U, Me Aur Hum director Ajay Devgan and actress wife Kajol give rare joint interview to BBC Asian Network

Bollywood golden couple Ajay Devgan and Kajol gave a rare and heartfelt joint interview to BBC Asian Network last week. Later this week Ajay makes his directorial debut with U, Me Aur Hum, which releases in the UK this Friday 11th April, Kajol appears in it. Speaking on Asian Network’s Gagan Grewal show Kajol and Ajay spoke freely about their relationship, why Indian films don’t get nominated for Oscars and their forthcoming film.

We asked Kajol about those rumours about that she doesn’t get along with fellow A-lister and cousin Rani Mukherjee, to which Kajol replied, “I think she's a superb actress. She's achieved a lot in her life, and she deserves credit for that. As far as not liking her, there's nothing like that, it's just we don't probably meet everyday. Yes, we're not the best friends, but that doesn't mean we're enemies. It's nothing like that”.

They revealed how the title for their forthcoming film ‘U, Me Aur Hum’ was actually chosen. Kajol said, “We couldn’t find the right way to title our film”

Ajay said, "If the film's about two people- so it's about you and me, and it’s about how we have become a 'we', so we thought about ‘you, me and we’ and finally that’s how ‘U, Me Aur Hum’ came about. So it was in the middle of conversation that the title popped up…It's an honest, entertaining commercial film, made from the heart. I hope, what everyone will love is the film in its entirety”.

“If at the end of the film a husband holds his wife's hand, or a boyfriend goes and calls his girlfriend, then I'll know Ajay has made a good film” says Kajol. “I wish Ajay all the love, all the success”.

We delved into why Indian films aren’t generally nominated for Oscars to which Kajol replied;

“I don't really know, I think it's the fact that we have to promote the right films that are made, so I think it's the selection committee….I think the fault lies with us, that we're not sending the right films. That is our problem really.”

“We need an international committee to chose which films should go from India. Because maybe I don’t think we have the objectivity to chose which film should go from our country, basically.”

Kajol is also famed for having a magical on screen chemistry with Shah-Rukh Khan. We asked about this to which Kajol replied, “As SRK also says, there's no chemistry, but there's a comfort level, we've known each other for years- we're friends. But there's no such thing as chemistry. Either you're a good or you're a bad actor”.

On the key to a successful marriage; “There's nothing to learn, I think with each person the secret is separate but behind each successful marriage you need to try, not just once a year, but day by day to stay with your partner”.

On whether she misses doing lots of acting Kajol replied, “Not at all, not at all. Because my life (touch wood) has been pretty complete. I've had a daughter, I plan to have some more children and I have a huge family, so my heart is big…I have Ajay in my life, most important”.

Ajay was equally gushing when talking about Kajol, he said, “I just want to thank her for just being with me. I think she's made my life with just being with me and just being a part of my life. Thank you so much”

We asked on whether directing his wife was awkward, “Absolutely not. If you have an actress like Kajol, it's a director's delight, he can make the actor perform or push the scene as much as he wants because he knows there's someone that's going to deliver it”.

Ajay has always been known as a man of few words, to which he replied, “That’s how I am, I am just an introvert person. And I really don’t want to force myself to change, I just make an effort.”

Regarding his acting career and doing his own stunts Ajay said,

“I don’t think it's a particular genre which I like- I like doing different things, so that I don’t get bored of one genre- after two comedies I’ll do something else, and after that, then something else…because my father was an action director so I’ve been trained in stunts- so I could do most of the stunts myself. Since childhood I’ve been moving around or training with his people so it comes very easily, or maybe it's in the blood!”

You can listen back to the full interview at www.bbc.co.uk/asiannetwork and press ‘listen again’

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