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Riteish Deshmukh has made a mark for himself in Bollywood in the comedy genre. He shares how old women often come to him to say, “ Bade Joker Ho Tum”, which only emphasizes the fact that he makes people across all generations laugh.
His upcoming film Great Grand Masti was leaked online and is releasing at the theatres a week before expected. We sit down with the man and talk about the film and the silver lining in all this.
Q: Was the third film in the Masti franchise an organic plan or did it happen because the previous ones made a lot of money?
Riteish Deshmukh: When we went on to do Grand Masti after Masti, it was a huge leap in terms of the kind of film it was. The naughty quotient was higher and the audience made it a huge success. Now with the third film, there is always a point when you feel that you have exhausted a certain kind of humour. But I was very kicked about the idea when I got to know that this is a horror comedy, something which I hadn’t attempted before. Some of the scenes that Indu ji (director Indra Kumar) executed are by far the funniest scenes that I have done.
Q: Was it difficult to get your film passed through CBFC as it’s a blatant sex comedy?
Riteish: We faced certain issues with Masti and Grand Masti. So we took a step back consciously to figure out how we can approach it differently, so we don’t have to face the same hurdles. We were careful and after the film came back from CBFC with certain voluntary cuts, we were happy with it.This is not an easy genre to do and many people stay away from it for whatever reasons. I respect everyone’s opinion for every kind of film that they chose to do or not to do.
Q: You have been part of many films in the comedy genre. Does it still excite you as much even today?
Riteish: Action comes to some people naturally, while drama works for others. But I have realized after 13 years in the industry that each day is different. Sometimes things go easy and sometimes they don’t, and for me, that’s the challenge of acting. I keep it simple for myself, I need to be aware of where I am and my difficulties, and to be present while performing. I don’t know how successful I am, but I try to keep things simple.
If you think about it, I have just been doing sequels for a while. I did Dhamaal, then Double Dhamaal, Masti- Grand Masti- Great Grand Masti, Kya Kool Hain Hum- Kya Super Cool Hain Hum, Housefull- Housefull 2 and 3. So eight years back, I did four films and have since just been doing sequels of them. This similar character keeps getting repeated, and I have to work more on the characters and figure out how to do them differently. Otherwise it would look fatigued both for the audience and myself.
During Kya Kool Hain Hum, I realised that I was the most spontaneous during interviews. I decided that I would take narrations twice, would read the script thrice before I go on to shoot but won’t read it after that. So I don’t read the scenes later when it comes to comedy; I try to be spontaneous. I might falter sometimes but then I would give another take - I see how others around me are reacting to the scene.
Q: Great Grand Masti would clash with the roaring Sultan at the box office. Does it get to you because the film was leaked online?
Riteish: We are coming a week sooner and are quite excited about it. I have watched Sultan and let me tell you, it is a great film. I have thoroughly enjoyed it and I am sure that it is going to do huge numbers. Speaking of Great Grand Masti, knowing Balaji, I am sure that they have taken great efforts in distributing the film. We are happy with it and should manage a decent release.
Q: The Marathi film industry is doing phenomenally well and you are a producer. How happy are you?
Riteish: Honestly, the Marathi space is very close to my heart and am still exploring Marathi cinema. It’s a golden phase right now. Not only Marathi viewers but everyone has appreciated the current content. I am very excited to do something on Marathi television as well and have just signed up for a show with Star Pravah. I will start shooting for it by the end of the month.
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