Mumbai: With U Me Aur Hum slated for release this summer, Ajay Devgan becomes the latest Bollywood star to slip behind the camera and don the director's hat.

Following in the illustrious footsteps of Sunny Deol, Rajat Kapoor and most recently Aamir Khan, Devgan too directs himself in his first outing as filmmaker. However, he insists, acting and directing are two entirely different jobs, and says he knows how to keep both responsibilities apart

“You should know what role you are playing. As an actor whatever is given to me I will do that. When I am directing it’s totally my call in everyway. So you need to know what you are doing,” Ajay said.

While Sunny Deol didn't quite hit bulls eye with Dillagi, Aamir Khan earned both success and acclaim with Taare Zameen Par. Art house actor-director Rajat Kapoor, now in his third outing as filmmaker with Mithiya, earned encouraging reviews for both Raghu Romeo and Mixed Doubles. But contrary to popular belief, these crossover talents insist making movies is never a piece of cake.

“I wrote Mithya end of ’98. One of the first people to read the script after my wife was Naseeruddin Shah ji. I wanted him to be the protagonist, but nobody wanted to fund Naseer ji in the lead role. So then I wrote Raghu Romeo and then Mixed Doubles and finally after nine years somebody thought it worth funding,” Rajat says.

While Aamir Khan says that directing comes with its own demands. “It’s not like it’s not been done before. Raj Kapoor ji has been doing it all his career.”

Although the greats – everyone from Raj Kapoor and Manoj Kumar, to Clint Eastwood in Hollywood – have always comfortably juggled both jobs, today's generation says they'd much rather be doing a single job on the sets.

“Ideally I don’t want to act in the film that I am directing. Now in this case I didn’t have a choice. Unless I really cannot find someone my first choice would be to actually find actors others than me to be a part of the film that I am directing,” Aamir says.

Much like their Hollywood counterparts – George Clooney, Sean Penn, even Ben Affleck – more and more Bollywood stars seem to be stepping out of their comfort zone and putting their money where their mouths are – making movies they want to see.

With the unanimous appreciation Aamir has received for daring to dream, one can only hope others will be bolder and braver.