Ritesh Deshmukh

Riteish Vilasrao Deshmukh (born 17 December 1978) is an Indian actor, comedian, television presenter, writer, director and film producer. He is the son of former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. He works in Hindi and Marathi cinema. He has acted in over 60 films, in Hindi and Marathi cinema."SRemembering Vilasrao Deshmukh"
''Hindustan Times''.

He was ranked third in ''The Times of India'''s Top 20 Most Desirable Men of Maharashtra in 2018.

Deshmukh began his acting career with the movie ''Tujhe Meri Kasam'' (2003) and since then he has worked in several successful films such as '' Masti'' (2004), ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' (2005), ''Bluffmaster!'' (2005), ''Malamaal Weekly'' (2006), ''Heyy Babyy'' (2007), ''Dhamaal'' (2007), '' Housefull'' (2010), ''Double Dhamaal'' (2011), ''Housefull 2'' (2012), ''Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum'' (2012), ''Grand Masti'' (2013), ''Housefull 3'' (2016), ''Total Dhamaal'' (2019), ''Housefull 4'' (2019) and ''Baaghi 3'' (2020). He received widespread critical acclaim for playing a serial killer in the romantic thriller ''Ek Villain'' (2014).

In Marathi cinema, he debuted as a producer with ''Balak-Palak'' (2013) and made his Marathi acting debut with action film ''Lai Bhaari'' (2014) and its spiritual sequal ''Mauli''.

Early life

Deshmukh is a son of the ex-chief minister of Maharashtra and Union Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises India, Vilasrao Deshmukh, and Vaishali. He has an elder brother named Amit and a younger brother named Dhiraj, both of them politicians. Deshmukh studied at G D Somani Memorial School and earned an architectural degree from Kamla Raheja College of Architecture, Mumbai. He practiced for a year with an overseas architectural firm. He continued designing since his return to India. Deshmukh maintains an ownership in Evolutions, an India-based architectural and interior designing firm.

Career

Deshmukh made his Hindi film debut with the 2003 romance, ''Tujhe Meri Kasam'' opposite Genelia D'Souza. He later appeared in '' Out of Control''. In his third film, '' Masti'', a comic thriller, his role was widely disparaged. Regardless, the film performed well at the box office. He gained fame after his performance in ''Masti'', which earned him two minor awards. He subsequently appeared ''Bardaasht'' and '' Naach'', both of them being box-office duds. His first relatively successful lead role occurred in the widely panned sex-comedy ''Kyaa Kool Hai Hum'' with Tusshar Kapoor. While the film was reviled by critics, it was appreciated by audiences and declared a moderate success at the box office. Deshmukh, by now had earned a strong foothold in the Bollywood film industry via his comic roles.

He appeared in ''Malamaal Weekly'' and ''Apna Sapna Money Money'' apart from ''Bluffmaster!'' with Abhishek Bachchan in the lead. He was seen in guest roles in Ram Gopal Varma's ''Darna Zaroori Hai'', and then ''Namastey London'', which was a box office hit. In 2007, ''Cash'' followed. Later that year, he appeared in Sajid Khan's directorial debut ''Heyy Babyy'', co-starring Akshay Kumar and Fardeen Khan, which was a huge hit. He appeared in the comedy film ''Dhamaal''.

In 2008, he played a lead role in ''De Taali'', in which his performance was praised, and later in ''Chamku'', both of which performed poorly at the box office.

In 2009, his first release was '' Aladin'', co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Jacqueline Fernandez. He was in the multi-starcast, ''Aladin''. He then played a supporting role in Ram Gopal Varma's '' Rann'', again co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav. His final film of 2009 was ''Do Knot Disturb'' with Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Sohail Khan and Lara Dutta.

In 2010, he worked with Sajid Khan on the comedy '' Housefull'' with Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan. The film received negative response from critics, though it performed well commercially. His first release of 2011 was ''F.A.L.T.U.'', in which he played the role of Bajirao, a fake college principal. His second release of the year was the comic sequel ''Double Dhamaal''. Both were above-average grossers and very successful.

In 2012, he first appeared in ''Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya'' in which he is paired opposite his real wife Genelia D'Souza. It proved a commercial hit despite being a shoestring budget. He then starred in a sequel, ''Housefull 2'', which released on 6 April 2012 and was a huge success like its predecessor. ''Housefull 2'' has been marked as Ritesh's biggest success to date. His last release of the year and his latest film was sequel ''Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum'', which released on 27 July 2012.

Deshmukh then starred in another sequel, this time to the 2004 hit '' Masti'' titled ''Grand Masti'' which released in September 2013 and became a box office success, despite receiving negative reviews. Deshmukh made his debut as a film producer with the Marathi film '' Balak Palak'', directed by Ravi Jadhav, which released on 4 January 2013. Deshmukh has decided to make a Hindi remake of the film.

In 2014, Deshmukh appeared in 2 completely different roles; first in the romance-comedy film ''Humshakals'', which was a box office failure and then in the romance-thriller ''Ek Villain''. With ''Ek Villain'', Deshmukh played the antagonist for the first time in his career. ''Ek Villain'' was a box office success and he received many awards for acting. Besides this, he also made his acting debut in Marathi cinema the same year with the action film ''Lai Bhaari''. He did a small cameo in ''Entertainment'', which was not entertaining at the box office.

In 2015, he appeared in ''Bangistan'' along with Pulkit Samrat. The film was a comedy-satire and received a mixed critical response. However, was a box office disaster.

In 2016, he appeared in the third installment of the Housefull and Masti series ''Housefull 3'' and ''Great Grand Masti'' and a musical drama '' Banjo''. He appeared in the comedy film ''Bank Chor'' which was released in 2017 and in the end of 2018, he did his second Marathi film MAULI which was a box office success. In 2019 he appeared in a third part of ''Dhamaal'' called ''Total Dhamaal'' which received mixed reviews still it becomes successful. In the same year he appeared in two other movies ''Housefull 4'' and ''Marjaavaan'' (as a villain after ''Ek Villain''), both were received mixed reviews but they were successful at box office. ''Housefull 4'' become his biggest hit till date and his acting in ''Marjaavaan'' was appreciated.

In 2020, he appeared in ''Baaghi 3'' with Tiger Shroff and Shradhha Kapoor.

Personal life

He married film actress Genelia D'Souza in traditional Marathi marriage ceremony on 3 February 2012. They have 2 children.

Deshmukh launched his own production house Mumbai Film Company in 2013 with producing a Marathi film '' Balak Palak'', which won several awards. In 2013, he brought a cricket team with Dhiraj Deshmukh, later named as Veer Marathi in Celebrity Cricket League. He played in this league as his team's captain. Veer Marathi's brand ambassador was Genelia D'Souza.

Philanthropy

The actor donated Rs 2.5 million to his home town Latur for
Jalyukta Latur
, an initiative to make the parched district water sufficient after the droughts faced by Latur during April 2016. Riteish and Genelia donated Rs 2.5 million towards flood relief in Maharashtra during the 2019 Indian floods.

Filmography

*''All films are in Hindi unless otherwise noted.''

Television work

'' Lego Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu'', he voiced Jay (Blue Ninja) in the Hindi dubbing of this show along with Nachiket Dighe as the voice of Kai (Red Ninja), Akshay Kumar as the voice of Cole (Black Ninja), and Salman Khan as the voice of Sensei Wu (Wise teacher of the Ninja).

Host

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
*

Mister Mummy
a
Bollywood Hungama

{{DEFAULTSORT:Deshmukh, Riteish
Indian male film actors
People from Latur
People from Maharashtra
Marathi people
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Living people
People from Marathwada
1977 births
Screen Awards winners
Zee Cine Awards winners
International Indian Film Academy Awards winners