After essaying many a comic avatars from Masti to Apna Sapna Money Money, Riteish Deshmukh will be seen in an action hero get up in this week’s release – Cash.
But post Cash, Deshmukh’s tryst with comic films will continue yet again as he has Heyy Babyy and Dhamaal up for release.
In an exclusive tête-à-tête with Businessofcinema.com Deshmukh tells us why comic films work for him and why he likes working in them, his inhibitions on working with Amitabh Bachchan in his forthcoming film Aladdin and also about his latest projects as an architect.
Excerpts:
From Masti to Heyy Babyy why you have been singing only comic films? Do you like playing such roles?
I am employed because I am doing comedy films otherwise I do not get films (Laughs). I have been very lucky that whenever I played a comic role the film has also been successful.
After Masti came Kya Kool Hai Hum, Bluffmaster, Malamaal Weekly and Apna Sapna Money Money but all of them have been different. Humour is a vast theme, so many different things and so many different situations can be depicted in it. You can really experiment a lot within the umbrella of comedies. So I am okay with doing comedy.
Your next film up for release is an action one, Cash…
Cash is my out and out action film where I will be seen doing a lot of stunts. I decided to work on Cash almost one and a half year back, then six months after that the shooting commenced and the movie is releasing now, one year later. And then people ask me why I am working in an action film now after so many comedies… but they have to understand that I decided to work in it long time back.
So I am trying to work on different subjects and different films. I can only try and do things when I get a chance and an opportunity. If one comedy film does well people want to cast you only in comedy films. I don’t reject these offers as I enjoy doing it so I will keep working on it. I may not do that same kind of roles but if I get something different I will be happy.
Tell us about your role in Heyy Babyy.
In Heyy Babyy I play Tanmay Joglekar and incidentally the character too is a Maharashtrian boy, like me. I had to speak in Marathi sometimes and especially when my character gets angry he rattles and also abuses in Marathi.
In the movie I basically attend kid’s parties in teddy bear clothes to entertain them and to make a living. But I am also very flirtatious and have a very colourful life, which is quite unlike my real life, so it was fun playing this role.
Your director Sajid Khan says that he has created this role especially for you…
Yes he has. He felt I was the only one who could make weird faces and look like a teddy bear even without wearing the mask. So I don’t know whether that was a compliment or an insult but I smiled and I took up the role.
Are you happy with the kind of roles you are being offered?
I am more than happy. I never thought I would work beyond my first film. Before release I thought my first film will be my last film and I would pack up and go home. I am not a guy who wanted to be an actor, I loved films and I got an opportunity to see myself on screen and then people kept casting me, taking risks and losing money (Laughs).
Comic roles are often the toughest to play and you seem to be doing it with a lot of ease…
I believe that acting has two aspects – understanding and implementing. When a scene is explained to you, you are supposed to understand it well and then project it. In a comic film the humour is written and as an actor you have to just come forth and portray it. Some actors are so good that they can also improvise on their lines and create magic in the scene — those are talented actors. But in my case, I have just been lucky that all my scenes have been well written.
So will your tryst with comedy continue even after Heyy Babyy?
After Heyy Babyy, I have Dhamaal, which is the most whacked out comedy I have ever done. Heyy Babyy has a soul and a heart but Dhamaal is only laughter.
You will be working with Amitabh Bachchan in Aladdin. Do you have any inhibitions on working with him?
Only one, I am very scared of him. I am scared because I respect him. He is a very friendly person but sometimes you are just scared because you respect the person a lot.
Prior to this I had a small episode with him in Darna Zaroori Hai, but Aladdin will be my first full length film with him. I will start shooting for it soon.
Do you have to do any preparations for Aladdin?
The film has a lot of visual effects so we have to prepare a lot before hand. We will have workshops and understanding of the blue screen.
You are also an architect by profession, so how is that line of work shaping up?
My primary focus is acting now. I undertake a couple of architecture projects. We just finished two multiplexes for PVR in
As an architect how much do you observe and learn from the sets of the films that you work on?
There is a lot of difference in architecture and art direction. These sets are just like skeletons and moulds that are made in 15 days, if an architecture has to make them he will take four months. Stability and strength of a set is different because people dance on the sets; sound absorption and various factors have to be checked.
But whenever I do go inside plush buildings to shoot or on outdoor locations or museums I actually go and check these places out and see what material they have used to build it. So I always keep observing but not that I start analysing too much.
What remains your primary source of income – acting or architecture?
Definitely acting. Everyone makes money here, my producers make money and they pay me well.
Does your father give you words of wisdom or compliments when he sees your films? What was the most recent comment he made?
After watching Apna Sapna Money Money he said that if I had a daughter she would definitely look like this.
So does he watch all your films?
(Thinks) Umm… He has to!
