At the peak of his success in the 90s, Ajay Devgn wanted to quit showbiz. Do you know why?
As you know, Bollywood is extremely obsessed with fair complexion and believes that a "Hindi film hero" should look like a 'hero' on the screen. Ajay Devgn is not only dark-skinned but also looks like a common man – on a lighter note, you will find at least 5 people who look like him in your locality. And yet, he has made it big (huge, actually) in the industry, proving that looks aren't a barrier to success if you know your job well. Hence, he is a true game-changer whose journey inspires us like anything.
Ajay Devgn as Bajirao Singham
Born on April 2, 1969, Ajay Devgn made his debut with 'Phool Aur Kaante', which was released exactly 33 years ago today - November 22, 1991. The rest, as they say, is history. The film became a massive success, making Devgn a rage among the youth all across the nation. And throughout the 90s, he only grew stronger with his angry young man image (often compared with Amitabh Bachchan). However, with time, he has also showcased his remarkable versatility, showing that he is as good in over-the-top characters (such as Singham) as he is in common man's roles (such as Vijay Salgaonkar).
Credit: ajaydevgn
The actor is incredibly workaholic and has consistently maintained this dedication. However, there was a point in his career when he decided to quit showbiz. As Devgn completes 33 years in Bollywood, let's have a throwback to that in this article.
As already mentioned, Devgn became a bonafide star right after his debut film. He was flooded with offers, and as happens with every other star, he used to play the same kind of characters in almost all his films at that time.
At the peak of his success during the 90s, he was doing 14-15 films at the same time and was exhausted to the core. As a result, he even thought of quitting acting.
At the Critics’ Choice Awards 2023, Devgn was asked how he has maintained a ‘hunger’ for work for so many years. He said that hunger is inborn. However, speaking about whether it has ever faded, the actor shared, "It has. Honestly speaking, there was a point in my life in the 90s… Today we do one film at a time, at that time we used to do 14-15 films at a time. We used to do four shifts, and five to six-hour shifts. We used to go at 7 in the morning for work, shoot till about 12 on one set, and in the same pair of jeans go to the other set. We just used to change the jacket or the shirt and shoot four-five hours.”
"And if you see those films, most of us actors would have the same pair of shoes and jeans in every film because we were too lazy to change them. So that went on. You’re working from 7 in the morning to 3-4 the next morning, and so many times, it was just from one studio to the other. Go there, crash for two hours, and start working again. I just reached a point where I wanted to stop. I wasn’t enjoying my work.”
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Notably, the guild later enforced a rule that no actor would have more than 12 films at a time concurrently on the floors. Referring to this, Devgn said, "That was the point where I felt that I don’t want to work anymore, and I stopped doing this. I started doing two or three films in a year. That was the only phase. Otherwise, I love going to work. If I have nothing to do for two days, I wouldn’t know what to do with myself."
Mr. Devgn, congratulations on completing 33 glorious years in Bollywood. And loads of best wishes for all your upcoming endeavors!
