Ajay Devgn's father Veeru Devgn is known to be one of the most influential stunt directors in the industry. And now Ajay is doing his father proud by following in his footsteps the actor is taking charge of the action sequences in Son of Sardar.
A source informs that Devgn Jr has devised and executed all the heavy-duty fight for his Sardar character. Says a member of the unit, "It all started when Ajay's Sardar character had to perform a stunt on a horse.
The actor felt that the way he was being told to do the stunt was not in keeping with the decorum required for the Sikh character. He did the horse sequence his way. That's when director Ashwin Dheer and Devgn decided to let the latter take over the film's stunts."
That makes Ajay the producer, leading actor and also the film's stunt coordinator. Says the source, "Ajay has always been fond of action sequences. He has taken more than a passing interest in action sequences especially in those directed by Rohit Shetty.
While Ajay's father is an eminent action director, Rohit's dad Shetty was a leading stuntman and actor in the 1970s. So the process towards conceiving and executing self-devised stunts has been on for a while."
Says director Ashwin Dheer, "Yes, Ajay has designed the action scenes himself. It's in his genes."
Earlier leading men like Akshay Kumar in Singh Is Kinng and Saif Ali Khan in Love Aaj Kal have gotten into trouble while playing a Sardar. Great care is being taken by Devgn to ensure that his Sardar character conducts himself with adequate decorum on screen.
Informs Dheer, "Ajay not only grew a beard of proper length he also made sure he played the Sikh correctly in every detail. Both Ajay and I are Punjabis, so we're familiar with the milieu and culture."
Apparently, as the producer, Ajay is taking great pains to pre-empt any protest against the film by Sikh communities by getting experts on board.
Says Dheer, "Ajay's involvement as the producer is full-on. Don't forget, he let go of Vishal Bhardwaj's film to do SOS. He believes this remake of the Telugu hit Maryada Ramanna has the potential to be a milestone in his career."