Riteish Deshmukh is not letting anything come in the way of his performance in Banjo, National award-winning film maker Ravi Jadhav's Bollywood debut. Mirror has learnt that the 37-year-old actor recently shot in a sewer for the introductory sequence.

“Banjo artists have been a part of Mumbai's landscape for the last 100 years but they have never gained respect for their art. It's a tough job as they usually start playing from morning and go on till midnight without much rest. We wanted to portray how our hero, a Banjo player from the slums, rises with his art. Most heroes arrive on the screen on bikes, cars or horses, mine will emerge from a gutter,“ Ravi explains.

Riteish who is currently busy promoting Houseful 3 with co-stars Akshay Kumar, Jacqueline Fernandez, Abhishek Bachchan and Lisa Haydon spent days learning the instrument before hitting the sets. Was he skeptical about getting down and dirty in a sewer? “I believe in shooting at real locations. It lends authenticity to a film. Banjo is no different. Riteish was onboard ever since I shared the idea with him, and had no reservations about shooting it either. The entire sequence, shot in Worli, was wrapped up in two hours,“ adds Ravi who is now working on the Eros International-produced film's post-production.

According to Ravi, precautions were taken before the final shot. “While we have a doctor on the sets at all times, Riteish was smeared in oil so the grime would come off easily. He has worked really hard on the film,“ he asserts.