Riteish Deshmukh Success Story Explained; Raja Shivaji is a villain. comedy movies

Before becoming an actor, Ritesh Deshmukh worked in an architecture firm in New York.

Ritesh Deshmukh, who made his mark in comedy films, is in the news today for his role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in ‘Raja Shivaji’. However, there was a time when, fed up with continuous flop films and trolling, he had decided to quit acting.

Being the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, people often called him not an actor but the Chief Minister’s son. After his debut film ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’, many of his films did not work and he decided to work as an architect again.

Later, films like ‘Masti’, ‘Dhamaal’, ‘Hey Baby’ and ‘Housefull’ kept him in the industry. Then he created a different identity by playing a negative character in ‘Ek Villain’.

In today’s success story, let us know things related to Ritesh Deshmukh’s career and personal life.

Ritesh Deshmukh is the youngest son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Belonging to political family, but distance from politics

Riteish Deshmukh was born on 17 December 1978 in Latur, Maharashtra. He is the son of former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Belonging to a political family, his childhood was spent in the environment of politics and public life.

However, Ritesh never expressed his desire to enter politics. His inclination was towards creative field and designing right from the beginning.

Study of architecture, job in New York

Ritesh’s early education was from G.D., Mumbai. From Somani Memorial School. After this he obtained a degree in Architecture from Kamla Raheja College of Architecture and Environmental Studies, Mumbai.

After completing his studies, he worked for some time in an architecture firm in New York. At that time, his focus was completely on architecture career and he never thought that he would work in films.

Ritesh loved stage, acting and entertainment since his college days. Although he was of a very shy nature. Being from a political family, he lived within a limited circle and felt that he should be careful.

The film ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’ was released on 3 January 2003.

Entry into films with ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’

Ritesh’s idea of ​​entering films gradually formed. At that time the Telugu film ‘Nuvve Kavali’ was a big hit and preparations for its Hindi remake were going on. During this time the script of the film reached Ritesh.

Initially he tried to watch the original film, but could not watch it for long due to not understanding the language. Later director K. Vijay Bhaskar called him to Hyderabad and narrated him the entire script.

Ritesh was impressed by the simplicity of the script and character. He felt that this character was like his college life. Ritesh says- Through ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’ I got the opportunity to do everything, which I was never able to do openly during my college days.

Genelia D’Souza was with Riteish Deshmukh in ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’, who later became his wife.

People considered the CM’s son more than the actor.

At that time there was talk in the industry that because he was the son of the Chief Minister, he got the launch easily. But Ritesh admits that because of this background, the pressure on him was also very high. People considered him more as the CM’s son than an actor.

His career was not easy after his debut. Many of his films continuously flopped and a perception started forming in the industry that he would not be able to last long.

In an interview given to Siddharth Kannan, Ritesh had told that when he entered films, he was not confident that he would be able to stay in the industry for long.

When films flopped, I thought of quitting acting.

Ritesh told that there came a time when his five consecutive films did not perform at the box office. At that time he started feeling that his career was over. He had said- There came a time when my five consecutive films flopped. Then I thought- That’s it, now pack up… I will go back to architecture.

At that time, discussions had started in the industry that Ritesh might not be able to last in Bollywood for long. His self-confidence was also affected due to continuous unsuccessful films.

Comedy films gave a chance to survive in the industry

After continuous failures, Ritesh’s career took a new turn. When his films started becoming successful after the flops, he felt that his new life had started in the industry.

The audience started liking Ritesh Deshmukh’s timing in comedy films. Films like ‘Masti’, ‘Kya Kool Hain Hum’, ‘Malamaal Weekly’, ‘Hey Baby’, ‘Dhamaal’ and ‘Housefull’ gave him recognition in Bollywood.

While talking to Dainik Bhaskar, Ritesh Deshmukh says- I am grateful to the people. At that time when I debuted, if one type of film became a hit, then more similar works were available.

So one of my comedy films worked, then I got the second and third comedy films. I was lucky that the comedy genre kept me in the industry for a long time.

According to Ritesh, coming from a political family, he has seen both defeat and comeback closely since childhood. This is the reason why he does not break easily due to failure.

decided to break the comedy image

Riteish Deshmukh remained known for comedy films in Bollywood for a long time. But at one stage of his career he decided to break his image. He started choosing such characters which reflected his dark and dangerous style. Interestingly, he got a lot of appreciation even as a villain.

‘Ek Villain’ became the turning point of career

The biggest turning point of Ritesh’s career was ‘Ek Villain’. In this film released in 2014, he played the role of a serial killer named Rakesh Mahadkar.

His character in the film was that of a common man, who appears calm and ordinary from outside, but is extremely violent and mentally disturbed from inside.

Rakesh feels constantly insulted by his wife and out of this frustration he starts killing women brutally. Ritesh’s calm face in the film and suddenly turning violent was quite shocking for the audience.

Proved that he is not just a comedy actor

Ritesh was praised a lot for the role of ‘Ek Villain’. Many critics wrote that Ritesh proved for the first time that he is not just a comedy actor.

In the year 2019, Ritesh played a negative character named Vishnu Shetty in the film ‘Marjaavaan’. This role was different, because his character in the film was that of a dwarf gangster. Vishnu is a very angry, eccentric and power hungry person.

In the film, he hates Sidharth Malhotra’s character and goes to any extent for his dominance.

Although the film received mixed reviews, Ritesh’s dialogues and screen presence were much talked about. Especially his dialogue – “Kaminepan ki height teen foot” went viral on social media.

Ritesh said that ‘Ek Villain’ was a big risk for him, because people were not used to seeing him in that kind of character. But after the success of the film, the industry’s perspective changed. After this he started getting different types of roles. Ritesh’s biggest strength is considered to be his soft face. On screen he looks like a normal and calm person. This is the reason why when he suddenly plays a violent or dangerous character, its impact appears stronger.

Critics believe that Ritesh used calm and suppressed anger in the villain roles instead of overacting, which made his roles more scary.

Riteish Deshmukh started his production company ‘Mumbai Film Company’ in 2013 with his wife Genelia.

Beginning of new innings as producer and director

Apart from being an actor, Ritesh Deshmukh has now become a big name in the Marathi industry as a producer and director. Ritesh and his wife Genelia D’Souza together started a production company named ‘Mumbai Film Company’.

Coming from a political family, Ritesh has always been associated with Marathi culture and history. This is the reason why he tried to present Marathi films on a larger scale and made films whose scale would resemble Hindi films.

‘Lay Bhari’ changed the picture of Marathi cinema

‘Lay Bhari’, released in 2014, is counted among the biggest films of Ritesh’s Marathi career. This film was produced by Genelia and the director was Nishikant Kamat.

Ritesh played dual roles in the film. Full of action, emotions and popular entertainment, this film made record earnings at the Marathi box office.

At that time, the budget of Marathi films was considered relatively low, but ‘Lay Bhari’ proved that Marathi cinema could also make films made on a large scale successful. Salman Khan’s small cameo in the film was also in discussion.

Ritesh produced many Marathi films. His focus was on stories that would be relatable to the Marathi audience, but would appear national in presentation and scale.

Became a director from Marathi film ‘Ved’

In the year 2022, Ritesh stepped into direction through the Marathi film ‘Ved’. This film was the Marathi remake of the Telugu film ‘Majili’. The pair of Ritesh and Genelia were seen in the film.

‘Ved’ proved to be a big hit at the box office and became one of the highest-grossing films of Marathi cinema. Ritesh was also praised a lot as a director.

‘Raja Shivaji’ was released in theaters on 1 May 2026.

Now in discussion with ‘Raja Shivaji’

These days Ritesh is in the headlines for his ambitious film ‘Raja Shivaji’. The film has been released and is performing well at the box office.

This film is based on the life, war skills and struggle of establishing Hindavi Swarajya of ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’. Ritesh himself played the role of Shivaji Maharaj in the film and also directed it.

Presence of many big stars including Salman Khan

The biggest feature of the film is considered to be its big star cast. Salman Khan is seen in a special cameo role in the film. Apart from them, Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Fardeen Khan, Vidya Balan, Genelia and many Marathi actors have also appeared in important roles. This film has been released in Marathi and Hindi.

It is very important to keep yourself updated

Talking about the struggle and challenges, Ritesh Deshmukh says – The challenge and struggle is that time keeps changing and the thinking of the audience also changes with cinema. We often get stuck in the same old style of acting as we did before.

But if you remain the same as times change, you start looking out-dated. Therefore it is very important to update yourself with time.

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