For years, Riteish Deshmukh found himself typecast in Bollywood as the go-to actor for comedy roles. But over the past decade, he’s slowly but steadily broken out of that mould, taking on varied characters in films like Ek Villain, Lai Bhaari, the web series Pill, and more recently, Raid 2. In a conversation with Galatta India, Riteish opened up about this shift in his career, attributing it to writers and directors who chose to envision him differently.
He said, “Hum actors jitna kaam karte hai… agar uss performance ke liye 100 rupees ka credit milta hai… we’re worth only 20 rupees… kyunki woh 80 rupiya director aur writer ko jana chahiye kyunki unhone itna achha likha hai aur humara kaam bohot aasaan ho gaya hai… To do it on screen, it’s very easy. (As actors, even if we put in work worth 100 rupees, we’re only worth 20. The remaining 80 should go to the writers and directors because their writing makes our job easier. Acting becomes effortless when the material is strong.)”
Riteish Deshmukh further elaborated on how the quality of the script defines an actor’s performance: “Humara kaam tab mushkil ho jaata hai jab written material is not good. Agar koi scene inherently funny nahi hai on paper, toh usko funny banane ke liye you start overacting… you start doing over… toh kisi ka usme fayda nahi hai. Toh mujhe lagta hai ki agar koi bhi writer bohot achha karta hai, it becomes very easy for us. (Our job becomes difficult when the material isn’t good. If a scene isn’t funny on paper, we end up overacting to compensate, which helps no one. So when a writer does well, it makes everybody’s job easy.)”
Citing the example of successful comedy films, he emphasized giving due credit to the scriptwriters: “Aap dekh lo jitni bhi comedy films aaj chali hai… it’s because of the writing. Main yeh nahi keh raha ki performance doesn’t matter, but we should give credit to the writers. (Look at all the hit comedy films. It’s the writing that works. I’m not saying performances don’t matter, but the writers deserve the credit.)”
When asked whether he agrees with Karan Johar and Anurag Kashyap’s frequently expressed concern that actors are overpaid, Riteish Desmukh gave a candid response: “Toh mat do… dakka thodi daal rahe hai… ghar par baithenge. I’m not talking about actors… I’m talking about directors, any department also. Aapko lagta hai ki agar koi bohot zyada paisa maang raha hai toh mat do… simple theory apnao. (Then don’t pay… it’s not like they’re forcing you. Let them sit at home. I’m not just talking about actors, this applies to directors or any department. If you think someone is asking for too much money, then don’t pay. Just follow a simple rule.)” He added, “As a producer, agar mujhe lagta hai ki woh bohot paise maang raha hai and he’s not going to give you that much worth, then don’t pay. (If I, as a producer, feel that someone is charging too much and won’t deliver enough value, then I just won’t pay.)”
Riteish is currently seen playing an antagonist in Raid 2, the sequel to the 2018 hit Raid. The film sees Ajay Devgn return as Income Tax officer Amay Patnaik and has opened with strong advance bookings at the box office.
