Birthday Special: Ajay Devgn's Top Ten Films

From debuting as a lanky star son in 1991 to transforming into a buff 40-something who churns out back-to-back hits, Ajay Devgn has come a long way.

His latest film -- Sajid Khan's Himmatwala may have come a cropper -- but the actor, credited with popularising the intense, brooding hero, has plenty of good work to be proud of.

As Ajay 'Singham' Devgn turns 44 today, here's looking at his top 10 films.

Phool Aur Kaante, 1991

As they say, firsts are important in everybody's life.

Even so for Devgn, who burst on the screen with one of the most explosive introduction scenes in Hindi films with Phool Aur Kaante in 1991.

Only 22 at the time and quite unlike his contemporaries, Devgn had a calm stillness about him.

In one of his most appreciated films, the actor teamed up Kajol and the costars reportedly fell in love on the sets of the film.

A delightful romantic comedy inspired from Meg Ryan starrer French Kiss, Pyar Toh Hona Hi Tha features him as a well-meaning crook who falls for the girl he's helping find her boyfriend. It was a welcome departure from the action fare he'd been a part of.

In what is widely acknowleged as a sensitive portrayal, Devgn stars in Mahesh Bhatt's semi-autobiographical Zakhm as a man troubled by communal conflict in his and his mother's life.

Devgn bagged a National Award for his brilliant performance in this film.

In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devgn plays Vanraj, a lawyer madly in love with his wife, only to learn that she loves someone else.

His sacrificial husband act won many admirers.

While everybody raved about Vivek Oberoi's performance in the film, Ajay Devgn held his own as the feared mafia-lord Malik in Ram Gopal Varma's gangster epic Company.

Read the review here

The actor won a National Award for Best Actor for his fiesty performance as Shaheed Bhagat Singh in Rajkumar Santoshi's 2002 biographical film.

The film's narrative as well as Devgn's performance made it a more superior Bhagat Singh film than its other versions.

Ajay Devgn gave another chilling performance as the fearless Superintendent of Police Amit Kumar, who takes charge of his town and saves its people from the local goons in Prakash Jha's Gangaajal.

Devgn has delivered great performances in Jha's other films too, like Apharan and Raajneeti.

In the 2004 mulitstarrer action drama Khakee, Devgn was a prominent presence in a cast crowded by the likes of Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai.

As ruthless killer and former cop Yashwant Angre, the actor delivers a fiery performance.

Devgn managed to stand out in yet another multistarrer as a fearless and upright student leader who presses for better representation of youth in the Parliament.

His Michael Mukherjee is a trusted and popular leader and it's not difficult to see why.

Read the review here 

In Vishal Bhardwaj's retelling of Shakespeare's Othello, Devgn plays a bahubali (a political enforcer), who meets his tragic end owing to trust issues and his inner insecurities.