The actor on playing a loser in his new film who struggles to find a love interest
Renu Deshpande-Dhole (MUMBAI MIRROR; July 21, 2019)

Amey Wagh’s physical transformation from a lean, agile go-getter in Faster Fene to an overweight, stubbled slob has been the talk of town ever since teasers from his upcoming film Girlfriend were first revealed on social media. But for those who’ve seen his body of work over the years on different mediums, what’s more striking is the big departure the actor has made from the characters he’s embodied so far.

Immensely affable and gregarious off-screen too, Wagh’s popularity among his predominantly young fan base has been built on the basis of the 31-year-old’s unmistakable charisma, his wicked wit and his casual coolness. Comedy web sketches, anchoring gigs, youth-oriented TV shows and largely likeable roles in films have capitalised on these strengths so far. But in Upendra Sidhaye’s directorial debut titled Girlfriend, his role as the bored nerd Nachiket (aka Nachya), struggling to find a love interest, seems to have demanded a divesting of his very personality. “That’s exactly what attracted me to this role. After the director and producers read the script to me, the first thing they said was that they don’t think I suit this role at all. And honestly, it is hard for me to play a loser and an under-confident guy (laughs). But that’s why I chose acting as my profession, so that I get a chance to break all these shackles, and be who I can never be,” Wagh says.

He thanks filmmakers for throwing different challenges at him and then, with characteristic swagger and smirk, pats his own back for having proved himself capable of taking such risks. “I am among the few fortunate actors of my generation whom directors have imagined in such different roles. I don’t know how the makers of Faster Fene saw me as the quick-witted Banesh — I’m so lazy and slow; I take my own sweet time to think, get up and move about. Similarly, I’m nothing like Nachiket in real life. But that’s the fun of being an actor,” he reiterates.

From not relating to Nachya at all to growing very fond of this character, it has been a journey in empathy for Wagh. “I’m really feeling sad that I won’t get to meet this character now that the film has ended. I came out the film having befriended this guy and had started feeling really protective about him. We have so many Nachikets around us whom we think of only as these ‘poor guys’ who don’t have much to say. But they are actually really good at heart. In fact, I have a few friends like that and I picked up a few mannerisms from them for this film,” he explains.

The loser-guy-gets-hot-girl track of the film seems to have hit the right notes with Marathi cinema’s famously bold actress Sai Tamhankar being cast opposite Wagh. Having played off female co-stars like Parna Pethe, Mithila Palkar and now Tamhankar, who command their own strong screen presence instead of merely being ornamental beauties, Wagh is aware of the strength they bring to the film. “I believe every strong actor goes towards making a stronger film. And Sai is someone I’ve always had huge respect for. Her work has consistently been good, even in films that weren’t so great. From being a fan boy, I can now say we have developed a kind of camaraderie after working on this film.”

More than the chemistry with the costar, however, Wagh believes that it’s the director-actor equation that truly shapes the film. “That’s why I always look for good directors to work with. I know that as an actor, I don’t have much control over the fate of the film. I can only act well and promote my film. Whether the film works or not is not in my hands. So I make sure at least the process of making the film is enjoyable and enriching, given that I only do one or two films a year,” he says.

With Sidhaye (who’s credited for writing Mumbai Meri Jaan, among others), that desire was completely fulfilled, says Wagh. “I was introduced to him on the sets of Muramba. Nipun [Dharmadhikari, friend and director] had told me that if you want to know the best of what’s happening in the entertainment world, follow Upendra’s FB Page. He’s a film geek, who’s seen all kinds of cinema. It was a learning experience working with him.”

While Girlfriend releases on July 26, Wagh is looking forward to two web shows this year (Hindi and English) and a Marathi multi-starrer Dhurala, directed by Sameer Vidhwans, next year. “Even when I’m not on screen, I keep reaching out to audiences through my plays and live shows. Every medium has a separate viewership, but once they see me on one platform, they are curious about my other work too. So hopefully, my different audiences will overlap gradually,” he says.

Riteish Deshmukh reveals that the film could be a Hindi-Marathi bilingual, his plans to produce another Marathi film, and his future in politics
Avinash Lohana (MUMBAI MIRROR; November 7, 2017)

After collaborating with National Award-winning filmmaker Ravi Jadhav for his first Marathi production Balak-Palak in 2013, following up with the director’s Bollywood debut, Banjo, three years later, which featured him in the lead, Riteish Deshmukh will now play Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the director’s upcoming biopic on the warrior king.

“We have just finished our first draft and after a few revisions we will get into prep. The film will roll next year,” the 38-yearold actor-producer informs Mirror, adding that he is actively involved with the scripting and has been reading books like Vedh Mahamanawacha, Shree Raja Shivchatrapati and Shivcharitra among others. “At the moment it is a Marathi film but by the time we go on the floors, it may become a Hindi-Marathi bilingual. We will take a call on that later.”

The Shivaji biopic is Riteish’s fifth production after Balak-Palak, another National Award winner in 2014, Yellow, followed by the super hit Lai Bhaari which opened the same year and the recently released Marathi crime thriller, Faster Fene. “I’m glad that the first few films we have produced have been in different genres and were appreciated by the audience. When you work with low budgets, one has no option but to work on content and within the space offered, scale up your product,” he reasons, admitting that limitations of regional cinema pushes him as a filmmaker to new creative heights.

He goes on to inform that it was his father, the late Vilasrao Deshmukh, who once asked him why he was only doing Hindi films and not looking towards Marathi cinema. “At that point no offers were coming my way but after a decade in the industry, I wanted to make films but wasn’t sure what I wanted to produce. So, then, I decided to dive into Marathi cinema. The success of Balak-Palak encouraged me to push for something different,” Riteish reminisces.

He goes on to say that Marathi filmmakers are now reaching out to him to present their films but he is quick to add that his company has taken a conscious decision to only back scripts they are involved with since the beginning. “We also want to get into the digital space now,” he asserts.

He maintains that his actress wife Genelia D’Souza and he are a great team. He picks out the scripts and bounces them off her. “I had shared the idea of Faster Fene which was set in the ’70s with her and she came up with the brainwave of transplanting it in the present time so it caters to today’s audience. She was the one who set up the entire production, right from getting the team together to overseeing minute details. I came into the picture only when the film was ready and had to be promoted,” he smiles.

The miya-biwi jodi had earlier acted in films like Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003) which marked their Bollywood debut, Masti (2004) and Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya (2012). When will we see them together on screen again? “I would love to do a Marathi film with Genelia but we need a script first. Also, she has to decide if she’s ready to make a comeback to films,” he points out.

On the subject of producing Hindi films, Riteish says that while in Marathi cinema you can go ahead once you zero in on a good subject, in Bollywood one has to take into account other factors like commercial viability and casting. “That’s another kind of mathematics altogether which while I understand, I’m not sure I want to get into it right now. For the moment I’m planning another Marathi film,” he says, refusing to divulge details.

He recently met his Aladin director, Sujoy Ghosh, over coffee and they discussed a probable collaboration. “We have been friends for years and while chatting about films, I asked him to give me a script as I want to produce more films and he agreed,” says Riteish. Meanwhile, is he doing Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 4? “The production house will announce the cast at the right time,” he retorts, keeping it short.

His late father was the former Chief Minister of Maharashtra and both his brothers, Amit and Dheeraj, are into politics. Does he plans to shift from being an abhineta to rajneta someday? “I have lived with politics all my life thanks to my father and brothers, but one can’t get into it just like that, one has to work one’s way up from the grassroot level but having said that I have to admit that none of my decisions were ever planned. I studied architecture but then got an offer and found my way into the film industry. I enjoy politics and am keenly watching what’s happening in the country. I don’t know what the future holds for me but never say never to anything in life,” he signs off.

Faster Fene is a Marathi detective film, produced by Riteish Deshmukh, which released last Friday and is making waves. This small film manages to do what Jagga Jasoos couldn’t and also achieves what Detective Byomkesh Bakshy didn’t (not taking away from the fact that DBB was also too good). The 130 minute long film is simple and uncomplicated and has a gripping storyline that makes for a great watch. At the same time, it’s like a family entertainer of sorts. It’s slightly convenient at places but it has enough plusses to compensate. Also, the way it exposes the corruption in the education system is seen to be believed. Troy – Arif’s background score is dramatic and apt for the film. Kshitij Patwardhan’s writing is damn good and he has nicely utilized B R Bhagwat’s character and made him a modern-day sleuth. Talking of performances, Amey Wagh, who recently wowed everyone in Muramba, is too good. This can be a career-defining role for him. Girish Kulkarni, last seen in Dangal and Kaabil, delivers a slightly over the top performance but it works very well. Dilip Prabhavalkar is dependable as always while Parna Pethe makes her presence felt. The review would be incomplete without mentioning about Milind Jog’s cinematography. It’s award-worthy and it’s praiseworthy how he has captured the city of Pune on celluloid. If Faster Fene has released in your city and if upcoming releases don’t interest you, do give it a chance!

P.S.: Don't miss the beginning at any cost

My rating - **** out of 5!

Sanyukta Iyer (MUMBAI MIRROR; October 14, 2017)

After featuring in Arko Pravo Mukherjee’s debut Hindi single, “Aainda”, earlier this year, Riteish Deshmukh has turned singer with the composer’s latest creation, “FaFe”, a racy Marathi track.

“Riteish bhau’s upcoming Marathi production, Faster Fene, didn’t have any songs so he wanted to introduce a fast-paced, peppy song for the protagonist, a teenage detective along the lines of Tintin. The ensemble cast will feature in the song as it sets a festival tone to kick off the film,” Arko says. Last year, Riteish had featured in a music video, “Thank God Bappa”, made for TV.

Arko, known for his romantic songs, was launched by Mahesh Bhatt with the 2012 hit, Jism 2. He went on to compose for films like Kapoor & Sons and Jazbaa, and more recently, collaborated with Ayushmann Khurrana for the Bareilly Ki Barfi hit “Nazm Nazm”. “The Marathi song is a departure from my usual style. Singers don’t mind being stereotyped because they love making a certain kind of music. Doing a party track meant getting out of my comfort zone. It was like Ed Sheeran trying rock, Bob Dylan trying a party song and Snoop Dog trying some love!” he says.

Featuring Marathi actor Amey Wagh as the titular Baneesh Fene, the film is directed by Aditya Sarpotdar. After getting the narration from Riteish first-hand, Arko brought on-board lyricist Prashant Ingole, whose recent chartbusters include “Malhari” and “Gajanana” from Bajirao Mastani, to pen the title track since he does not speak Marathi.

Arko recalls how Riteish was meticulous while finalising both singles. “Bhau is not easy to convince. “Aainda” was in our song bank for over a year. We had initially planned to use it in a film. But we gave it to Riteish to switch into a romantic avatar for the single. The video was directed by Prawaal Raman and featured Italian model Madalina,” Arko informs.

He is quick to add that the two numbers are poles apart. “While ‘Aainda’ is a romantic song, ‘Faster Fene’ is a dance song with brass and dhol tasha. Neither Riteish nor I had executed anything like this before but it turned out quite well,” adds Arko.

Harshada Rege (DNA; May 30, 2017)

Riteish Deshmukh has always been successful in the comic genre, which is why his entry as the baddie in i impressed everyone. However, he didn’t grab more such roles. Instead, he opted for Banjo, in which he played a struggling musician as liked the role. He then returned to the comic fold with Housefull 3. And now he is ready with another comedy, Bank Chor. But this isn’t all that he has on his plate at the moment. His next Marathi production is ready, while work is on for the ambitious biopic on Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s life. Riteish touches on several topics in this tete-a-tete. Excerpts…

A bank-heist comedy is something you haven’t attempted before. What convinced you to take up this film?
There are all these genres you want to do. Until now, I hadn’t done a bank robbery film or a particular action one… I’ve always wanted to do a bank-heist film. Bank Chor has quite an intriguing concept — three guys enter a bank on the worst day possible. Everything that could go wrong, does. Humour comes from the most serious of situations in the film. And it is relatable humour. Horror is one genre I want to attempt. In that genre, I have only done one episode in Darna Zaroori Hai.

Of the Marathi one-liners, how many are your contributions?
When the film was narrated to me, it was about three bank robbers. So, we had a few discussions about what happens, what are the dynamics between these three people, etc. They are three strangers. The character I play has hired them. He is a Maharashtrian and the other two are North Indians. There is this whole debate through the film about Mumbai being better than Delhi or the other way around. There are these various layers that the humour will play at. I really like that banter, while the bank robbery is going on. They start out as strangers and have to come together do this job and end up trusting each other.

Multi-starrers is a space that you have explored many times. You have been part of movies like Dhamaal, Masti, Housefull, etc. Is that your comfort zone?
It’s not a question of comfort. It’s about the script that you like. Every film is bound to have more than one actor. And for those characters, if you start getting good actors, it starts becoming a multi-starrer. Multi-starrers happen because so many good actors are confident about the content. That’s why they start lending their names to it, in the first place. This film could have been with newcomers. Usually, you keep doing films that are exciting, at that point. Some films work, some don’t. So you move on.

After Ek Villain, did you not want to explore grey characters further?
I didn’t think that there was anything exciting that came my way, in that space. Then I did Banjo, which I thought was an interesting role for me. Unfortunately, the film didn’t work at the box-office. Nevertheless, I enjoyed playing that character — a slightly brooding drunk. Last year, I did Housefull 3, which worked. Bank Chor was in a light-hearted space and I wanted to do it.

Will you attempt another negative role in the future?
I would love to. But it needs to be written with as much love as the one in Ek Villain was.

Has your movie on the life of Shivaji Maharaj been postponed?
I believe we have almost locked the script and are going to start the pre-production soon.

Didn’t you grow out your hair for this project?
After Banjo, I had free time and wanted to do a few look tests. The movie will start sometime soon.

What kind of comedies do you like to watch?
I love dark humour. I like slice-of-life or poker-face comedies. I also enjoy the Dumb and Dumber kind of madcap comedies.

When it comes to comedy, which actors are your inspiration?
There’s Sanjeev Kumar, Kishore Kumar, Kader Khan, Govinda and Paresh Rawal. I think Rishi Kapoor has an incredible sense of humour. The thing about Rishiji is, he is not trying to make you laugh. He is very serious about the situation and the fun comes from that. He is not cracking a joke. His character is so serious that it’s funny. He is a fantastic actor. I really love him.

What are the five comedies you can watch any time?
Andaz Apna Apna, Chupke Chupke, Maalamaal Weekly, Dhamaal (the first part) and Dumb & Dumber.

After 14 years in the industry, has the way you select movies changed?
Sure. That’s because the kind of movies that are being made, are different. The choices I’ve made have been different. Things are changing around constantly. Every time a film is successful, everything around starts changing for that film. But yes, you have to be aware and I am enjoying my space as an actor and a producer, so I am very happy.

What about pre-release pressure?
There’s a sense of nervousness every time, an anxiousness... The thought of how the movie is doing, what the people think. It’s part-and-parcel of the business. That’s why I do movies. To know what people think... whether the timing was correct. For example, was this what people wanted to watch at that point of time?

How do you deal with failure now?
There is a certain maturity right now when it comes to dealing with success or failure. I give myself only that Friday to celebrate the success of the film or mourn for the failure. On Saturday, I have to get back to work. That’s why you will never see me harping on any film’s success, I don’t do that. That’s not me. I move on very quickly.

After producing Marathi movies, will you back any Hindi movies soon?
No, I am only producing Marathi content right now. My film Faster Fene is almost ready and the post-production is on. A couple more films will start by August or September.