He exudes a dry sense of humour and is not as mastikhor as one thinks he is, at least during an interview. Quite unlike his vivacious onscreen persona, Riteish Deshmukh is a man of few words. He talks to the point, but always ensures that he makes a point. In a chat with Bombay Times, aapla Marathi mulga opens up on his forthcoming film Great Grand Masti (GGM), his take on adult comedies, wife Genelia Deshmukh, fatherhood and much more...

The Masti franchise is a comic take on men who have a roving eye. What is your take on infidelity?
I think if you are happy in your marriage or a relationship, you won't seek happiness outside and it is important to try and maintain that happiness and excitement in a relationship.

You come from an illustrious background. Is your family comfortable with you doing adult comedies replete with sexual innuendos that are meant for a certain audience?
Given the kind of profession we are in, we lead different lives as an actor in every film. I can take a call on doing a Grand Masti or a GGM without thinking twice because my family is very strong. They are always with me. This is a film and they understand that. They are progressive and I am glad for that. I am not talking just about Genelia, but my entire family. It is my choice and they respect that. It will be weird if I behave like my onscreen character outside. As long as it's for a situation in a movie, it's fine.

Do you think people get too judgemental as far as sex comedies are concerned? Though Grand Masti did well commercially, it received flak from a certain section of the audience for the jokes being crass.
We tend to generalise cinema. The perspective should not be the same for movies. Grand Masti catered to a particular audience. I am happy with the result as it touched Rs 100 crore. Having said that, during Grand Masti the audience and the Censors found the content a little over the top. This time around, we have corrected it at the script level itself. Of course, we have retained the naughtiness because without it Masti franchise cannot exist. Also, language plays a huge part, especially when it comes to adult comedies. Certain things when said in English may sound cool but if you convert it to Hindi it may seem too harsh, because it sounds crass. Unfortunately, we have always looked up to the English language. 'F****** cool' is fine but you can't say the same in Hindi. If you abuse in English it's cool but if done in Hindi, people will say, “Dude, you can't say that. Gaali kyon deh raha hai?“ We understand that, so we have tried to make things milder this time around, but there's definitely enough naughty stuff in the movie.

Do you keep your personal sensibilities aside while doing a film like GGM?
If I am not comfortable with a certain line, I won't say it. I am not saying I am a prude or something but we do draw lines and zero in on things that are agreeable.

A few Hollywood actors have spoken about how they tend to get bored of playing the same characters in a franchise. Do you think you have reached a stage where you are done with comedies?
With due respect, I am not trying to compare myself to them but in our film industry we do four films a year. So for every franchise film, there are 12 other films that we do. We don't solely work on one project. Right now, I'm doing Banjo. I have done Ek Villain, Marathi film Lai Bhaari and Housefull 3. So if a film has nothing new to offer, I won't be interested in it. I was excited about GGM because it is a horror comedy.

How similar or different is GGM when compared to the first two films?
I have never done a horror comedy. In India we haven't tapped this genre. It's about how an attempted infidelity leads these men to a horror zone and all the humour in the film arises from it. This time around, the boys go after a girl to lure her and come to know that she is a ghost. It's literally a do-or-die situation for them. Masti was about us being stuck with a dead body (Lara Dutta's character) and trying to salvage the situation. The second film was about our reunion. All of us came together for the third time because conceptually GGM is strong.

Who has a wild sense of humour amongst Vivek Oberoi, Aftab Shivdasani and you?
We take turns but director Indra Kumar is the naughtiest.

Genelia starred in Masti (2004). If she wishes to come back to films, would you be okay with her choosing this genre?
That's her choice. We take each other's suggestions, but it has never happened where we've told each other that 'you shouldn't do this film because of its genre'.

You have been married for four years, and you are also a proud daddy of two lovely kids, Riaan and Rahyl. How has marriage and fatherhood shaped you?
I started dating Genelia when she was 18 years old and I have seen how hard she has worked. When we did our first film, she would shoot in the morning in Hyderabad, fly back to Mumbai, appear for her college exams and come back to the set. I have seen her do all that and now I see her as a hands-on mother, it's so amazing. She teaches me new things every day. Genelia helps me in being a responsible father. I do everything that any father would do for their children, like fetch them from playschool or change their diapers.

Showbiz is driven by egos and camps and despite that, both Genelia and you are adored by the film fraternity. No rivalries, no controversies. How do you pull that off?
If you are saying so, I thank you and all those people who believe so. We never attempt to be like someone. We are who we are. I am glad that our personal equations with people from the industry are happy equations. I firmly believe that if your friendship has no agenda, then it's pure friendship and that's what I maintain. I never discuss work with my friends. I think friendships which are primarily based on work are bound to crack someday.

AN ACTRESS RITEISH WOULD LIKE TO GET NAUGHTY WITH
I am in a space where I am a married man now, but back in school, I was mad about Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct.