An actor with an attitude, Ajay Devgun doesn’t announce his arrivals. His stealthy power grips you unexpectedly. “Company” once again establishes the quiet strength of this very, very private Indian actor. With “Hum Kisise Kam Nahin” and “Bhagat Singh” round the corner, Ajay is walking through probably the most versatile phase of his career. Always a reluctant interviewee, he prefers his work to do the talking.

Q: Were you apprehensive when Raj Kumar Santoshi first approached you to play Bhagat Singh?

A: Why would I be apprehensive? Santoshi was offering me a great opportunity. In fact when I read the script I realized how challenging it was going to be to play this great man.

Q: How did you prepare yourself?

A: When you are playing a historical character as large as Bhagat Singh’s there is of course a lot more responsibility so a lot of research went into it. We did a lot of study on Bhagat Singh... read a lot of books on him... met a lot of people. Then there were discussions. We even met Bhagat Singh’s brother Kultar Singh to know more about Bhagat Singh.

Q: So how was it eventually, getting into the skin of Bhagat Singh?

A: It’s a great character to play. History didn’t give him his due. What he did we all know but why he did what he did and what he wanted is not there in our history books. We have added that untold chapter of history in our film.

Q: Iqbal Singh Dhillon’s “Shaheed-e-Azam” has shown that Mahatma Gandhi was against Bhagat Singh?

A: There were ideological differences. Their means were different but the goals were the same. Bhagat Singh was Gandhiji’s follower initially but at one stage he realized that he wanted to walk his own path so he moved away.

Q: Would this raise a lot of eyebrows?

A: Why? These are documented facts.

Q: This whole thing about releasing “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” on June 7 along with the other film, has it become more of a prestige issue than anything else?

A: Whose prestige? We stand to lose any which way. If their film is nice we lose and even if their film is bad we stand to lose because if the audience has seen their Bhagat Singh and not liked it why will they come back to the theaters for another one? We have completed our shooting and we can’t possibly wait for them to release their film and then release our film. We are not competing with anybody. We have made the film with great honesty and let the best film win.

Q: Even if “Company” was only a partial hit, it has brought you a lot of appreciation.

A: Yes it is a partial hit. And yes, the film has brought me a lot of appreciation. But a lot of that credit goes to the director. Mallik was a very well-conceived character.

Q: The buzz is that you will be a strong contender in the award functions this year.

A: Awards don’t alter my life. I haven’t attended an award function in the last six years. It is a circus going on there. People who deserve them don’t get them and people who don’t, are showered with them. Of course appreciation matters. But what matters more to me is where it’s coming from.

Q: Don’t you think your back-to-back releases can create confusion in the Indian film market?

A: It shouldn’t happen but if the film is complete and the producer has to pay back his interest, it would be worse to stall the film. The saving grace is that all my three films are completely different.

Q: Is it true that you and wife Kajol are likely to do a film together?

A. No, it is not true. There is nothing like this at the moment. (The Asian Age)