Ajay Devgn on sustaining stardom for over thirty years: ‘The road doesn’t end at success, it begins from there’

Six years after Shivaay, actor Ajay Devgn is back with another directorial titled Runway 34. The film is set to hit theatres on April 29.
In this interview with , Devgn talks about his journey in Bollywood, filmmaking techniques, the experience of directing megastar Amitabh Bachchan and more.

Excerpts from the interview:
Q. From Shivaay to Runway 34, how have you changed as a filmmaker?
Shivaay was a very difficult film to shoot because of the mountains and the kind of action. Things we designed were never done in the country. This time, I got a very solid script that required a lot of claustrophobia. It wasn’t very easy to shoot this film because I wanted to realically create that feeling of claustrophobia in an aircraft. The size of the cockpit is not more than 7 feet 7 feet, and there’s a lot of drama happening inside. So, I needed the camera to move in that much space. I didn’t want to cheat the audience shooting these sequences in a bigger cockpit, or open the flaps of the cockpit so that I can move my cameras from outside. So, in that much space, creating the drama and shooting with seven to eight cameras was very exciting.

Q) How easy or difficult is it to hold the audience’s attention when it is mainly shot in a cockpit and a courtroom only?
But the scale of the film is big. If you see in the promo, you can gage the scale of the film. The way Runway 34 is designed, we’ve not missed out on the scale at all. It will not look like a film that is a small screen film, in the trailer also you feel like you want to watch it on the big screen. So, the drama and everything is there, but it is a big screen experience.
Q. Who takes a back seat when you are multitasking as a director and an actor on set?
I think nobody takes a backseat. The director is always at the forefront, as he has to handle the film and manage the whole team. He has to take all the calls himself. The director in me keeps guiding the actor in me. It is always the director telling the actor what needs to be done and what his vision is. And, I have always been a director’s actor. I was guiding myself and the rest of the team.
There can never be a conflict. It is difficult to have a conflict when you are an actor and the director because when the director is working on the script, he is grooming his actors and characters. I was subconsciously grooming myself when I was working on the script. The actor in me knew exactly what the director in me wanted. It is complicated in that sense.
Q. Runway 34 looks like a slick film, but the flavour right now is ‘seeti-maar’ films.
When you say seeti-maar films, it is about heroism. This film has a lot of heroism. In fact, the character is very very heroic, not because he is a good guy, but because he is somewhat grey and loves to break rules. I think this will connect with a lot of viewers. He is brilliant. He is fabulous at his job. He is got a great mind, but he is a rule breaker, and he does things on his terms and conditions.

Q. How was it directing Amitabh Bachchan?
It was fabulous because he is a director’s actor. I have always shared a great rapport with him. The kind of dedication and passion he has towards work, I don’t think anybody can have. I guess it is a lot easier to direct him because he totally hands himself to the director. Even if you are okay with the shot, he will say he wants to do one more. When you tell him that you got what you want from him, he will say he wants to give one more shot for himself. The hunger to do better is what really keeps him going.
Q. You have been a star for over 30 years. Actors find it difficult to gain the kind of popularity and success that you have gained.
But that doesn’t mean you don’t have struggle. There are two kinds of struggle. One is to become successful, and the other is to succeed and maintain that success. The road doesn’t end at success, it begins from there. You need to put in a lot of hard work, be very patient and careful. You need to be passionate about your work.

Q. Has there been turbulence in that journey? What are the decisions that kept you going?
There has been much turbulence in my life, and I have faced them head on. That’s the only way to face turbulence. Do not run away from them. The only way to fight turbulence is to go through them. The stronger the turbulence, the stronger you come out of it. That’s how you do it. I make my decisions instantly. When I decide something, I stick to it and don’t have a second thought. Maybe that’s how I have survived in the film industry. I am sincere and passionate about my work. I make sure I don’t take work for granted. The struggle to maintain success is a continuous process. You can’t give up.