Versatile actor Ajay Devgn made his debut in the film industry with the film Phool Aur Kaante. His scene from the film where he is doing a split on two bikes is still remembered as one of the most iconic scene on the big screen. The film was released in 1991. Cut to the present, Ajay has recently completed 30 years in the Bollywood industry.
The actor has done many stupendous roles in films such as Tanaji and Drishyam. He has also led two of the most popular franchise- the Golmaal series and the Singham series under the direction of Rohit Shetty. But still many didn’t know that the actor changed his name before making his debut in Bollywood.
In 2009, during a conversation with an open magazine, Ajay talked opened up on his debut film and revealed, “Back then, when I was being launched, there were three other Vishals debuting at the same time and I had no choice but to change my name to Ajay so I wasn’t lost in the crowd. My old friends still call me VD (yeah, I know it sounds weird) and I changed the spelling of my surname at the behest of my mother, Veena, who has asked me to do it for many years. It makes her happy.”
On the occasion of completing 30 years in Bollywood, Ajay told a leading daily, “It was my father’s (Veeru Devgan) dream to launch me as an actor. I was just required to focus on realizing his dream. Whether I would be successful or not is a thought I didn’t toy with at that stage. I just did what I was told. No one can enter the movies planning stardom for themselves. You have to work hard and pray your destiny carries you forward. When Phool Aur Kaante became the craze it did, I was catapulted to stardom. Every daredevil youngster in the country wanted to make his way through life doing a split on two motorcycles! I was immature, young, unprepared for stardom. God, my parents’ blessings and the blessings of the industry and fans gave me the adulation a star receives.”
Talking about his work life, Ajay was last seen in Rohit Shetty’s Sooryavanshi where he did a special appearance as Bajirao Singham. The actor has Singham 3, Golmaal 5, and MayDay in the pipeline.