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| Ajay Devgan Biography |
Life as Vishal
Ajay Devgan was born as Vishal Veeru Devgan in New Delhi on 2 April 1969. He is a Punjabi and the son of Veeru Devgan, a stunt director and Veena Devgan who is known to have produced a film. His uncle is film director Anil Devgan.
He was a student of Silver Beach High School and Mithibai College.
A couple of years after plunging into Bollywood, he married actress Kajol in 1999 and they had a daughter Nysa in 2003.
His Filmi Kahani
1991-1995 Devgan made his debut in Phool Aur Kante opposite Madhoo, winning the Filmfare Best Debut Award. Most of his films, at the start of his career were packed with a generous amount of dishum-dishum, like Jigar and Vijaypath. Mahesh Bhatt’s Naajayaz with Juhi Chawla won him his first nomination for the Filmfare Best Actor Award.
1996-2000 In 1997, he moved away from action with the romcom hit Ishq, which also starred Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla, and Kajol. In 1998, he appeared in the Bollywood remake of French Kiss - Pyaar Tho Hona Hi Tha with Kajol. This fell in line among some of the most popular films that year. The same year saw the release of Mahesh Bhatt’s Zakhm, which looked at communal issues in India. The film won several awards including the National Film Award for Devgan’s performance.
His most talked about film in 1999 was Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in which he played Vanraj, a man who tries to help his wife get back together with her lover. He was nominated for the Filmfare Best Actor Award. He produced and acted in Raju Chacha in 2000, along with Kajol. However the film made an average hit at the box office.
2001-2005 His role as Bulwa in the major hit Lajja won him a nomination for Filmfare Best Supporting Actor. Ram Gopal Verma’s Company in 2002 based on the underworld had Devgan playing Malik, a gangleader. His performance was praised. He walked away with the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Performance and his second National Film Award for his portrayal of the freedon fighter, Bhagat Singh, in Rajkumar Santoshi’s The Legend of Bhagat Singh.
In 2003, the audience feasted on films like Ram Gopal Verma’s horror flick Bhoot, Prakash Jha’s Gangaajal, and J.P.Dutta’s LOC Kargil. This was followed by some diverse but remarkable performances in Mani Ratnam’s Yuva, in which he played a student leader and Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat, which was non-mainstream cinema.
2006-2009 Both his releases in 2006 became major hits. Golmaal, a-laugh-a-minute comedy and Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkaara, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello. Year 2008 saw the release of U, Me Aur Hum, his directorial debut, in which he acted. He also produced and helped with the script of the film. The film received an average response and was partly inspired by 50 First Dates. The sequel Golmaal Returns, with Devgan playing Gopal, was a high-grosser.
He had two releases in 2009 – All the Best, a comedy and London Dreams with Salman Khan and Asin. Both did a fair job.
Upcoming
Next on his hit list is Rajneeti (2010), a political thriller and Once Upon a Time in Mumbai (2010), in which he plays Haji Mastan. He will be seen with Konkona Sen Sharma for the first time in Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge. The third installment of Golmaal is also expected to hit theaters in 2010.
(source)
