Mumbai, Jul 19 (IANS): He started off as an action hero with "Phool Aur Kaante" in 1991, but Ajay Devgn, who returns to the genre after eight years with "Singham", says he was not very keen to sign the film.

"Even though I started as an action hero, I had not done an action film for the past eight years and I was sceptical whether I will be able to do it or not," Ajay told IANS in an interview.

"I waited for all these years before exploring the genre again because I was not getting the right script. But 'Singham' was fabulous. It is hard-hitting, a complete entertainer and creates a balance between entertainment and being sensible. Also, the film has amazing action sequences," added the actor who has been a part of Bollywood for two decades.

"I am glad that I did manage to pull it off," he said.

The 42-year-old's last out and out action flick was the 2003 release "Qayamat". After that he shifted focus to fun films and did comedies like "Golmaal" series, "All The Best" and "Sunday".

He also did "Omkara", "London Dreams" and "Raajneeti" among others.

The actor shows six-pack abs in "Singham", which is releasing Friday. Did he have to work a lot on his body for the film?

"I didn't have to do a lot in terms of training. I trained a little more than usual and followed a more strict diet for two months," he revealed.

"Singham", directed by Rohit Shetty and which stars southern star Kajal Aggarwal, is a Hindi remake of Tamil film "Singam".

Ajay is playing a cop and after the promos were released, many comparisons were being made with Salman Khan's "Dabangg". But putting wagging tongues to rest, the actor revealed that there was no similarity between the two films.

"We have nothing to do with 'Dabangg'. The only similarity is that both the lead actors, me and Salman are wearing uniforms, that's it. So there should be no comparisons," said the actor who was touched when Salman appreciated his body and look in the film.

"I got to know that Salman liked my body and expressed it on Twitter. It made me feel nice. This shows that there is no rivalry among us, unlike the reports that go around. We all support each other and appreciate each other," he said.