Aaman Devgan has made his acting debut with Azaad. The film, that also marks the debut of Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani, has Amaan’s uncle Ajay Devgn playing a brief but impactful role. t2 caught up with the newcomer, who has already moved on to his second film, on the journey of Azaad and more.

What is it about Azaad that made it the perfect debut film for you?

I was 15 or 16 when I decided that I wanted to make a career in acting. That is when I started working on my craft, doing workshops and everything else required to be successful in an industry like this.

I was 22 when a casting director told me that Abhishek Kapoor was making a film and there was an audition piece that involved a horse. I read one page of Govind’s character — it was a scene with a horse — and I fell in love with just that one scene instantly. I went to a stable and performed the audition piece with the horse there. I think sir (Abhishek Kapoor) liked that... the fact that I didn’t want to leave out even one second or one aspect and wanted to give him the best possible visual of the scene.

Did the fact that this is an unconventional film to debut with hook you?

Definitely. I have been an animal lover all my life. What I also liked was the challenge of playing a character in a different setting. We are Gen-Z kids who have lived all our life in Bombay. My character in Azaad dates back to more than a 100 years, and has a completely different social status and dialect from mine.

I wanted to challenge myself in my first film because I feel that in today’s day and age, to be a star, you also need to be a good actor. I felt that this challenge would help me step up to that eventually.

What kind of prep went into playing Govind?

The biggest challenge in this film were the scenes with the horses. The film revolves around them and I had a lot of scenes with the horse. Understanding the horse and his energy was very important and essential for me. So, I did a lot of acting workshops with the horse. I had to build that bond with him, so much so that I slept in the stable with the horse for days on end. I would clean him every day. I had to build a level of familiarity with him

So many times, while performing a scene, the horse would do just whatever he wanted. He would either try to bite me or give me a look and walk away. And I had to understand his energy to improvise those scenes and take it to where the director wanted. That was only possible because of these prior workshops.

I have been around horses since when I was very young and would also ride a bit, but the kind of requirement for this film was very intense. We had to do stunts with the horse. I had to do trick riding (a sport where riders perform stunts on horseback). I had to get off a galloping horse and get back on it in one swift movement. Abhishek sir and Pragya ma’am (Kapoor, co-producer) got really good professionals from all over the world to train us in these specific stunts. It was the most amazing experience of my life. I have been doing gymnastics since I was 14 or 15. So it did come a little easy to me.

Getting the Bundelkhandi accent right required a lot of work. Though my Hindi is fine, getting that accent on point was very important. You can’t mess around with something like that.

Rasha and I also stayed in a village for a couple of weeks, just to understand where our characters come from and how their lives probably were at that time. The hardest part was being without my phone, which we had to do for two weeks. My God, as a Gen-Z person, that was very challenging.

How was life in the village?

The first two days were really hard. It was kind of a shock! We live in such a privileged city like Bombay where we have access to everything. We had none of that in the village. But after the first two days, we were absolutely fine. I stopped missing my life in Bombay. I just wanted to stay in the village because of the fresh air and the animals. We would go on walks, do horse riding lessons, participate in acting workshops.... After a while, we got addicted to that life. When we came back to the city, we were like: 'You know what, we want to go back there right now!’

Rasha and you share a sweet chemistry both on screen and off it. How did you build that?

I didn’t know Rasha from before. We met for the first time during our first rehearsals. Like any equation, it was initially a bit awkward and obviously it takes a little bit of time to warm to another person. But the village trip and the horse-riding trips we had in Udaipur helped us because we inevitably ended up spending a month-and-a-half together travelling. You were bound to become friends because we were in a village with nothing else to do but talk to each other. That helped build our chemistry, and by the time we were on the first day of shoot, we were very comfortable with each other. It has been a year since that and we have a good friendship now.

What was it like sharing screen space with your uncle, Ajay Devgn?

It was the most special thing in the world for me. The character that he plays, Vikram Singh, is actually very similar to how he is in real life — kind of a stoic and intimidating character (laughs). The character represents who he is and how he is in his other films as well.

On the first day on set with him, I forgot everything about family and all that. I was so nervous that all I could see was Ajay Devgn. I was like: ‘Oh my God, how am I going to perform? I am so nervous’. But I used a little bit of my actors’ tricks... I stuck with my character and I viewed him as his character.

Did he have anything to say to you that helped you in front of the camera?

He and I have actually shared a set relationship for a while because I have been an assistant director on three films of his. So I know how he works, how he acts and how he directs. I have been on the sets of his Bholaa and then Runway 34, which he also directed. By the time we got to Azaad, I was well versed with his process and I knew how he prefers to get his scenes done.

Did his stardom play a part in you wanting to be an actor?

When you are born in an environment where films are talked about almost the whole day, you will naturally fall in love with the process. By that, I just don’t mean acting, but the process of cinema as a whole. It is mesmerising to watch a film come to life through the collaborative work of all departments.

A specific film starring my uncle that had a big impact on me was The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002). I was very young and after watching the film when I met him, I asked him: ‘Why aren’t you wearing that outfit?!' (Bhagat Singh’s costume). It was then that he explained to me what an actor is and what his job is. I found that very fascinating.

Your second film, a horror comedy produced by your uncle, was announced even before the release of your debut film. That must be a big confidence booster...

I don’t know how much I am allowed to comment on it. I definitely feel very happy that I will get a chance to prove myself in a completely different genre from what I have done in my first film. It gives me a lot of space to show another variation of talent that I could probably bring to the table.