Azaad actor Aaman Devgan on the box office pressures on a newcomer: The audience has become very unforgiving

Aaman Devgan talks about navigating box office pressure as a debutante in Bollywood, how Ajay Devgn helped him in debut film Azaad and being under the radar

Aaman Devgan made his big screen debut last month with the Abhishek Kapoor directorial Azaad, starring opposite Rasha Thadani. While the buzz was there for the film before its release, it underperformed at the box office. Aaman Devgan admits that as a young actor it is much more difficult to navigate the box office pressure and uncertainties today, than what it used to be.

Aaman Devgan (Photo: Instagram)

“In terms of business right now, as newcomers it's definitely much harder from how it was maybe 10 years back. It’s not just because of the box office numbers, but also because the audience has become very unforgiving,” he says, but adds, “And that's how it should be. That's the only way our industry will reach a point where we are competing with the best films in the world. It pushes us to do much better because the audience deserves to get the best when they're spending that amount of money on their tickets. I feel like it's pushing our industry to a point where we are giving quality cinema.”

Even though he is actor Ajay Devgn’s nephew, there was little to nothing known about him before his debut. In a time, where actors from film families get scrutinised badly even before they enter the industry, ask him how he managed to stay away from the spotlight and Aaman shares, “I felt like until I have something to show the audience, what's the point of being in the limelight? Why should they know who I am unless I have something to present for them. It's very unfair to just throw that in their face and be like, ‘okay, now you see me’. I don't think it works and neither do they receive it nicely. When you have work to show, the limelight comes.”