by Subhash K Jha

It's confirmed. Ajay Devgan is stepping into the role of Veeru in Sholay. Originally done by Dharmendra, the part in Ram Gopal Varma's Sholay was offered to Abhishek Bachchan and then Saif Ali Khan. Both had to decline the offer for various reasons.

Now an old Varma favourite is doing it. Devgan who's done Company and Bhoot with Varma is now stepping into the coveted role. How would the known introvert play the extroverted Veeru?

Says Ajay, "I think Ramu has changed the milieu and my character to suit today's times. It works for me. My Veeru wouldn't be quite the same as it was earlier."

Before Sholay, Ajay plays Vishal Bhardwaj's Othello . "Yes, the film starts in January . We're shooting it at a stretch. I simply love the way Vishal has Indianized Shakespeare. He has placed it in a small town of UP. I think it's exceptional. I've already started thinking about how to play the character."

It will also be Ajay's first film with Kareena Kapoor. "We were supposed to do Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat together."

Right now Ajay Devgan is looking at two totally antithetical films and characters in Prakash Jha's Apaharan and John Mathew Mathan's Shikhar.

Says Ajay, "Prakash and I have worked in several films together. But it doesn't mean I've to be in all the films he makes. I wasn't there in his last picture on Jaiprakash Narain. It all depends on suitability . We get along. We understand each other. There's no doubt about Prakash's abilities as a director."

Whether it's Gangaajal, Kaal or Main Aisa Hi Hoon, Ajay has been pushing the actor's envelope regularly.

"I learn so much from a director like Prakash. Such filmmakers help me to grow and understand myself and the purpose of cinema. ...Apaharan isn't a naach-gana film, but a hardcore entertainer. The kidnappings are just a backdrop. Basically it's an emotional father-son story. My character goes from ideological inheritance to thorough corruption and final redemption..."

"I agree I've been getting some terrific roles. I guess I'm lucky. I just hear scripts, and go ahead and do what I believe in. I don't regret making mistakes. I learn from my mistakes. I never see any role as a risk. Apaharan is like any commercial film minus the songs...Even the item song starts as a song and merges into a scene."

Shikhar will find audiences with another Devgan.

"Looks-wise and concept-wise Shikhar takes me into another territory. It's about two characters who believe in differing ideologies. Again it's a real subject but a hardcore entertainer. My character doesn't believe in conventional definitions of right and wrong. I worked with John Mathew Mathan for the first time. He knew exactly what he wanted, and how to get it."

Apaharan and Shikhar to be followed by Raj Kumar Santoshi's Saamna will carry forward Ajay's reputation for doing hard-hitting socially conscious film.

" All three are very different from one another. Then I've hardcore entertainers like Ramu's Sholay. I don't look at a film as purposeful or purposeless. I've just completed an out-and-out comedy called Gol Maal with Rohit Shetty. I also have another comedy with Sanjay Dutt and Bipasha Basu. I've done comedy with Kajol in the cellphone ad as well.''