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In a career spanning a little over a decade, Riteish Deshmukh has cemented his place as a comic actor but is he funny off-screen as well? “After all these years of doing jokes and gags on screen, it does rub off on your personality,” is his deadpan reply. The actor spoke to t2 over black coffee at the Sofitel Mumbai BKC.
Is there an unwritten contract between you and Sajid Khan that you’ll be a part of all his films?
(Laughs) No there isn’t. He always writes his films and then decides the cast. So, it’s not like he writes a part for me. And I have been a part of his films only because he’s given me an opportunity to try something new. Heyy Babyy was different from the Housefull films and so is Humshakals.
You’ve been friends with Sajid for over a decade now. What works in your professional relationship?
The fact that I tell him if a scene is not working. Or he can tell me that I am not performing. After a decade of acting, if someone says, ‘I think you are doing rubbish’ in front of the whole unit, it’s great to hear… you realise that you are capable of rubbish. There is a particular scene in Humshakals where I play the character B, a brain-damaged character. He meets Saif (Ali Khan) –– who is dressed like a woman –– for the first time. Saif’s character is wearing a perfume that affects my character. That scene took me three hours to do because I couldn’t get the dialogue right. Sajid gave me the space to keep at it until I got it right.
There is a sense that Sajid has mellowed after the Himmatwala debacle. Has he?
It’s his personality to just say what he wants to. Very often it comes across as arrogant. When you are backed by a successful film, no one says anything. But if a film doesn’t live up to expectations, there is a backlash. It takes a very big heart to admit one’s faults in public like Sajid did in the first press conference for Humshakals. For him, doing this film was about having fun without making any proclamations about box-office figures.
Saif, Ram (Kapoor) and you play three characters each. How did you keep track of the characters?
We left it to Sajid to keep track. Only he knew what was happening. He would tell me if we were mixing it up.
We have to talk about you appearing in drag. This is not the first time…
(Cuts in) No, I’ve done it once before for a film and a couple of times for award functions. For me, Apna Sapna Money Money..? was good net practice for the Humshakals match. I was the only woman in Apna Sapna… but here I have competition!
What kind of preparation is required for such scenes?
In Apna Sapna… I had worn a salwar-kameez, so I was all covered. But this time…
Your legs are getting loads of compliments!
(Laughs) Yes, thank you. Saif, Ram, Sajid and I had long discussions on how we’ll get rid of all the hair. Someone said waxing, someone else suggested shaving. I don’t think hair removal was an issue but when it starts to grow back, it’s horrible. The last time I had threaded my eyebrows but I didn’t this time because I look too much like a girl in the other scenes. In Apna Sapna… I wore fake nails but I had huge problems picking up things. Also, the stick-on nails kept falling off. So, this time I just painted my nails. So these were all the lessons from Apna Sapna….
So did you wax or shave?
I went with Sajid’s suggestion and used a hair-removal cream. It was a horrible experience. It didn’t suit my skin.
How did Genelia react when you asked for her skirt?
She was in Mauritius where we shot the scene. I was struggling with the clothes that the production had got. I saw her skirt and I just took it. I don’t think she was very happy that I was wearing that skirt. And now it doesn’t even fit her!
