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‘Shivaay’ – Ajay Devgn and Kajol in New York

[dropcap]R[/dropcap]arely do you get to see that strong silent stunner Ajay Devgn in person. And when he’s accompanied by his wife, the wonderful Kajol, that’s a double bonus! The two celebrities were in New York in September to promote Ajay’s new film ‘Shivaay’ and the press got to meet them at a luncheon at the Pierre on Fifth Avenue. In fact, this was Ajay’s first visit to the US in ten years! Ajay and Kajol are Bollywood Royalty so all the journos came to pay their respects – and the huge room was filled to capacity.  As the always bubbly Kajol said, “Whenever I come here, I feel this amazing energy! Traffic was so bad we did the New York thing and walked the last couple of blocks. It was fabulous!”
The reason for their venturing out to the real world was the upcoming release of ‘Shivaay’, Ajay Devgn’s hugely anticipated action thriller. This is Ajay’s second directorial venture, and he has also produced and acted in it.

Trailer of ‘Shivaay’

At the press conference the media got a first look at trailers of ‘Shivaay’ which is certainly action-packed but also has a beautiful love story set in Eastern Europe. Rather than an action drama, Ajay likes to call it an emotion-drama. Indeed, it does seem to be a roller coaster of action and emotions, so strap on your seat belts!

Besides the action thrills, international cast including new lead actors, stunning locations and a great music score – there’s also the sheer pleasure of watching Ajay Devgn who is one of our finest actors and whose sincerity and integrity always shines through. The press got to ask all the pressing questions and we also learned that in spite of a lifelong fear of heights, Ajay plays a mountaineer and did all the gravity-defying stunts himself. He joked with his crew, “Let’s do it before I back out!”

If You Missed the ‘Shivaay’ Press Conference…

Check out these trailers and you can catch the movie in the theaters. In this Diwali week, it’s going up against Karan Johar’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’ in a battle of the box office registers!

My flash interview with Kajol and Ajay Devgn

Their Great Love Story

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]his was a quick bite, a tasting – hardly a full interview. This one-on-one chat took place on the terrace of the presidential suite at the Pierre.  The interview was short but does give some intriguing glimpses into the lives of this famous pair.

Ajay and Kajol sat on the terrace overlooking New York City, with big smiles, looking glamorous and celebrity-like yet very approachable. Since I had only a short time allotted to me, I thought I would ask them about that which intrigues me the most about them – the hugely successful relationship of two polar opposites for Kajol is as effervescent and bubbly as Ajay is reticent and private. Both are remarkable actors – Kajol, along with her illustrious aunt Nutan holds the record for receiving the most Filmfare Awards for Best Actress; Ajay Devgan has twice won the National Film Award.  Ajay and Kajol are each other’s biggest fans and seem quite mad about each other. Something quite heart-warming to see in fake Bollywood!

[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e all know that Kajol is from a family of distinguished actors – her grandmother is the actress Shobana Samarth while her aunt was Nutan and her mother is Tanuja. I knew less about Ajay’s background except that he is the son of Veeru Devgan, action film director. So I asked Ajay about his growing up years and got some interesting glimpses.  “I come from a family where my dad  was one of the most respected action directors and because of him, the  exposure to films was fabulous  for me. I was born into this.” Ajay started visiting the sets after school and on holidays when he was eight years old.  “I visited every set. I was fascinated about how films were made and went on the sets of the films and started assisting so it was always there that I’d be part of the film industry. I never thought I’d be an actor!”

For Ajay, it was a love affair with cinema from the start. He recalls once visiting a set where his father was shooting with Amitabh Bachchan and a tiger, and he remembers playing with the tiger cubs – it was all part of a day on the sets.  Did he watch a lot of films? “Of course. I used to watch a lot of films, both in the theaters and on VCR.  I loved cinema – I used to watch practically every film made at that point of time.”

[dropcap]I[/dropcap]nterestingly enough, both Ajay and Kajol grew up in the same city – Bombay – but did not really know each other. Says Kajol, “We first met during the shooting of ‘Hulchul’ and we became friends. I was going out with somebody else and he was going out with somebody else – so we took a break from our respective relationships!”

Ajay and Kajol love jumping in and completing each other’s sentences. Said Ajay: “I wouldn’t say there was any  turning point in our relationship – it just kept falling into place and it was just this unsaid thing. And it just went on and on and one day we just decided to get married!  It wasn’t that she proposed to me or I proposed to her.”

I pondered the obvious, “You both seem two such different people…” to which Kajol flashed a smile and retorted, “We ARE very different!” and once again Ajay broke in, “I think that works best! Because if two people both talk, then who’s going to listen? One has to be quiet.”

I asked, “So she’s doing all the talking?” Smiled Ajay, “Yes, she’s doing all the talking!”

With that, the mini interview came to an end. Readers, sorry I couldn’t dig any deeper in this New York Minute interview!

Would love to hear what you think of this star pair! Your comments would enrich the story so do share your thoughts.