While almost an hour late, actor Riteish Deshmukh took his time to brace himself for his first one-on-one interaction with a fan before entering the room. 20-year-old Priya Dubey took the time to steady her nerves.
As Riteish walked in with his evident celebrity aura, the armed and prepared Priya, an engineering student, immediately propelled her curious questions his way.
Being a politico's son, why didn't you opt for politics as a career? Don't you like it? Riteish promptly replied, "No, no I love it! But I already had two fields - acting and architecture - to concentrate on. So I never thought of getting into a third one. I literally had no time."
As the conversation progressed, Riteish talked about ensuring he got quality personal time to do what he loves doing, the reason to why he didn't take up engineering as a profession, something his brother does for a living.
The creative streak in him led him to pursue careers in architecture and acting. He also admits to having a keen eye for beautiful contemporary art work. Some interesting and distinctive contemporary paintings adorned the walls of his architectural firm, although when Priya asked, he told her he doesn't paint.
The actor is a part of three back to back sequels to his hit films - Double Dhamaal, Kya Kool Hain Hum and Housefull. Though he says, when he did Kya Kool Hai Hum someone told him, "Chotey bachchey jo tumhare fan hain unpe bura asar padega." In his trademark style he joked, "Jo bachche chotey they ab woh bade hogaye hain, so I can do the sequel." But why multi-starers asked Priya.
Pat was his reply, "Because when I do solo films, no one comes to watch me." At least his sense of humour is intact. When she requested him to act out a scene for her, he retorted, "Jamoora nach dikhaega agar use paisa dikhaega," she flashed him some money and he obliged. Saving the best for last, Priya asked her much-waited question.
How do you handle controversies? Riteish, to her surprise promptly dismissed it. "I don't do anything. It just dies." Priya then asked her what she had been itching to ask him even before the interview began. What about Genelia D'souza, how do you handle your relationship with her?
Pointing at the reporter with a nasty grin, he said, "Ye sab isne sikhaya hai na Priya tujhe?" While everyone in the room shared a hearty laugh, he lost his witty edge and flatly replied, "We are just good friends." Tricky subject...
