Wish they become bigger than us: Ajay Devgn on nephew Aaman, Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha

Mumbai, Jan 6 (PTI) Superstar Ajay Devgn on Monday said he hopes newcomers Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani, who are set to make their acting debut with “Azaad”, go on to become bigger stars than him and colleague Raveena Tandon.

Aaman is Devgn’s nephew and Thadani is the daughter of film distributor Anil Thadani and Tandon, who has worked with Devgn in films such as “Dilwale” (1994) and “Divya Shakti” (1993).

Devgn plays a pivotal role in “Azaad”, a pre-Independence period drama directed by Abhishek Kapoor. The Hindi film is set to be released on January 17.

“I wish they go beyond us, they become bigger than us. (I hope) Whatever little we achieve, they get more than that. A lot of things have changed.

“When we came into the industry, there was a certain rawness to us. Today’s new generation is coming prepared which is a good thing. We were learning on the sets,” the “Singham Again” star told reporters at the trailer launch of “Azaad” here.

Devgn said audiences earlier would be a little more “forgiving” towards new actors, but today it isn’t so.

“Audiences used to forgive our mistakes somewhere but today’s audience doesn’t forgive anyone. So you have to come prepared. Hopefully, I feel these children have prepared well and Abhishek has guided them well… I feel no matter what you prepare it always feels less because I know the audience doesn’t forgive anyone today.”

The actor said the next generation needs to embark on their own journey.

“If you follow someone, then you will never succeed. You can take inspiration from many people but you need to figure your own path,” he said.

Aaman said it was his uncle’s 2002 period drama “The Legend of Bhagat Singh” which inspired him to become an actor.

“The best advice I got from him (Devgn) was no matter how much success you achieve, you need to be grounded. If you genuinely want to achieve something, you have to be a good person,” he added.

Rasha said her mother asked her to follow the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita.

“Putting in your best and then whatever happens is up to god. This stuck with me because in this industry, there are a lot of emotions, overthinking, and, of course, a lot of trolls. If you listen to everyone, it will drain you,” she said.

While Tandon and Devgn have worked together, the debutante said she first met him on the set of “Azaad”.

“I was nervous. (But) He has this aura that just makes everyone feel comfortable. So, luckily throughout we felt secure and nice. It’s just been such a fun experience.”

“Azaad” also features Diana Penty and Mohit Mallik in pivotal roles. The film is written by Ritesh Shah, Suresh Nair, and Abhishek Kapoor, and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Pragya Kapoor.