Riteish Deshmukh - interview

The Innate Comedian

He’s like the guy next door. His smile is infectious and screen presence too enchanting. Most often than not, his cute facial expressions and not his dialogues do the acting for him. Every second shot of this endearing actor makes audience burst into peals of laughter. A favourite of one and all, Riteish Deshmukh talks about his recent films, his love for other genres and his upcoming educational institution and much more with Shilpi Shukla.

After Rann and Aladin you seem to have returned to your favourite genre – comedy.

Well, it is the other way round. Audience likes me best in the genre. I am comfortable in all genres but the audience seem to be most comfortable seeing me doing comedy. The audience remember me in comic roles as these films did well at the box-office while my performances in serious films were forgotten because the movies tanked. It wasn't like I was doing too bad in the films which belonged to non-comedy genres. Maybe if a Rann or an Aladin would have worked, it would have been a different story altogether.

What about your recent releases?

Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai and Housefull are completely different from each other because while the former is a romantic film, Housefull is an out and out comedy. Both the films are very close to my heart though. Comedy in Housefull is completely whacked out. It is over the top where things would be really on your face at one moment and then suddenly, the next scene would be far more subtle. There is a fine balance. On the other hand Jaane Kahaan Se Aayi Hai follows a romcom mood throughout. It is extremely youthful though the subtlety element is prevalent right through its duration. With JKSAH, I’m just getting back to where I started. It’s just that I have much more confidence now.

How did you take Rann’s poor business rating?  

Rann not doing well is ironical because whoever saw the movie liked it. The trouble though was that not many bothered to check it out at theaters. Till date people send me messages on Twitter that they happened to check out the movie on DVD and they loved it. My question to them is that 'Why didn't you see it in theaters? I wasn’t sure if people would take me seriously, after having watched me in so many comedies. But audiences loved me. I truly believe that it was the marketing aspect where Rann could have done a lot better. Probably we were unable to create that kind of urgency amongst people that would have enticed them enough to go and see the film in theatres.
 
How has your cine-journey been so far?

Terrific, I would say. God has been graceful and people from the industry have been very supportive. I had never thought I would get so much love from the audience, that too not because of my father’s political standing but because of my own mettle.

Not many know that you are an architect as well.

Many are taken by surprise when I reveal that I am a qualified architect. I studied architecture at the Kamala Raheja School of Architecture and have been designing alongside acting. My architecture firm Evolutions in partnership with another firm has designed a multiplex in Aurangabad and my hometown Latur in Maharashtra. There are a couple of things happening with the architectural firm which includes designing concept villas for a holiday home in Alibaug. That’s almost complete. Now, I am in the process of setting up a state-of-the art educational institution in Latur.

An educational instution?

Yes indeed. Education has always been a priority for me and it's important to have schools with good facilities where education is imparted in a newer and different system. My dad and brother run educational trusts in different villages but I want to build an educational infrastructure in Latur, which is as good as or better than the ones in Mumbai. We should start the school by next year.

You refused to kiss Jacqueline Fernandes, despite being asked to do so by director Milap Zaveri.
I don't like kissing in films. I have been asked to kiss in many of my films but have always refused. I am a very shy person and kissing is too intimate and personal an act for me to do in front of millions of eyes. I am not comfortable doing it. I can't be detached while kissing someone on screen. But I am not a prude. I would cringe to see myself kissing on screen but if others do it, I'm fine. I didn't kiss and finally we ended up shooting a cuter scene which expresses our romance much more than a kiss would have. I stand justified!

How was it working with director Milap? 

We share a good camaraderie. I hadn't done a romantic film after Tujhe Meri Kasam and was waiting for that right script to come my way. In between, I got stuck with comedies and like it happens, you get typecast easily if your movie works. That's what happened to me as well. The reason for accepting the film was simple. Its story worked for me. And now when I look back, I am genuinely happy that Milap decided to make a love story and offered me the role. Milap is a romantic at heart and even brought out the romantic in me.

Are there more sex comedies on the way?

When I did Masti, people appreciated me. Then, Kya Kool Hain Hum and Heyy Babyy happened. But the other day, some kids came up to me and said, “We aren’t allowed to watch your films.” That’s when I decided not to do films that can’t be viewed by an entire family.

Today, people call your dad Vilasrao Deshmukh (Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises) 'Riteish Deshmukh's father' more than they call you his son. How does that make you feel?
I don't know how to react. I can't weigh both to see which is more important to me as I am not in contention with him to prove who is more famous. I am very happy and proud to be his son. My head rises with pride when I'm called his son. But I hope I have emerged out of his shadow. The shadow is so big that it takes a while to come out of it. I know there are certain responsibilities I have to be aware of and things I am not supposed to do. I abide by that. In social situations, I perform on autopilot. The decorum has to be maintained.