Ajay Devgan & Rajkumar Santoshi Movies Together List — 4 Films

The shape of the work

Ajay Devgan acted in every film; Rajkumar Santoshi directed all of them. Strictly Hindi cinema — they never crossed industries together.

Partnership facts

• Santoshi cast Ajay in Lajja (2001) after seeing his intensity in Zakhm. But Ajay almost said no — he didn't want to play a husband who abandons his wife. Santoshi convinced him by saying the character's arc was about redemption.
• On The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002), Santoshi pushed Ajay to drop all his usual mannerisms — no smirk, no swagger, no dialogue pauses. Ajay later said Santoshi made him 'act with his eyes only' for the first time.
• During Khakee (2004), Santoshi and Ajay had a massive fight on set over a scene. They didn't speak for three days. Then Santoshi walked up to Ajay and said, 'Yeh film hit nahi hui toh tera naam nahi, mera lega.' They patched up over chai.
• Halla Bol (2008) was Santoshi's most personal film — based on the real-life Safdar Hashmi murder. Ajay produced it himself because no other studio would touch it. The film directly inspired a wave of socially conscious indie films in the early 2010s.
• Ajay once said in an interview: 'Santoshi sir is the only director who can make me cry on screen. He knows exactly which nerve to press.'
• In Khakee (2004), Santoshi deliberately cast Ajay against Amitabh Bachchan's cop. He told Ajay: 'You're not the hero here. You're the thorn. Play it like you hate him.' That tension became the film's engine.