Ajay Devgn is an Indian actor, director and producer who works in Hindi films. He debuted as an actor in Phool Aur Kaante (1991), which won him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut.[1] Devgn then played a kickboxer in the martial arts film Jigar (1992) and a blind in Vijaypath (1994) and starred in Suhaag (1994), Dilwale (1994), Diljale (1996), Jaan (1996), Ishq (1997), Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha (1998), and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999).[2][3] He garnered Filmfare Best Actor nominations for Naajayaz and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and also won his first National Film Award for Best Actor for his performance in Zakhm (1998).[4][5][6] In 2000, Devgn started Ajay Devgn FFilms, producing and headlining the commercially unsuccessful Raju Chacha.[7] He received a Filmfare Best Supporting Actor nomination for enacting a dacoit in the ensemble film Lajja (2001).[8]
2002 proved to be a banner year for Devgn as he received universal acclaim for his performances in Company, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Deewangee.[9][10] He won his second National Award for portraying revolutionary Bhagat Singh in The Legend of Bhagat Singh[11] and the Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor for it and Company, along with a Filmfare Best Villain Award for Deewangee.[12][13] In 2003, he acted in the Bhoot, a sleeper hit, and played a police officer in Gangaajal, which earned him another Filmfare Best Actor nomination.[14][4] He was next featured in Yuva (2004), Kaal (2005), and Omkara (2006).[15][16] Rohit Shetty's Golmaal series established Devgn in comic roles, producing Golmaal (2006), Golmaal Returns (2008) and Golmaal 3 (2010). However Devgn was highly panned for Aag (2007), based on the 1975 cult classic Sholay.[17][18] Today, it is considered one of the worst films.[19][20][21][22] In 2008, he made his directorial debut with his own production U Me Aur Hum.[23] 2010 proved to be a milestone year for him as he delivered his first 100 Crore Club film with Golmaal 3 and received positive feedback for the top-grossing films Raajneeti and Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai.[24] The latter fetched him a Filmfare Best Actor nomination, as like his next Singham (2011), the first part of Shetty's Cop Universe, which was later reprised in Singham Returns (2014) and briefly in other standalone films of the universe, culminating in Singham Again (2024).[25][26][4] [27]
Devgn has since remained in the league with the successful comedies Bol Bachchan (2012), Son of Sardaar (2012), Golmaal Again (2017), Total Dhamaal (2019) and De De Pyaar De (2019), the dramas Drishyam (2015), Raid (2018) and Drishyam 2 (2022), and the period epic Tanhaji (2020), which earned him his third National Film Award for Best Actor.[28][29] However, he failed as a director after delivering a hat-trick of flops with Shivaay (2016), Runway 34 (2022) and Bholaa (2023).[30][31][32] He also played brief roles in the period dramas RRR and Gangubai Kathiawadi (both 2022), and starred in Shaitaan (2024), the highest-grossing horror film in India.
- ^ "'We've lost the warmth in the industry': Ajay Devgn". Forbes India. 23 December 2014. Archived from the original on 29 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
- ^ Gulazāra; Nihalani, Govind; Chatterjee, Saibal (2003). Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan. p. 569. ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5. Archived from the original on 17 January 2017.
- ^ "Box office 1994". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ a b c Sharma, Isha (11 January 2016). "7 Bollywood Stars Who Couldn't Shine Bright Enough To Bag Filmfare's Best Actor Award!". Indiatimes. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
- ^ "That Brooding Intensity!". Rediff.com. 8 August 2001. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 28 April 2017.
- ^ Namrata, Nongpiur (21 May 2011). "10 National Award Winning Actors of Bollywood". MensXP.com. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Lata, Jha (28 September 2015). "Ten big-budget Bollywood box-office disasters". Mint. HT Media. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Joshi, Sumit. Bollywood Through Ages. Best Book Reads. pp. 163–64. ISBN 978-1-311-67669-6.
- ^ "When Chhota Rajan inspired Bollywood". Business Standard. New Delhi. Indo-Asian News Service. 26 October 2015. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Ahmed, Omar (7 April 2015). Studying Indian Cinema. Columbia University Press. p. 204. ISBN 978-0-9932384-9-9. Archived from the original on 17 February 2017.
- ^ "Standing ovation for Dev Anand". The Tribune. Chandigarh. 29 December 2003. Archived from the original on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2011.
- ^ "48th Filmfare Awards". Competition Science Vision. 6 (63). Pratiyogita Darpan: 11. May 2003. OCLC 786451987.
- ^ Jha, Subhash K. (22 February 2003). "Shah Rukh, Ash, Ajay Devgan's rich haul". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ "Top India Total Nett Gross 2003". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 17 July 2016. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ "Now, books on Vishal Bhardwaj's Maqbool, Omkara, Haider". India Today. Living Media. Indo-Asian News Service. 16 September 2014. Archived from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Ramesh, Randeep (29 July 2006). "A matter of caste as Bollywood embraces the Bard: Big budget remake of Othello — with song and dance — starts new trend". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
- ^ Sen, Raja (3 August 2007). "Cash can't do the Tango". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
- ^ Raheja, Dinesh (9 August 2002). "Classics Revisited: Why Sholay is a cult classic". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ Joshi, Namrata (3 March 2008). "Popcorny: Best of the Worst". Outlook. 48 (9): 66.
- ^ "Box Office 2007". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 27 October 2011. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ Chaudhuri, Diptakirti (12 September 2014). Bollybook: The Big Book of Hindi Movie Trivia. Penguin Books Limited. pp. 423–24. ISBN 978-93-5118-799-8.
- ^ Hungama, Bollywood (16 April 2021). "Ajay Devgn and Siddharth Roy Kapur announce '90s satire film GOBAR! : Bollywood News – Bollywood Hungama". Archived from the original on 21 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ^ "U, Me Aur Hum, straight from Ajay's heart". Daily News and Analysis. 1 April 2008. Retrieved 30 April 2017.
- ^ "The Hit List 2010". Box Office India. 10 August 2010. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ Miller, Toby (5 December 2014). The Routledge Companion to Global Popular Culture. Routledge. p. 371. ISBN 978-1-136-17596-1.
- ^ "Rohit Shetty takes up Singam remake with Ajay Devgan". The Indian Express. Indian Express Limited. 4 November 2010. Archived from the original on 6 January 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2011.
- ^ "Singham Again: Rohit Shetty confirms Ajay Devgn starrer's release in Diwali". Bollywood Hungama. 14 June 2024. Archived from the original on 14 June 2024. Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ Laghate, Gaurav (20 November 2012). "Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Son of Sardar rake in Rs 140 cr in wk 1". Business Standard. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 19 December 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2017.
- ^ "Ajay Devgn to play the lead in Hindi remake of Drishyam". India Today. Living Media. 25 November 2014. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2015.
- ^ "Ajay Devgn takes on Shah Rukh Khan!". Daily News and Analysis. 23 January 2012. Archived from the original on 24 January 2012. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
- ^ "Omkara begins with The Awakening". Sify. 3 August 2006. Archived from the original on 11 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
- ^ Joshi, Sonali (20 May 2012). "Kajol-Ajay Devgn in film on protection of girl child". India Today. Living Media. Archived from the original on 3 February 2016. Retrieved 27 January 2016.