Introducing Riteish Deshmukh 2.0

The past week marked 17 years since Riteish Deshmukh made his debut opposite Genelia D’Souza in the film Tujhe Meri Kasam, which released on January 3, 2003. A remake of the Telugu hit Nuvvu Nenu, the film saw the son of the then Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Vilasrao Deshmukh making a very impressive debut.

But what is more heartening is the fact that the actor has completely reinvented himself to not wanting to play the main lead in films, but ensuring that he is a part of all the big blockbusters and hits in a year.

A look at his report card in 2019 reveals that he has three big hits —Total Dhamaal, Housefull 4 and Marjaavan — two mad comedies and a serious villainous role, which he came to enjoy in his varied acting repertoire with Mohit Suri directed Ek Villain. “He was earlier a good choice for just comedy films where he has given many hits. His career had a bit of a lull after Housefull 3 in 2016, but three years later, he seems to have found his mojo. The fact that three of his films put together have crossed the Rs 400 crore mark is an indicator that he is the best second man to cast in a multi-starrer, as he also seems to be a lucky mascot now,” says an industry source.

Ritiesh will be seen next playing Tiger Shroff’s brother in the film Baaghi 3, apart from working on his ambitious film project on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj with director Ravi Jadhav. In all probability, this will be made in Hindi and Marathi, and will see the actor playing the main lead as he did in other Marathi films like Mauli and Lai Bhaari.