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April 2nd: Happy Birthday, Ajay Devgn!

April 2nd: Happy Birthday, Ajay Devgn!

Rashmi Daryanani
Ajay Devgn

Ajay Devgn has certainly made a name for himself in Bollywood, despite changing his own name! He was born as Vishal Veeru Devgan but adopted the screenname Ajay, and then in 2009 dropped the ‘a’ from his last name, officially making him Ajay Devgn. We’ve seen quite a few people add a letter to their names for numerological reasons, but he’s probably one of the few to drop one from his name. So, has it worked? Let’s take a look at some of his films post name-drop, and you decide for yourself!

1. Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge?

This laugh-out-loud comedy received critical and commercial acclaim, as well as several award nominations. The film made nearly double of its budget, and this too during the IPL matches – so suffice to say, it did quite well!

2. Raajneeti

Ajay made his impact even though the film had a huge ensemble cast. Raajneeti did very well, making it in the top 10 highest grossing Bollywood films in India and even making an impact abroad, despite its limited release.

3. Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai

This film opened to great critical and commercial reception and won a number of awards. Ajay plays the role of Sultan Mirza, an underworld don loosely inspired by Haji Mastan, a real Mumbai gangster.

4. Golmaal 3

The latest in the Golmaal series released in 2010, and despite average critical response, received the tag of ‘blockbuster’ at the box office.

5. Singham

Singham opened to generally very good reviews, and Ajay’s performance in the film was praised. It had the second highest opening of 2011, and received the ‘blockbuster’ tag at the box office.

So what do you think? Has the letter drop been effective for Ajay or not?