The definition of a dark horse is one who is little-known and not expected to win but may take people by surprise. Well, Ajay Devgan is certainly not little-known but when compared to today’s stalwarts of the Indian cinema like Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan, we can agree that his name isn’t as prominent in the news. Yet that may not be a bad thing for Devgan.

He has his own way of doing things and it seems to be working for him. His work in films like Company, The Legend of Bhagat Singh and Omkara have proven this fact.

Devgan does break the rules no and again but he is an intense actor. The audience cheered his power-packed performance in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Halla Bol and is now looking to keep them in splits with his recently released Sunday directed by Rohit Shetty.

Besides acting, Devgan has produced two films - Hindustan Ki Kasam and Raju Chacha. He will also be donning the directorial cape in his debut film U Me Aur Hum which is scheduled to release in April. He has just completed the first shooting schedule on a luxury liner. He and the crew have now returned to Mumbai to complete the film.

The actor has gone from action hero to character actor. Ishq was the turning point for the change in the type of roles it seems. He can essay the role of a macho man and funny man. In Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam we saw his acclaimed portrayal of the understanding husband.

During his journey he has received two “best actor” National Awards and is said to be the first choice of Indian directors, Ram Gopal Varma and Rajkumar Santoshi. In fact a comment by Santoshi went as such: “One of Ajay’s strengths is that he can get under the skin of any well-written role and make it his own. He has sharp, expressive eyes. He appears to be very natural in all the challenging characters he has played so far.”

Santoshi is now keen on making a film based on emperor Ashoka and a mythological film based on epic Ramayan. He wants Devgan for both.

“I am sure people will be astounded how he will interpret the two compellingly fascinating characters. Ajay is one of the few leading men in the industry today who will some day become a very valued character actor,” says Santoshi.

So the “dark horse” is off an running to the finish line. We await his arrival.

What: Premiere of Halla Bol
Where: Cinemax, Andheri, Mumbai
When: January 10, 2008
Celebrities Spotted at the Event: Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan, Rajkumar Santoshi, Darshan Jariwala, Vatsal Seth, Sukhwinder Singh,
Vikram Phadnis

What: Halla Bol press conference
Where: Film Division, Mahadev Road, New Delhi
When: Januray 8, 2008

New Delhi, Jan 8th 2008: Press Conference for the movie HALLA BOL was at Film Division, Mahadev Road. Darshan Jariwala, Rajkumar Santoshi, Pankaj Kapur & Abdol Samee joined the conference.

What: Zee TV’s 15th anniversary bash
Where: Taj Lands End, Bandra, Mumbai
When: January 5, 2008
Celebrities Present: Aamir Khan, Katrina Kaif, Kangana Ranaut, Subhash Ghai, Shyam Benegal, Rajkumar Santoshi, Ramesh Taurani, Aruna Irani, Anu Malik, Anil Sharma, Bhagyashree, Himalay, Omang Kumar, Pankaj Udhas, Anup Jalota, Paresh Rawal, Rajneesh Duggal, Jeetendra, Tusshar Kapoor, Raj Babbar, Shoma Anand, Simi Garewal, Tisca Chopra, Sonu Nigam, Smita Thackeray, Sachin Khedekar, Nitish Bharadwaj, Shammi Kapoor, Ramesh Sippy, Ranbir Kapoor, Rakesh Bapat, Rekha, Priya Dutt & husband Owen Roncon and others

Salman Khan will be happy to know that his wish for Rajkumar Santoshi to drop Shahid Kapur from his upcoming film has come true. Kapur was supposed to appear in the film with Khan’s girlfriend Katrina Kaif which made Khan slightly less than furious. The fact that Kaif made the decision to be in the film behind his back and would be acting opposite one of Khan’s enemies (he has many in the industry … John Abraham and Vivek Oberoi to name a few) Kapur, certainly didn’t help matters.

Khan thought by asking Kaif to leave the film that everything would work itself out. When it didn’t, Khan went to Santoshi and requested him to chose another hero since she was planning to stay. In this vain, Santoshi decided to take Ranbir Kapoor for the role in his romantic comedy instead.

While going through a rough patch in their relationship, several fights have ensued between them. Khan proposed to Kaif recently but her career is taking precedence and she asked him to wait. Her career seems to be what it is because of Salman’s recommendation to producers over in the beginning. Now, Khan feels that Kaif owes her career to him and should discuss her projects with him before making final decisions on them.

Maybe one of Khan’s concerns is the fact that Shah-K is one of the most eligible single man in the industry.

You would never know it but “serious” Ajay Devgan is quite the prankster and makes it known especially to his co-stars during film shoots. During a recent shoot for film Halla Bol it was no different and he had director Rajkumar Santoshi play along to help entrap actress Vidya Balan.

Balan and Santoshi were discussing a scene when Devgan came in and began praising the recording of a song they had just done for the film; Santoshi agreed. Vidya became curious, and of course Devgan had his Ipod handy. He offered it to her so that she could listen to it.

As soon as the actress turned it on, she got a mild electric shock, one strong enough to stun her for a moment. Balan took the joke with a sporting attitude and the whole crew, including Devgan and Santoshi enjoyed a good laugh at her reaction.

What: Ajay Devgan and Vidya Balan at Halla Bol media meet
Where: JW Marriott, Juhu, Mumbai
When: 12 November, 2007