shot two of his critically-acclaimed films ‘Yuva’ and ‘Raincoat’.

“I am here for the past four days and I must have gained 4 kg, relishing the sweets here,” he quipped.

Asked to describe his 100-film journey in one word, he said — “satisfying”.

‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ is set to hit the theatres on January 10.