Ajay Devgn dances his way into UAE cinemas with Prabhu Deva’s Action Jackson

When Ajay Devgn made his debut in 1991 with Phool Aur Kaante and performed the splits while balanced on two moving motorbikes, he was instantly labelled an action hero and his 23-year career has been peppered with dozens of action films – the most recent are the two Singham films.

Adding to that impressive list is Action Jackson, a love story with comedy and lots of action that opens in cinemas today. "I have done something like this after a lot of years," said Devgn at a press conference held in Dubai earlier this week to promote the film. "It took a lot of practice, but it has turned out quite well."

Action Jackson is directed by India's star choreographer and dancer Prabhu Deva, and the cast includes Sonakshi Sinha, Yami Gautam and Manasvi Mamgai.

With Deva in charge, there’s plenty of dancing incorporated into the film, which offsets all the over-the-top action.

But Devgn is definitely not known for his dancing skills, and the actor laughs in agreement. “When an actor works, he is in character,” says Devgn. “He does not think about what genre he is performing in. Except for dancing, I am comfortable doing everything. But as my daughter put it, this is the first time I have looked comfortable dancing in a film and all the credit goes to the choreographer. Prabhu made me feel so comfortable. He studied my body language. All choreographers do that, but the difference with Prabhu is that he creates new steps based on your specific body language.

“For example, there is a step in one of the songs where I am doing a kind of moonwalk. While we were rehearsing for that song, Prabhu asked me what I planned to do and I was holding my cup of coffee while I showed him my moves, and that’s exactly how it turned out on film – me moonwalking while sipping coffee. This is how spontaneous and innovative Prabhu is and you will get to see that in all the dances in the film.”

Devgn's leading lady in the film is Sinha, who has previously worked with Deva in 2012's Rowdy Rathore and 2013's R… Rajkumar and is known for her superior dancing skills.

Did Devgn find it difficult to match her moves in Action Jackson?

“I think it was more difficult for her to match her moves with me,” laughs Devgn.“She is a fabulous dancer and a fabulous co-star. What I love about her is that she is straight and honest. I had no issues and no inhibitions while working with her.”

This is the pair's second film together after 2012's Son of Sardaar, which went on to gross more than Dh88 million at the box office. Does Devgn foresee similar success in Action Jackson's future? "Everybody works hard and wants their film to succeed. The hope is always there that your film will do well, and I have the same hopes and expectations from Action Jackson," says the actor.

“It is a love story with a lot of action and some really great dancing. What I can tell you for sure is that out of all the films I have done till now, Prabhu Deva has presented me in a way that is totally unique. When you see the film, you will understand what I mean.”

• Action Jackson is out in cinemas on Wednesday December 3.

artslife@thenational.ae

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

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be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
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NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

While you're here

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Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.

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The smuggler

Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.

Khouli conviction

Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.

For sale

A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.

- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico

- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000

- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950

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