With just two weeks to the release of Himmatwala, it would be no less than a miracle to get director Sajid Khan and lead actor Ajay Devgn to step out for a leisurely chat. But Mirror managed to do just that at a suburban five-star on Thursday evening. Both are dressed in their favourite casuals, with Ajay even sporting a stubble. Sajid kicks off the chat about the unique 80s and why it is important to have such a distinctive style. "Raj Kumar made a career out of it. Shatrughan Sinha's career lasted because people could imitate his dialogues. You cannot be a mass superstar, if people don't imitate your dialogues," he reasons. But Ajay seemed to have a far simpler reason for choosing the remake of the 80s' hit, "I love 'dialogue-baazi' and choose scripts that have plenty of it."

Sajid and Ajay go back a long way - they were apparently part of the same gang. "I know Sajid from college, when we were utterly useless," says Ajay. Sajid interrupts -"Hum log bekaar the, yehi car wala tha." Sajid reveals Ajay had a white jeep and was the leader and chief financer of their group. "There were three gangs in Juhu," says Sajid, adding, "There was the Vishal Devgn gang (that is Ajay's name), the Bobby Deol Gang, and finally the Vindu Dara Singh Gang." Did being such thick friends get in the way of professional commitments? Ajay explains: "When you are friends and professionals, you don't draw a line. It's a lot more fun making the film." Sajid nods: "Initially I felt he would stress me out, would report late on the sets... but I was so wrong. In fact, there were times he would ring my door bell and say 'chalo set pe jaate hain' (They both start laughing) and I am not praising him because he is sitting next to me."Sajid has also managed to make Ajay dance - a feat considering no other director has ever managed to do that. Ajay nods, "I am very conscious about dancing.

" But Sajid jokes, "He did a song Sawan ka Mahina in his early years. Then he was in a film called Singer...but you had to see him dance in that one." Ajay points out, "That never got completed." Besides his new-found dancing skills, Sajid says Ajay has another hidden talent - a sense of humour. "Not many people know he has the most notorious sense of humour, and he is sharp," he says, adding, "He has the memory of an elephant." To illustrate his point, Sajid says: "If I told him about certain changes in a scene, he would say: 'Arrey four months back, this line was not there in your narration.' There is no fooling this man!" Considering Sajid has done three films with Akshay, and now one with Ajay, how different is it working with the two stars? Sajid quips: "With Akshay around, I smoked less. I smoke more now, thanks to him!" Ajay sits up: "Stop accusing me... But yes, we keep talking about how we have to quit." The conversation keeps flowing, but we are keen to know if Ajay has a signature introduction shot in this film as well. "Yes," says Sajid, "But we are not going to reveal it now!"