EXCLUSIVE: ‘I directed Ved only because of Genelia,’ says Riteish Deshmukh on his wife’s comeback

Genelia Deshmukh has always been considered one of the most charming actresses in the Indian film industry and she has received immense love every time she has appeared on screen. But after her wedding with Riteish Deshmukh and having their sons Riaan and Rahyl, Genelia decided to take a step back professionally and started focusing more on her family and home. Her last appearance on screen in a full feature film was in 2012 in the Hindi film Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya and the Telugu film Naa Ishtam. Now, after a decade, she is all set to return to the big screens with not just one but two projects, Hindi film Mister Mummy and Marathi film Ved, and in a recent exclusive conversation with Bollywood Bubble, Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia opened up about the same.

 

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Ved not only marks the first film Genelia shot for after her break, it also marks Riteish’s directorial debut. While talking about seeing Genelia back on sets, Riteish said, “I think it was just amazing. I have not started promoting my film, but since this is my first thing, I will tell you some thing about Ved. Ved is a film that I decided to direct myself. It is a Marathi film and Genelia was my first choice and I would direct only if she would have played the part because it is an important part. She has done (films in) Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, Hindi, 5 languages and Marathi she speaks with my mother at home. So, it’s a language for the last 10-ish years she is accustomed to, she has evolved. I knew that she would be able to pull it off. And if I have to say just one thing, I would say Genelia is magical on screen, it’s such a pleasure to work with her.”

 

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He went on to heap praises for her with a tinge of humour as well as he added, “So what happened is that I have acted with her. I have acted (with her) in my first film and her last Hindi film was with me, Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya. So, we’ve done that and every time she was better than me which I didn’t like much, but zindagi jeeni padti hai is ahsaas ko lekar ki ye tumse behtar hai. Ab jab main film direct kar raha tha, mujhe pata hai ki mujhe behtar hona hai par wo ho nahi paya. (You have to live life knowing she is better than you. When I was directing, I knew I needed to be better than her but it just couldn’t happen). She is just amazing in the film.” 

 

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A blushing Genelia added that being on a set was indeed something that she was missing and talking about her acting comeback with Ved, she said, “It was amazing. I think I love acting. I think the priorities have changed over a period of time. The interesting part was that I was doing a new language. I speak it at home, I may not be amazing but I am not bad. It’s a language I speak and today, if you ask me what’s your mother tongue, I’ll probably say Marathi. So, it was very special to me from that perspective that it was the first film that I am doing after so long in a new language. I have got a lot of love from all my South films, whether it be in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil or Malayalam, and this was another new language that I feel I receive a lot of love from, and I wanted to be there with that industry as well. I was glad that Riteish saw me in that part because I love that role. It’s a role that will be one of my Top 3 roles that I have done, so I am excited to see what you guys think of it.”

You can watch the entire conversation with Riteish Deshmukh and Genelia here:

Also Read: EXCLUSIVE: Riteish Deshmukh thanks Shah Rukh Khan for launching his food brand: We are extremely indebted