Ajay Devgn was born Vishal Virender Devgan on 2 April 1969 in New Delhi and grew up in Mumbai. His father, Veeru Devgan, was a well-known stunt and action director in Hindi films, and his mother, Veena Devgan, is a film producer. Growing up around film sets, he developed an early interest in action and filmmaking.
He studied at Silver Beach High School in Juhu and later attended Mithibai College, Mumbai. Before his debut he adopted the screen name "Ajay", as several other newcomers named Vishal were being launched at the time. In August 2009 he changed the spelling of his surname from "Devgan" to "Devgn".