Ajay Devgan is a chilled out guy: Aditya Singh Rajput

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That long name need not pose problems of memory because Aditya Singh Rajput is better known by his nickname Addy in Bollywood and among Mumbai's modelling fraternity.This boy with the funky and weirdo hairdo who made his present strongly felt as Urmila Matondkar's forever confused brother in Jahnu Barua's Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara, is now doing an important role in Ajay Devgun's directorial debut film U, Me Aur Hum. At 22, Addy has no regrets about having stepped into modelling four-and-a-half years ago when he was a little over 17. The money from the endorsements gives him the chance to pick and choose. TWF correspondent Shoma A. Chatterji talks to this promising actor. Let's hear it from the beginning.

I am Punjabi from Delhi and I began modelling while I was in school. The turning point came with an all- India screen test judged by Mahesh Bhatt and Raj Kaushal for a Hero Honda ad that put me together with Saurav Ganguly and Hrithik Roshan. But even before this, I did a music video with my weird haircut for Harbhajan Singh with Vaibhavi Merchant directing it. In fact, I had done around 70 commercials before Jahnu Barua chose me for Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara.
And how did Maine Gandhi Ko Nahin Mara happen?
It just happened because of the endorsements. It was a big challenge for me in my first role in films. The character was that of a funky, brash young boy, self-centred to a fault and yet puzzled about what is happening to his father and the rest of the family. It got me the right kind of recognition for a newcomer.
What role are you playing in U Me Aur Hum?
It is a small but a very special cameo with the MP3 model Hazel cast opposite me in the film. I am not supposed to talk about the story or my character till the film is released. Let us just say that if you miss the beginning and the end of the film you will have missed me completely. Suffice to say that the film is in flashback and I am part of the present but now please do not go on to add two and two to make five! U Me Aur Hum is a film with many layers and the title is metaphorical. I consider it a great honour to have been able to work with my favourite actors Ajay-Sir and Kajol Ma'am at the beginning of my career. Dharmendra Sharma, the editor of the film, recommended my name to co-producer Kumar Mangat for another film. I was not chosen for that film but I was thrilled when I got a call for this role in U, Me Aur Hum within two days and I did not even have to audition for the role.
What can you say about Ajay Devgun the director?
He is a chilled out guy but completely down to earth. I have never felt like a newcomer from the day I met him through Sharma. We had a blast during the shoot and the team was, to repeat a cliché, like family.I am a natural and a versatile actor. He was totally engrossed in the film when he was directing and nothing but nothing would take him away from his work.
Let's hear about this famous prank you played on your co-actor Hazel during the shoot of U, Me Aur Hum?
In the film, I am playing a mischievous young boy trying to woo Hazel who is an Anglo-Indian. I made her believe that later on in the film, she had to switch over to a traditional Indian mode of dressing with sari, bindi and the rest of the stuff.I also told her that she would have to speak in shuddh Hindi and behave like an Indian girl. She believed me and began rehearsing with her friends back home to get the perfect stuff. I also told Ajay Sir about it, fearing that he would scold me. But he did not. I also sent ahead and began to teach her shuddh Hindi and cultural stuff. When she learnt it was all rubbish, she was angry but we all had a hearty laugh over it. Actually, it was in keeping with the character I play I in the film, that of a mischievous prankster.
How would you describe yourself at this stage of your career?
My looks are extremely mobile and flexible. I can look equally credible as a beggar off the streets and an NRI. Yet, I surrender myself to the director's demands once I have signed on the dotted line for a film.I look at commercial modelling today like acting because the logistics are the same –there is a script, a storyline, the commercial is shot on 35 mm with make-up and costume in place, there are dramatics and you may have to dance, jump, fight and do acrobatic stuff, just as an actor has to do in films. I improvise a lot on the sets if the director permits me to but in the final analysis, I am a director's actor, period. But I am too young to be hero-material just yet and I am patient enough to wait. My endorsements permit me the financial viability to wait and my family, currently in the US, is extremely supportive. I am looking forward to around two or three completely commercial films in the future but I am in no hurry at all.