The actor plays an antagonist with a (height) difference in his next
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; December 14, 2018)

While Shah Rukh Khan’s Bauua in Aanand L Rai’s Zero is gearing up to hit screens next week, Mirror has learnt that Riteish Deshmukh is ready to play a vertically-challenged character in Milap Zaveri’s next directorial, Marjaavaan, which reunites the actor with his Ek villain co-star Sidharth Malhotra.

Milap, who had written the dialogues for the 2014 action-thriller, admits that if he had to offer Riteish a villainous role again, it had to be better than the last time. “I decided to raise the bar by scaling him down in size,” says the director, adding that the actor’s height in the film, which is produced by Nikkhil Advani and Bhushan Kumar, will be a little above three-and-a-half feet. “Even though he is a dwarf, his character is larger than life. The part is extremely wicked with dark humour, great punch lines and some crazy face-off scenes with Sid.”

Milap has started shooting with Sidharth, while Riteish will join them soon. The filmmaker informs that the team has also undertaken extensive VFX research and a look test with Riteish yielded “outstanding” results.

“Shah Rukh sir has already established a template with Zero. You could do it by getting down on your knees or through two-layer sets. Then, there is VFX. Each shot requires a different treatment and we are exploring all options,” he explains, quick to add that it’s an exhaustive process and they are planning to do it in a way that is comfortable for Riteish. “It will be a never-seen-before avatar, three-and-a-half feet of wickedness,” Milap asserts.

But it is not all gimmick. The writer-director points out that the height factor is an integral part of the story. “We are doing workshops. Riteish is also analysing and observing how someone of that height would walk, gesticulate and run,” he says.

What about inevitable comparisons with SRK’s Bauua? “Both characters are completely different from each other. While Shah Rukh sir’s is a loving, fun character, Riteish plays a bad guy. Besides, his look has a lot more to it than just his stature,” Milap adds.