Ajay Devgn On Why He’s A ‘Lazy Actor’

Ajay Devgn, last seen in October 2017 release Golmaal Again, makes a return to the big screen with crime film Raid, which hits theatres this Friday. The film, in which Devgn plays an income tax officer from Uttar Pradesh, marks his first collaboration with director Raj Kumar Gupta.

When Film Companion asked him about his approach to preparing for a role, he said it has remained unchanged over a 26-year-long career and it takes him five minutes, at best, to get into the skin of a character.

"I am a lazy actor, I don't prepare myself. For me, before the shot starts, I would think about how the character behaves and react in a situation like this. I just become the character. I am not someone who can get into the psyche of the character," said the actor.

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"I am the character, so I'm fine. I'm not me. As soon as the action happens, I just become what the character is supposed to be. That's all I do, I do nothing else. It's become a lot easier getting into character, but the approach has not changed."

Speaking about one of his most powerful performances, he said, "During [1998 film] Zakhm, what happened was that the script was so powerful, the character was so strong, whenever [Mahesh] Bhatt saab used to narrate a scene, you could literally feel it and you had tears in your eyes. So, eventually I told Bhatt saab, 'Is it okay if I just stand there feel it and do nothing?' and he had the guts to say, 'Okay go ahead.' I just stood there and I just felt what was happening in the scene. If my mother is supposed to be dying there, I am just standing there and doing nothing. Because it was so strong, I could feel it inside, it was showing on screen. It comes on your face."