RITEISH: BEING AN UNDERDOG IS A PERSONALITY TRAIT

Riteish Deshmukh is in a good place. Films and production house are both showing an upward swing. While Bank Chor maybe his first with the YRF, we all hope there are many to come. The actor too thinks that it couldn’t have been better timed. They always wanted to do films together but nothing clicked before, he shares with this writer. And Deshmukh seemed to fall in love with the new script as soon as he heard. More from the interview...

Comedy is a genre that you have perfected! I am glad you think so…

It is also a genre that is evolving constantly. This new brand of humour that we will have with Bank Chor, tell us something about it. It is a film about three idiots who decide to go the bank, to rob it of course, on an unfortunate day. They get stuck in a situation and everything starts going bonkers around them. It is hilarious because it is blend of so many different shades of comedy. It’s fun, quirky and the characters are rather stupid. So yes it is different keeping with the evolving sense of humour around us. The audience is constantly being exposed to a variety which helps even us because we are aware we need to constantly upgrade ourselves too with time.

You are once again working alongside Vivek Oberoi... That’s true. We have come a long way from Masti and it is so nice to work with him. We have both grown up since then, we have grown as friends. We have a good rapport which helps in the scenes together, we understand each other and push each other to go beyond what we have achieved in a scene and try better.

You are both dads, did you notice a change in him?

Yes, life has changed for both of us over the last few years. But that’s a gradual change. Like how life is now as compared to what it was in school. It is different but same on some levels too.

There might have been a great change in the dynamics too. Initially you always considered yourself an outsider in this industry, now you are giving back in the form of a production house, having a fan following that’s huge…

Are you in a place where you always wanted to be?

I am in a place that perhaps I was meant to be. I don’t know if I willed it but yes, initially I did consider myself an outsider. But one fine day I realised I have a foothold in this industry, everyone knows me, I know everyone, I am one with it. I think it was an organic growth. The point is we are all out here in the river swimming. Each has his own speed, each has his own strengths and the river is so accommodating that it ensures there is place for all.

...And you have proved time and again that you have it in you to swim against the tide.

That too is not a conscious decision. I chose from the choices that were thrown at me. I took a step ahead at times, and there were days when I took several steps back. So that’s how I see my career. You shouldn’t just let the downslide dissuade you.

In the process, have you set benchmarks and goals for yourself?

I am not someone who sees a horizon and starts walking towards it. I am someone who looks down and watches my step. I don’t know if my way is right or wrong, but that’s the way I am. I am not doing this as a conscious decision. I am doing what comes to me naturally.

You always project yourself as an underdog. Is that deliberate? It is a personality trait once again. I am not someone who shouts out to the world ‘come look at me’, it doesn’t work for me that way. I know there are some who do and are good at it but it is not for me.

You call yourself quiet but we all know you have a mad crazy side to you. How do you manage the juggle?

I don’t manage it at all, I just live it up. I don’t think I have ever consciously made myself behave a certain way unless I unknowingly have hurt someone. Then I would consciously make a change in myself. I don’t like being in a space where I laugh at others in the name of entertainment. Otherwise I am who I am. There is nothing about me that I have to take myself too seriously. I am quiet, I can be funny and I know how to give and get respect.

In a world where image is everything, it might be an uphill task to keep true to yourself and not get swayed by other people’s perception. Not just me, everyone in the industry knows who your friends are and who are the ‘yes men’. I like to believe everyone who is fairly successful has a decent intellect coupled with their talent. There is no way their perception can get coloured.