INDIAN TELEVISION NEWS

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Ritiesh Deshmukh is elated!

Ritiesh Deshmukh is elated. And that comes with a good reason. His HEYY BABYY has been declared as a universal success and the film continues to be the top choice of cine-goers in spite of three films releasing on the Friday gone by.

"HEYY BABYY has seen the biggest opening week collections in my last 5 years at Bollywood", says Ritiesh who has hits like 'Masti', 'Kya Kool Hain Hum', 'Bluffmaster', 'Malamaal Weekly' and 'Apna Sapna Money Money' to his credit.

"I won't lie that we were not confident about the film working very well at the box office", says Ritiesh, "But a success of this kind has made me believe yet again that good cinema always works. Also a subject like this was always meant to get family audiences in hordes. Sajid Khan, the director, wanted to make a film that caters to all segments of audience, whether mass or class", he adds.

What was the team's vision while working on the film? "We didn't want to focus on just a particular age group or gender. It had to have a universal appeal. I am happy to see a film that has worked at single screens as well as multiplexes with children as well as senior citizens patronizing the film," he discloses.

Though pre-release interviews did indicate that he was the official care taker of the baby on sets, it seemed quite apparent in the film too as he had some of the best scenes with the baby Johana. That's a surprise since in real life he hasn't been in a situation where he has been this close to a toddler.

"It was a first hand experience and that too an enriching one. When I look back, it all seems so good. The film's success has only made us recollect all the pleasant moments that we shared during the filming", he says fondly.

Does the success of HEYY BABYY make him crave for a solo lead film now? "I still continue to look out for good scripts and banner. I do not have a mindset of not opting for multi starrers or only looking for solo leads at the moment. I am happy with the way my career is progressing and would continue to be seen in good projects", he says as a matter of fact.

Talking about his forthcoming projects, what does he have in the pipeline? "I should be wrapping up the shooting for E Niwas' DE TAALI soon. After that there is Sujoy Ghosh's ALADIN and THE MYSTERY OF THE LAMPS. Beyond this I am still reading scripts and looking for the best that comes my way," signs off Ritiesh.

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