“Without  any paagalpan ,  our  life has No meaning,” insists Riteish Deshmukh, whose directorial debut “Vedd” (paagalpan) will be a New Year Gift to audiences.

- Chaitanya  Padukone                                                                                                                           

Way back in 2003, when qualified architect-turned-lead actor Riteish Deshmukh made his debut as the hero opposite star-actress Genelia D’Souza (now his wife) with this romantic movie , ‘Tujhe Meri Kasam’, I was the first film journalist to personally interview him in Mumbai, and found him to be to very intelligent, witty, dedicated and modest.

In between, I would meet versatile star-actor Riteish ( of ‘Ek Villain’, ‘Housefull-2’  and ‘Lai Bhaari’ fame) for media-interviews of his various about to release movies..  Cut to December 2022, I once again met Riteish with his wife, exuberant ever-smiling actress Genelia Deshmukh as they both launched the amazing trailer of his debut directorial Marathi movie Ved  in Mumbai yesterday . Also present were the star music composer duo Ajay- Atul. The Marathi title ‘Ved ( actually it is Vedd ) means madness and passion..

Clarified  Riteish , “My directorial debut movie Ved ( pagaalpan) releasing on December 30th, is not a love triangle. Its about two love-stories across two different time-spans.. The first love- segment is when a college-going boy falls in love with a beautiful girl and there are passionate love feelings. But due to certain reasons the girl suddenly exits from the boy’s life. Twelve years later this same boy gets married to another girl Shravani (Genelia) who knows very well  that that this boy was loyally in love with some other girl. .At the same time this girl (the wife)  had that one-sided secret infatuation for the same boy, all the while. As a wife, this second girl is ready to give full solid.support to her husband who is depressed and demoralized. She brings him out of the darkness in his life. There is emotional paagalpan in the first segment and also in the second segment”, clarifies  versatile actor Riteish Deshmukh who also feels “even in real life if there is no paagalpan, then life has no meaning”. 

 Riteish also discussed his experience about directing senior acting Ashok Saraf in the film. He said, “It’s been 20 years, but i have never even got an opportunity to share a frame with him. I have grown up seeing his films, he is the superstar of the Marathi film industry. It was my wish, I wanted to ask him if he’ll star in my film. So I called him and told him that I’m directing a film so I wanted to narrate it to him, so he said, ‘oh you’re directing, then I’ll do it, no need for narration’. He has such a big heart, directing him was like a dream come true, and I am proud of it.” Ved is scheduled to release in cinema  theatres on December 30.”

Tagging Salman, who has acted in a cameo in ‘Ved’,  ‘director’ Riteish  added in his post, “I have no words to express my gratitude for the grace and kindness Salman-bhai  has shown towards Genelia and me. He was part of my debut Marathi film ‘Lai Bhaari’ and now he is a part of my debut directorial film ‘Ved’ ! Love you Bhau.”

Salman Khan played ‘Bhau’ in a special appearance in Riteish’s debut Marathi film Lai Bhaari, which also featured his wife, actor Genelia D'Souza, in a cameo appearance in a dance-song. The film, which also starred Sharad Kelkar, Radhika Apte, Tanvi Azmi, and Aaditi Pohankar, was released in theatres in July 2014. Riteish’s directorial debut Ved will also mark the Marathi film debut of Genelia as a lead actress  opposite ( husband) Riteish .  The movie ‘Ved’ also features popular TV Star and charming film-actress Jiya Shankar.