Ajay Devgan and Ram Gopal Varma met up at Kadaikudi last week and patched up after a two-year gap. They even have discussed doing a film together.

After the release of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag, the actor was upset with the director, as he felt that what was narrated and what had appeared on the screen were totally different. The actor felt that Ramu had paid more attention to his heroine Nisha (now Priyanka) Kothari and had sidelined his character.

The frosty relationship between Ramu and Ajay was further exacerbated due to certain misunderstandings created by Ajay's business manager Kumar Mangat Pathak.

Over the years, Ramu attempted to patch things up many times. He offered to meet up with Ajay over dinner a few times, but the actor backed out every time at the last moment. After some time, the director gave up trying to mend bridges.

Recently, they came face-to-face in Kadaikudi. This was the first informal meeting they had in two years. Ramu had dropped in to meet Surya (who is shooting with Ajay) to discuss dates for his next film Rakta Charitra.

Initially there was awkwardness between Ramu and Ajay but as the day progressed, they were back to their old equation. When Ramu asked Ajay why he hadn't kept in touch, he brushed it off saying he'd been busy shooting his home production and other films.

The source adds, "Now Ramu is keen to do a film with Ajay, who has promised to read his script after returning to Mumbai. After giving hits like Company and Bhoot, Aag ruined things for this hit actor-director jodi. But now they are back together and planning something big."

Ram Gopal Varma and Ajay Devgan remained unavailable for comment.

After her crowd trauma at a recent festive event, Bips now feels insecure in bheed-bhaad. Sensing her wariness, Ajay Devgan arranged for several bouncers to escort Bipasha Basu from the Delhi airport to the Ferozshah Kotla grounds and back, until they returned to Mumbai.

Reveals our source, "Ajay arranged for 20 bouncers from Delhi to escort Bipasha everywhere in the capital. Only at the venue, where the cast of All The Best were to promote their film at the ongoing Champions League T20 match between the Delhi Daredevils and Victorian Bushrangers, were the security guys not allowed to enter. The venue had 'Z'-level security and everyone inside had to have their pictures xeroxed and sent in earlier for approval."

Bipasha confirms that the security arrangements while travelling to Delhi were extremely organized. "It felt good to feel safe this time. Ajay is a fantastic producer and I share a great rapport with him. Over the years, due to certain untoward incidents in Delhi and Jaipur, I have learned to take care of myself. This time, thanks to the good security arrangement, I enjoyed my time in Delhi."

It may be remembered that during this year's Durga Puja, Bips had an embarrassing experience. Says a source close to Devgn, "Ajay is very protective when it comes to women. He was very upset when he had heard how Bipasha had suffered a horrible ordeal recently. Apparently, a man had come running from the crowds and tried to touch her while she was visiting the Mukerjis' Durga Puja in Santa Cruz."
Does she get scared while traveling in crowds because she's known to be a tough lady? "I may be a tough lady but yes I do get scared when I see more than five guys around me. I don't blame people for their over enthusiasm and excitement but I feel more comfortable when there's some distance between me and the crowds."

Few know that Bips loves cricket. "I used to play league cricket in school. In Delhi, I got to watch bits of the match and sat in the VVIP enclosure with IPL commissioner Lalit Modi." Has she ever thought of buying an IPL team? "I don't have any finances to do that but if I could associate myself with any group dealing with cricket, I would definitely be interested."

At the last minute, Bipasha Basu has cancelled plans of performing at a television channel’s Diwali special show. She dropped out at the last minute because she didn’t want to be the only Bollywood star performing among the TV stars.

She was scheduled to be a part of the grand finale of Diwali Mela Dilon Ka along with Ajay Devgan and director Rohit Shetty to promote their film and Bipasha would be the only one performing. But she then pulled out claiming that TV was only for stars who weren’t sure about their Bollywood career. The show will see TV stars like Shweta Gulati and Rajeev Khandelwal. However, Bipasha denied ever having even heard of the show.

Next week's big Diwali release, All The Best, finds itself in the middle of an uncalled for controversy. Apparently, producer Karan Ramsay (of Om Films Company) has filed a copyright infringement suit against actor and producer Ajay Devgan over the script of the film.-

Ramsay claims that the script of All The Best is almost the same as his under-production film called Uncle Samjha Karo. He has even gone on to mention that he had purchased the copyright of his film's script from writer Paritosh Painter in November 2006. Ramsay further adds that in 2007, Paritosh Painter had tried to get back the copyright of the script from him but in the arbitration process that followed, the IMPPA ruled the case in his favour thereby declaring Ramsay as the owner of the copyright.

Devgan films meanwhile claim that their film is based on the American play 'Right Bed Wrong Husband' and that they had in fact acquired the script from an American firm for $40000. Devgan is even livid at the fact that despite knowing all this long before, Ramsay files a petition only at the last minute close to his film's release.

When we tried to contact Devgan Films, their spokesperson said, "Right now we are in Delhi for the promotions of our film. The matter is currently in court and we would not like to comment on anything at this point of time. We should get a clearer picture by Monday."

One will have to wait and watch if the makers of All The Best are able to come out of this soup in a clean way.

10 Ka Dum is all set to end this week and to grace the finale episode; Ajay Devgan and Fardeen Khan will be present with the host and dost Salman Khan. The two actors are here to promote their upcoming flick All The Best.

Ajay and Fardeen had lots of fun on the sets of DKD with Salman. As well all know Ajay is a big prankster and thus he revealed some secrets to our host while making the film All The Best,” chirps the source from the sets.

Fradeen too bonded well with Salman. “They had a gala time and lots of fun while playing the game. Ajay was in fun mood and cracked few jokes too while Fardeen gave him support,” adds the source.

“Salman, Fardeen and Ajay gigged on the melodious number of the film and left no stone unturned to promote it in huge manner,” concludes the source. So catch all the fun with Salman Khan as he bids adieu to the second season of Dus Ka Dum this weekend.

The comic director Rohit Shetty is caught in a tragic situation. Rohit Shetty quickly needs to decide if he wants to do the next Golmaal film or the sequel to All The Best. As if making the Golmaal series (God rest Hrishida’s soul in peace!) was not enough, now Rohit Shetty is all set to turn All The Best into a sequel-franchise.

That’s right. Shetty is already prepared to make All The Best 2. The decision was taken even before the first film in the series was released. And while the male cast will remain unchanged the ladies will keep changing in every film of the two series.

Says Shetty, “We saw the film earlier during the week before release. Everyone was completely taken up by the idea of a sequel. So I said, why not? I don’t mind doing Golmaal and All The Best films all my career if I want to. Making people laugh is not easy.”

So which comes first? That’s the dilemma.

Says Rohit Shetty, “Golmaal 3 and All The Best 2 have only one thing in common. Ajay Devgan. By now the two of us are an inseparable team. I can’t dream of making anything without him. I’ve two ideas for the third part of Golmaal and one for the sequel to All The Best. Whichever shapes up better, I’ll go ahead with first. Golmaal 3 will again have all the character caught in a situation in a house.”

Golmaal 3 will feature the same male cast including Arshad Warsi who had annoyed the Golmaal team by expressing his displeasure over the length of his role in Golmaal Returns. Grins Rohit, “I was angry with Arshad. Now it’s all sorted out. And I’ll be narrating Golmaal 3 to Arshad.”

To Rohit Shetty goes the credit for holding the directorial franchise to two of the biggest ‘brand’ sequels of Bollywood. However the pressure to move to the next level of success is equally intense from both the brands.

Apparently in the wake of the ovation for All The Best, the Golmaal producers Asthvinayak want Shetty to immediately start Part 3 of the ongoing series. Shetty’s pal Ajay Devgan, however, feels another All The Best film is the need of the hour. Devgan who’s part of both the Golmaal and All The Best series is the producer of the latter, and also a close pal of Rohit Shetty.

Chances are, there might be a spill over and a crossover of cast and crew between Rohit Shetty’s two brand– sequels. Sanjay Dutt who has become a hot favourite with director Shetty and All The Best producer Ajay Devgan, may have a role in Golmaal 3.

Adds Ajay Devgan, “Rohit and I do share a certain vibe. And yes we’re in two minds about which to go into first. The script, gags, jokes and the overall comedy have to be funnier in the next film. We can’t have repetitive gags in the All the Best and Golmaal sequel. Then the audience will lose faith in the franchise.”

Posted On Saturday, October 02, 2010 at 02:54:50 AM
Devgn is trying to make a name for himself with stunts. With the Golmaal series, he has taken that leap of faith. While in the first part of Golmaal, we saw Ajay Devgn make an entry on a sports bike (a bit of a throwback to his debut Phool aur Kaante).

In Golmaal Returns, we saw him making an entrance balancing on two hummers, but this time with Golmaal 3, Devgn is pulling a stunt which is bigger and better than the last two.

Our source said, “Ajay Devgn will be seen balancing himself on two Dodge cars, one bright pink, the other yellow. But here is the catch. The cars were driven on only two wheels.

Balancing on two inclined cars becomes a task, but not for Ajay Devgn. He performed this stunt with ease without a harness or a cable.”

When contacted, Rohit Shetty, director of Golmaal 3, said, “Yes, it is true and the most interesting part was that he used no harness or cable. It took us three days to figure out how it can be pulled off and took us one day to shoot it.”

He also recently became a proud father again, this time to a baby boy. If his next film, Big Screen Entertainer's Aakrosh is around the corner, his laughter-brand, Golmaal 3 returns this festive season. We are talking about one of the most versatile and talented actors we have, Ajay Devgn.

Ajay's next Aakrosh has him teaming up with director Priyadarshan for the first time. The film, inspired by an Times of India article on honour killings has Ajay sharing screen space with Akshaye Khanna, Paresh Rawal and Bipasha Basu.

Over to the powerhouse of talent, Ajay who is gung-ho about his latest release to hit cinemas on October 15.

Congratulations on being a father again...

Thank you.

You seem to be on a high with both your films and on the personal front...

Absolutely. It feels good. I am happy about my films which have already released and the ones that are due, especially Aakrosh and Golmaal. Yes, becoming a father the second time is a great feeling too.

This is the first time you are doing a film with Priyadarshan...

Yes, and I must say it's one of his best works. It's an action-thriller. I think, Priyadarshan is more remembered for his comedies though I personally feel he has had some good intense films like Virasat and Gardish. So seeing him tackle a serious issue like honour killings was good and as I said, the film has turned out very well and certainly one of his best works. The experience of working with him was fantastic.

Tell us something about the character you play.

I play a CBI officer, Pratap Singh, who is given the task to solve a case of three missing Delhi University students in a village in Bihar. But then it's not that simple and straight as it seems and as we uncover the case in the face of angry locals and a corrupt local police officer, we realize there is more than meets the eye. The film deals with honour killings.

What is your take on honour killings?

It's the same as you or any other educated person has. Who gives anyone a right to kill someone? It just can't be encouraged. It just cannot and should not be encouraged. It can't be a solution or punishment for two people in love.

You are working with Akshaye Khanna after a long time...

Yes, the last time we did a film together was Deewangee where my role was negative to his positive one. In this, however, he heads the CBI team and is in charge of the entire investigation. It's good to work with him and it never felt that so much time had passed. Akshaye is very reserved, is not very media savvy just like me and likes to go into hiding after every film. But that's the way he likes to function.

Since the film is on honour killings, how possessive are you about your sisters or the women in your family?

I am protective yes like any other brother would but possessive, no! I believe everyone is mature enough to make decisions and one can't force people to do something against their wishes. There can be no valid reason to kill someone!

Your next is Golmaal and going by the zany promos, it looks to be a fun ride.

Absolutely. It's bigger, better and funnier and a perfect festival bonanza for the audience.

Doesn't it get difficult to come up with a funny script each time especially when with every sequel, the expectations rise multi-fold?

Yes, making comedies is a difficult job, especially for the writers and as you said, meeting expectations is another thing. But then you try to make it all come together, put together a good fun script and make it entertaining and then hope it works.

Do you see the Golmaal brand getting bigger with every passing year?

(Smiles) Well, I hope so and I would love it to grow with every film.

Finally, you are one of the very few actors who's done films in all the genres and successfully so. What do you attribute this to?

People's love and appreciation for sure and I guess, my acting skills, scripts and good directors. It definitely feels good to entertain audiences with different kind of films. As an actor, I strive to do justice to whatever film I choose to act in and when it is received and appreciated well, the feeling is good, of contentment and satisfaction. I feel fortunate to be loved by people in all kinds of films. My directors too have shown that trust in me so that's one important reason.

Ajay Devgn’s Singham sold for around Rs 12 crores making him the most bankable actor in Bollywood

Posted On Saturday, March 26, 2011 at 03:48:44 AM

This will definitely make everyone get up and notice this man. Ajay Devgn starrer Singham has been sold for approximately 12 crores! That too only in Bombay territory. And, with this development, Ajay Devgn becomes the costliest horse in the derby of Bollywood.

Another film by the rocking Golmaal 3 duo, Ajay Devgn and Rohit Shetty, it is bought by Rakesh Sippy’s Raksha Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.

Not going deep into the ‘business’ details of it, Rakesh Sippy says, “I would not like to comment on the price as it’s a business call but yes, we have bought the film.

I have seen the original South Indian version of Singham. The combination Ajay Devgn and director Rohit Shetty works for me.” To add, Salman Khan’s Dabangg too was sold for the same price of 12 crores as Ajay’s Singham.

With huge amounts riding on him, Ajay is seemingly the most bankable star in the industry. For one, 2010 is clearly a proof of this.

Of the six releases last year, Ajay delivered four hits with Golmaal 3, Raajneeti, Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai and Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?.

Also, Rakesh Sippy reasons why Devgn rocks, “Ajay has not been stagnant. He has done different genres of films. I also distributed Golmaal 3.

Although Aakrosh was disappointing at the box office, Golmaal 3 and Once Upon A Time in Mumbaai did exceptionally well in Mumbai.

He is a dependable actor. He has even experimented in the genre of comedy with Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?, Dil Toh Baccha Hai Ji and Golmaal 3.”

Trade expert Taran Adarsh says, “When he started out, he was known to do only action films but if you look at his body of work over the years, he has proved his versatility. In fact, last year itself he proved that he is an all rounder and has the quality of a fine actor.

With Singham, Ajay is back in action, which is his forte, plus it is Rohit Shetty. I think it will be unbeatable! Ajay is going back to his roots after experimenting and being proved successful.”

Opining on the return of the action flicks genre, Taran further adds, “Action films are back and they make a terrific start. Gone are the days when people said that action films would not work in multiplexes.

Dabangg did phenomenal in single screens as well as multiplexes and so will Singham. Now, when every actor is going towards action films, Ajay has already mastered the art.”

Editor of Box Office India Vajir Singh says, “Singham is one of the hottest films in the trade today.

The formidable team of Rohit Shetty and Ajay has an unmatched box office record. The film was a blockbuster down South and Ajay is an apt choice for the film.

Rohit is known for his action sequences and together they will have a killer action film this year.”

Speaking about Ajay, Vajir Singh added, “Ajay is one of the few intelligent actors in Bollywood. He understands the business and knows the ideal release periods.

He has comprehended the formula of making films within a stipulated budget and knows his audience. His box office record of last year proves that.”

So directors and producers out there, it’s time to go and grab this man!

Ajay Devgn, who was out of Mumbai for so many months on end, got homesick. Now he is back to shooting in Mumbai for Rohit Shetty's Singham and the moment he packs up, he rushes home like a kid who has finished school.

Says a unit hand, "He will not even stop to exchange a few words or do any time-pass because he wants to spend the evening with his daughter Nysa and son Yug."

Yug is six months old and at lunch break, the actor was heard attempting a phone conversation with the little one, who we hear is just about learning to say papa, mama and a few such words.

Ajay Devgn claims he has no enemies. Filmfare gets to the truth of the matter

He may have lost the Filmfare Best Actor Award to Shah Rukh Khan. But he maintains that there’s absolutely no rancour between them. Ajay Devgn asserts that life’s much more than friends and foes. It’s also about going home to baby talk and changing nappies. Excerpts…

Who deals better with heartbreaks - men or women?
It depends from person to person. But I’ve noticed men take a lot of time to get over it. I’m not saying women are not emotional – they are very, very emotional. But they are strong-headed. Once they make a decision, they don’t go back. I think emotionally men are the weaker sex.

You are back in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Power. Why are you playing musical chairs with this film?
Uh, nothing is confirmed on that yet. I am still in talks. So I don’t know where these stories are coming from. I’ll talk about it when something happens or doesn’t happen.

What was your reaction when you learnt that your friend Rohit Shetty was making a film with Shah Rukh Khan?
We all should work with new people. When Rohit first told me about his plans we discussed what he should make and what he should not! We were friends before we worked together. I’ve known him for many years. I think he should be working with everyone.

Why does everyone look at this as cause for a problem?
Un logon ko koi kaam-dhanda nahin hain (they are all idle minds). They are stupid fools and arseholes. That’s the only way I can put it.

But your alleged animosity with SRK is now legendary…
Those rumours are too old. So old that it’s a lie now. Someone please kill it. When Kajol’s dad (the late Shomu Mukerji) expired, I called her friends up and that included Shah Rukh and Karan. Just because I don’t socialise and people don’t see me with them, doesn’t mean I have a problem with them. Shah Rukh and I are friends.

Reportedly, you now have problems with Akshay Kumar.
Can there be something else besides being enemies and friends? To become friends you need to know each other and ditto to become enemies. We’ve hardly met. Why would I have a problem with Akshay? He’s not crossed my path. I’ve not crossed his. I have nothing against him. Again, the media has created this imaginary rift because two-three of our films released together. We’ve worked together earlier too. We got along well.

Saif Ali Khan is now doing that role. Do you think he will do a better job than you?
No one can do a better job than me! Okay, okay I’m just joking. Saif is a good actor. He will bring his approach, I would have brought mine. So there should be no comparisons.

Apparently, you’ve ordered Kajol to not work for the next three years…
I will never order her. When she wants to work, she will and when she doesn’t want to, she won’t. She is the one who said she didn’t want to work for a certain time.