Ritesh Deshmukhコミュの‘ Abhishek And I Share A Great Chemistry’

SD: For someone who has the image of a very docile and well-behaved boy, where does this streak of being completely uninhibited stem from? Which is the real you, that good boy, or the wickedly funny, mad as a hatter guy we meet in your films?

RD: Do I really have a well-behaved image, is that what people think? (Riteish grins so sweetly). There’s a certain kind of behaviour because you’re brought up in a certain kind of family. Your upbringing dictates your social behaviour, so many times that stops you from doing so many different things because you stop to think of what the others might think, and that it might not be the proper behaviour. But when you get an opportunity to do that and even worse things on celluloid, you obviously say why not. People are going to enjoy these wild things too, when they see them on screen. So I have no issues at all going wild in my films. I love being on the sets, I love going all out with the masti, and most of the time, I’m here you know. I guess everyone has this quality where they can be different from their everyday selves. Everyone wants to do something that they don’t get to do in real life. But there are so many things you think are not correct, or appropriate behaviour. Even things like dressing up as a woman, is not something I would do in real life, most men wouldn’t. I’m trying to grow my hair now, though there’s nothing else that I want to do like women have to. It’s tough being a woman I learnt.

SD: Most stars especially newcomers, are more obsessed with how good they look on screen. They primarily bother about making the right impression in the early years. Later on, they can afford to do different looks. Whereas in your case, you go all out into the role?

RD: I think if you’re a good looking guy, you’d take care of your looks on screen. But where I come from, and if you’re not a good looking guy like me, that’s not important. For me, this is a fact. It’s fine.

SD: You’re saying the roles that are offered to you are not because of your looks.

RD: Be it any role, maybe other good looking guys cast in my roles would have looked much better than I did and probably taken more care about the way they looked on screen. And I think that’s a great thing, that awareness, because I think an actor should take care of these things. Looks matter in this profession. But I remember, we were doing ‘Malamaal Weekly’ and Priyan told me, ‘Don’t touch your hair, have a stubble, and just come on the sets. That’s it.’ And my clothes were smelling of diesel. So if this is what the director wants, this is what he gets. I just go by what the director says. And being a newer and younger actor, your performances are always dependent on who is directing you. Maybe my success is entirely because of the directors. Most of my films’ successes have to be entirely credited to their directors.



SD: What happened? One fine day you woke up and said you want to be an actor? Or did offers coming your way nudge you in this direction?

RD: I am an architect and I still have a functional office. But every Indian kid who grows up on Hindi cinema has a dream of being up there on screen. And somewhere feels he wants to be an actor. As a kid, it feels like a lot of fun. It doesn’t have to turn true. You may grow up and become a doctor, engineer, architect or a CA, whatever your profession. But as a child, every child nurses a desire to see himself as an actor, acting on screen, singing a song, romancing some heroine. But that doesn’t mean it takes shape in reality. That happens only if you actually take up the profession. I never wanted to become an actor. I was extremely fond of films, but never thought of pursuing it as a career. So I went ahead and did architecture. A cinematographer just called me out of the blue for a film. I had no idea about anything. In fact, the first news that I was doing a film came out after having shot for 10 days. So it was never like ‘Bollywood, here I come!’ Then there is Destiny. Luck. There is one who becomes Amitabh Bachchan, one who becomes Shah Rukh Khan. It’s not just their talent or the fact that people like them. It is their destiny, and their body of work over time. For a newcomer like me, I could be out of work this year or next year. There’s no telling, it is kind of scary.

SD: Do you see your success in comedy films as a possible obstacle in the path of your getting other kinds of film roles and offers of the more serious variety?

RD: I’m sure it does limit the kind of offers I’m getting. But thankfully, I’ve just finished ‘Cash’ which is an out and out action film. We’ve done a lot of stunts in that film. Thanks to Anubhav (Sinha) that he thought let’s see Riteish in a different light. Probably after that film’s release, the audience perspective will change. I would love to do a serious romantic film. Every actor has to do a romantic film at least once and I envy every actor who does romantic films. It’s a great feeling to be in love and to portray the different emotions in situations associated with that, than do just what I’m doing. But I’m getting great comedy films.

SD: Have you ever stood back from your roles and wondered whilst viewing them, ‘Oh my God! How did I do that?’ Or, ‘Is that the way I reacted?’

RD: There are so many times it happens. Most recently, when I saw ‘Apna Sapna Money Money’. I knew that usually men go overboard when they’re dressing up as a girl in films. So I had to consciously cut it down. I knew I had to hide flaws. It’s not about how good you look, it’s about how ugly you shouldn’t look. So I tried doing all that and I finished with the film and dubbed. But when I saw my first show with my friends, I was looking at their faces and then the screen, and I could see in their eyes. I said, ‘Oh no!’ I was too girlie in that film. So it was shocking to me, I didn’t know I could be too girlie to do that role. But it’s fun. It’s about being able to mimic or ape someone. When you’re playing someone who is not yourself, all you can do is mimic. I could mimic a woman, I didn’t feel like one though. I just felt all the time like a guy playing a woman. So when I look at my work, I sometimes feel, ‘Oh shit, what am I doing?’ or even ‘Oh wow!’

SD: Are you saying you just got lucky and got success at what came to you by chance?

RD: I always say it’s not important what films you do, it’s really more important what films you don’t do, what films you refuse. There comes a time where you think you need to sign films because you’re not getting good enough offers, so to be seen as being there, in order to survive. Out of sight is out of mind and that’s the time you’re vulnerable to making the biggest blunders and signing just any film that comes your way. I’ve seen it happen to so many actors, and probably I would have fallen prey to it myself too. Probably I am falling prey to it now. But I was lucky enough to have films like ‘Malamaal Weekly’ and ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’ which became very big hits. I was lucky for me that I had the liberty of being able to choose the right films. I feel opportunities also come after a certain amount of time that give you roles that define your body of work. You may get what you call commercial popular films which appeal and cater to the masses. But after you’ve attained that, then only are you in a position to get and choose films when certain filmmakers approach you and say they want to make a film with you because you’re seasoned enough to do a particular role. Abhishek Bachchan is a prime example. He was fantastic in ‘Yuva’ and also in ‘Guru’. He was doing commercial films, and Abhishek and I are of the same generation and he’s popular and that is why I talk about him. Makers like Mani Ratnam want to cast him because he is fantastic at what he does. So you get a chance to portray those roles and obviously you have to be good also.



SD: You said you had great comic films, what are they?

RD: My comic films are Anees Bazmee’s next, called ‘No Problem’, and Indra Kumar’s ‘Dhamaal’. These are great makers who make good comedies. It’s an experience to work with them. Recently, there have been a great many offers, an increase that’s even shocking me. Earlier I used to have time to listen to narrations. But now, traveling outdoors for shoots, when I get back, suddenly there are 25 to 30 films to be looked at. And you sound and come across as a rude person because it’s impossible to have 30 narrations one after the other. There are so many other things to do when you get back after long, narrations are not the only thing. You need to spend time with your family and friends, and go out, leave films aside. Films aren’t the only thing happening in our life, you need time to yourself. And that’s why currently, I have to say a no to many films. I have a fairly decent script sense. I don’t look to anyone for advice and I don’t really think any actor does that. If it excites you, you might do it, and that’s the only criterion.

SD: As an actor, your possibilities of comic variety are unlimited. But do you feel that you might sometimes get repetitive when you keep doing comedies?

RD: You just react to the situations keeping in mind what kind of a comedy you’re doing. You could get the feeling that one is doing too many films in the same mould, so right now, even if I do anything else, it feels like I’ve done the same thing. As far as possible, you don’t choose scripts that you tend to find similar.

SD: Your association with most other actors has been very fruitful. Is that why you seem to prefer doing multi-starrers? Isn’t it time you take the mantle of an entire film on your shoulders, or do you lack the confidence for that? I mean, is it by choice or by circumstance that you haven’t taken on a solo hero film?

RD: I think it’s circumstance. When I do a film, I always want to be a part of a film that I think the audience would like to see. Compared to so many big heroes, no one would want to see me for three hours. Of course, these days, with shorter duration films, it might be a little easier. Ha ha! I’ve been offered some solo hero films, but when I analysed them, I didn’t think they were happening because neither were they interesting enough, nor did I think the audience would watch me for three hours in those roles. I wouldn’t want to see myself for three hours in them. I’d rather do a film like ‘Cash’, which has Ajay Devgan, Zayed and me, and is a full on action film and everyone has an equal role and let’s go. Sometimes, films with more actors may still give you more to do in terms of movement than solo hero films may.

SD: A lot of people without Godfathers in the industry feel like outsiders even after many years here. Do you feel like that?

RD: I think now I can say that the industry has absorbed me completely. And I can say that I am a part of this industry. And also because I’ve done about 12 films and spent four years here now which have gone all too fast. It’s been fun interacting with most of the people I’ve met. People have been friendly and nice and it’s good to be a part of this.

SD: Do you pack up your job mentally when you call for pack up at the studios or do you carry your work hangover home? Are you always a film star?

RD: You know, you are a film star or have stardom only when you get out of the studio. And the distance between the studio and home is as long as it lasts, till you get out of the car. Because at home, people who know you don’t react to you that way ever. And at the studios, you’re just another co-actor. It’s not, ‘Oh my God, it’s Akshay Kumar or Fardeen or Riteish’, they don’t behave that way. When you go out, it might work that way. But every day, you’re just shuffling between studio and home. You’re not a star everyday. It’s only when you meet people who don’t know you personally and who recognise you by your work that you are a star. Otherwise, it’s just an everyday job. Yes, every actor works for that public adulation and that clamoring. Everyone wants that and that is very gratifying.

SD: Have you ever considered crossover films? Or do only commercial films give you a sense of security?

RD: Few offers have come my way for crossover films, even arthouse films, but none of them were exciting enough for me. I’m not against them and I would love to do something different. I definitely see myself in such films. For every commercial film I’ve done, I’ve only seen myself in some of those roles. Some of them, I just haven’t been able to visualize myself in the way the director has. In ‘Naach’ for instance, I had to convince myself to do the role. I thought it was a brilliant film. It was very understated. It’s a different approach which would work I thought.

SD: Why are you still playing safe after so many films here, in your choice of films and roles? What kind of risks have you taken professionally?

RD: I don’t think it’s about playing safe, it’s about enjoying what you do and choosing the best of what’s being offered to you. I guess even when you plan certain things, it’s always a calculated risk. You might do three films you think are good, and maybe one kind of role where you think people haven’t seen you and try and to something different and see how it works. It’s on gut instinct.

SD: Big actors have not had a track record like yours in such a short while. Yet, why do you always take a back seat? Shouldn’t you be more aggressive and assume command sometimes?

RD: I agree, a lot of people tell me that I take the back seat. Whenever a film is successful, I promote a film, and if the film does well, I don’t go harping on that my film is a success, because when I look at other people doing that, I feel it’s not a cool thing to do. If I feel that way, then I shouldn’t be the one doing that. I’m proud to be a part of successful films, but I can’t give interviews saying my film was such a success. You should leave it to the audiences to decide.

SD: You look relaxed and secure about your career, you are popular. People find you funny, and enjoy your company. You have the potential to compete with the guys at the top. When are you going to go for the kill?

RD: Probably when the time is right, I will. It depends on what kind of confidence the maker has in you. If there’s a maker I really adore and he comes up with a film that he gives me in full trust, and wants me to work hard, then I would be willing to do that. It can’t be one way. It has to happen.

SD: Don’t you think you’ve settled into a comfort zone and need to push yourself out of it? Or would you rather stay cocooned in it? Why don’t you make things happen for you by being pro-active?

RD: I do feel that I need to get out of things that I’m doing right now. In terms of doing the right films by being pro-active towards that, I don’t believe in going out and asking people for work, because I think if a maker’s making a film, he knows exactly who he wants to cast. I’m not against people lobbying. But where I come from, if you go to a filmmaker, even if he thinks, ‘Who does he think he is?’, I can’t take that. I’m happy with the fact that if they consider me for a film and if I like the film, I’ll do it. I don’t want to intrude on someone’s thinking process.



SD: As a guy with a normal upbringing, how much has being in this profession changed your nature and your lifestyle?

RD: I think my upbringing helps me to be grounded in this profession. It keeps me focused. Because there’s too much happening here to get swayed by. But most things are so momentary, they’re just like a passing breeze. And when they’re passing, you have to stand straight and not get swayed by failure or success. You have to work really hard. You have to adapt yourself to things around you. You have to do things out of the ordinary, that you haven’t done before in your life. I’ve never changed in public, but today, I’m comfortable doing that because in a film set- up, you sometimes have to change on the streets. I remember the first time I had to change at Times Square, I was so embarrassed, there were so many people. But now I can do this in jiffy. You have to work fast, time is of the essence, and you have to do it. You get used to it. You adapt.

SD: Is loss of privacy a small price to pay for the adulation and idolization the industry gives you?

RD: I’ve not been intruded upon as much. There are other people far more interesting than me to intrude upon. So I’m not their choice.

SD: You had a good pairing with Abhishek Bachchan through ‘Naach’ and ‘Bluffmaster’. Are there any more films in the pipeline with the two of you?

RD: As of now, no one had offered us any films together. Abhishek and I share a great chemistry through ‘Bluffmaster’ and even ‘Naach’, though we didn’t have many scenes together. ‘Bluffmaster’ was a great bonding session and it really helped both of us to play what we did. I would love to work with him in another film. He’s a very close friend and it’s fun to work with friends.

SD: There’s a spate of reality shows happening. See yourself being part of one ever?

RD: No, I don’t think so. Hats off to people who actually do it, because I believe you need a lot of guts to do it, to be a part of any reality show. You have to bare it all. After a few days, you can’t pretend. Your real nature comes out, good, bad, ugly. And that’s really the only thing an actor has to himself. In films, I get to go out there and be someone I am not, but in a reality show, however much I try not to be myself, it cannot last. You have to be true. Eventually some shades will come out, and every person has a balance of a bad and a good side. And on a TV show on a day-to-day basis, I think even in a 10-minute program, anyone’s negative side is more interesting than the good side, which is what people cotton on to. A person has to have a lot of conviction and guts to go out there and show all of himself. I don’t have the guts and I’m not that strong enough to do it.