“Of course it’s a problem. Usually, on a weekend there is space for two films, but three films means less shows and fewer theatres, which ultimately translate into less revenues. But for the next six months things are going to be like this. The strike that caused the crowding was also necessary,” asserts Devgn.

Marketing is the new buzzword, he concedes, and helps generate a buzz. Needless to say, the actor and his cast have done the rounds –from television reality shows to the ramp (he’s a part of Salman Khan’s star-studded fashion show for Being Human).

“We are falling into a trap where sometimes the marketing budget of the film is more than the cost of the film itself. Everybody is going all out to promote their film so you have to do it as well.

But I don’t believe in creating controversies. The quality of your product should get people excited about watching your film and for that promotions are important. Earlier Chitrahaar on Doordarshan was the only platform for promoting your film but people still came to watch it , but today one has to go everywhere from television to a railway station.”

After his success as an action hero and then films such as Zakhm and Gangajal, are comedies his recent favourites? He puts it down to the different phases as opposed to a deliberate move. “I never plan anything in life,” he says, adding, “You basically make films that work with the audience. I started with action then did dramas like Zakham and love stories like Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha and now it’s comedies. Luckily for me, all genres have worked. I am glad that things happened at the right time. If I kept doing the same things again and again I would be bored.”

Soon enough there is London Dreams coming up, which he describes as a drama–a story of two friends who come together, fall apart and destroy each other’s lives and then come back together. The film has him team up with Salman Khan almost a decade after their successful Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the actor is quite excited about it. But it’s not the only pairing from the past that has him excited. Devgn is also back to shooting with his favourite director Prakash Jha for Rajneeti, a modern-day adaptation of Mahabharat. And there are reports of a patch-up with Ram Gopal Varma who gave him Company, Bhoot and Ram Gopal Verma Ki Aag. In the meanwhile, he is working with Bipasha Basu in a Priyadarshan film based on a series of disturbing events that took place in Bihar. According to him, his criterion for accepting a film with anyone is that the person should know his job.

“I need to be comfortable with the person and then I should be able to enjoy the job. I need to believe that I can trust him as a director. Prakash Jha, Rajkumar Santoshi …I have worked several times with most of them.”

For an actor who has been part of films with political shades, Devgn has little interest in the rough and tumble of politics. But political subjects do enthrall him and he seems suitably excited about Rajneeti. “Rajneeti is a very hard-hitting film. It has everything that you can expect from Prakash Jha. I am not in politics but there are certain things that surprise you… such as the levels to which people can go for power. The film has captured a lot of political intrigues.”

As an actor turned director, Devgn is not resting easy–he has a script that he hopes to direct next year. It’s an action film and that wife Kajol is unlikely to be a part of it is all that he’s willing to give away. Toonpur Ka Superhero, an animation and live action film that has been in the making for a while, is likely to release next year. “Animation films take a long time and this will be among the first Indian movies to combine both live action and animation, where the characters fight to come out of a make-believe world they are lost in.”

Creatively, he likes to work on his own ideas. “You can’t have your idea worked on by someone else. Hollywood directors also work on their own stories–you can’t translate someone else’s vision.”