'Himmatwala' Devgn on 100cr club and more on A List

In 1991, an unknown film with a new actor was the big surprise hit of the year. The film was Phool aur Kaante and it starred Ajay Devgn. Two decades later, Ajay is one of the industry's biggest stars.

Since 2010, he has had four super hits in Bollywood’s much hyped Rs 100 crore club including Son of Sardar and Singham.
With two National Awards in his kitty, Ajay's acting credentials were never in doubt. But his focus now seems to be the larger than life hero in the crowd-pleaser. Next release is the remake of the 1983 blockbuster Himmatwala. Below is the edited transcript of Devgn's interview to CNBC-TV18.  Q: You are just a few days away from the release of Himmatwala, which is the big release of 2013 and through the making of Himmatwala and now that we are very near to its release, ever it is maintained that this is a rewrite and not a remake, what is the difference?
A: Most of the films are rewrites. Singham too, was one. One picks up the idea and then rewrites the whole script. Times have changed, so thinking is different, the other director’s thinking is different. So, most of the films have to be rewritten. I do not think one can pick up the film and make it the way it is and just say- I have made a film. The drama was very nice in Himmatwala and then Sajid Khan rewrote it. In Singham, the whole of second half is completely different from the original. So, that is what is rewrite. Q: In 1983, there were films such as Coolie, Justice Chaudhary, Mawaali and Ardh Satya. You could have made any of them. What was it about Himmatwala that connected?
A: The year 1983 had a lot of big releases and Himmatwala was the biggest hit. But that was not the reason that we chose Himmatwala. Himmatwala for one, is a very, very entertaining film. It has got action, drama, emotions, melodrama, everything put together. That is why we have set it in the 80s itself. We did not want to takeaway the melodrama from the film also. I do not think that melodrama can connect if you set it in today's era. I think it was one of the most entertaining films we have seen and that was one of the main reasons I wanted to do it.
The second reason is that I have known each other since college. We have been good friends since then. I think he must have seen Himmatwala about 40-50 times and over the years, something like 400 times. He always said, "If I become a director, I want to make Himmatwala". He called me up and said, "I want to do a film, so let us meet". I said, "Okay", and he came over and my first question was, "Himmatwala"? He said, "Yes".
I said I would love to do it as long as he rewrites. You cannot make the same film, because there is no point making the film. He worked for two months and came back with the script which is fabulous and then I said we should go ahead with it.

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