It’s been a good year for Riteish Deshmukh. First, his maiden production — Marathi film Balak Palak — did well, and now his latest release, Grand Masti, is off to a flying start at the box office.
The actor, who is currently shooting for Humshakals in London, admits that the attention he’s getting now is new to him. “I haven’t seen this kind of buzz before in my career. We didn’t expect this kind of opening (for Grand Masti), but it feels great. One always hopes that every film works; I guess I’ve been lucky,” says the actor. But making the film wasn’t easy. Riteish explains, “There were several permutations and combinations. Since it’s an A-rated film, half the audience would be ruled out from the start. And this is a sequel, but we thought of it as an entirely new film with its own pressure.”
Next year, Riteish is set to make his Marathi acting debut, and he’s thrilled about it. “It’s an action-drama directed by Nishikant Kamath, whose work I really like. For me, it’s a different genre too,” he says, adding, “The film will release on January 3, 2014. I made my Bollywood debut on the same day, 11 years ago, so I’m all the more excited.”
There has also been some speculation about Riteish playing the negative role in the upcoming film, The Villain, which stars Sidharth Malhotra in the lead. Ask him about this and he says, “I can’t confirm anything. It’s too early.”
Source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Did-not-expect-this-kind-of-business-for-Grand-Masti-Riteish-Deshmukh/Article1-1124678.aspx