EXCLUSIVE: Riteish Deshmukh calls CRITICISM the toughest pill he’s swallowed in Bollywood, says, “My first reaction was getting angry”

Riteish Deshmukh needs no introduction. The actor – who has mostly entertained us with comedies such as Kyaa Kool Hain Hum, Apna Sapna Money Money, Dhamaal, the Housefull series and more, is all set to make his web series debut with the Jio Cinemas show, Pill. During an exclusive chat with Bollywood Bubble to promote the Raj Kumar Gupta directorial, Riteish got candid about the toughest pill he has had to swallow as a Bollywood actor.

During the same interview, the ‘Kakuda’ star also spoke about the kind of roles he is drawn to now and the process by which he got typecast in comedy films. Watch the full interview at the very end.

Riteish Deshmukh on the toughest pill he had to swallow

Talking about the toughest pill he has had to swallow to date while being part of the film industry, Riteish Deshmukh says, “My first tough pill to swallow was criticism.” Explaining why, the actor continued, “When your first film comes out – and thankfully this was in a time when there was no trolling as such, there were some reviews that were shattering. Harsh is a milder word, they were literally shattering. And I remember having this conversation with my father, and he just me, ‘Swallow the pill and move on. Work hard.’ That was the first pill to swallow. And also, that was a sure reality of the film industry – that there is going to be criticism.”

He continued, “When I look back, I think my first reaction was anger at that point or disappointment, but when I look back (now), I say, ‘You know, those were probably the stepping stones of me attempting to better my craft.“

On being typecast in comedies & his role choices evolving

Talking about being typecast in comedies, the actor says, “I’m proud to be there. When you start your career, you think there should be something that people appreciate about you. Kasam was my first film, Masti was my first commercial success. It was followed by Kyaa Kool Hain Hum. At that time, once you got success in a particular genre, you kept being cast in exactly that. So then Apna Sapna Money Money came, Dhamaal came, then the Housefull series came and Dhamaal 2 came, Kyaa Kool Hain Hum 2 came, Masti 2 came… so it just kept (happening).”

Talking about his other genre films not working much while his comedy flick clicked with the audiences, Riteish continued, “Then you have Ektaa Kapoor offer you Ek Villain and you say, ‘Okay, fine. Let’s try that,’ and it (works). The same year I did an action genre film in Marathi called Lai Bhaari. Eventually, in life you get opportunities parametres keep changing. So when you talk about choices with age, they will change because those are not the same roles that you seek.” He added that over a period of time he’s noticed that he associated more with more mature characters as compared to younger roles in the same project.

Watch Riteish Deshmukh’s full interview here:

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