Deshmukh’s son to act politically correct

Insisting he’d have turned it down without so much as a murmur had his dad advised him against it, he says he was fortunate that his parents were supportive. ‘‘Like all parents everywhere, my father did have some initial reservations, but only because we really don’t know much about the film industry, and because I would be out there on my own,’’ he says. ‘‘Subsequently, however, I think he saw that I was keen and willing to work hard, so he approved,’’ Ritesh says of his father, Vilasrao Deshmukh.

Produced and filmed entirely in Hyderabad, Ritesh insists his debut film ‘‘couldn’t have been more ideal’’. He describes it as ‘‘a story about the friendship between this boy and girl who grow up together and who continue to be very close. It’s not so much a love story as it is a tale of friendship.’’ Admitting that he’s set restrictions on what he will and won’t do on screen (‘‘I’ll probably never kiss on screen. I’m not saying it’s bad, I just think we’re private people and it’s not in keeping with our culture’’) Ritesh says he was fortunate that his first film did not require much physical intimacy with his co-star.

He’s not opposed to shedding his shirt for action scenes, ‘‘but I think I’ll need to work out a lot before I can do that. I wouldn’t want the audience to cringe and yell: ‘Put your shirt back on’.’’ He admits he’s particularly wary of filmmakers keen to sign him up for the mileage they’re likely to draw out of his political background.

Saying ‘‘I’m envious of Hrithik Roshan’s flexibility while dancing’’, Ritesh says his favourite actor is certainly Shah Rukh Khan. ‘‘The energy he (Shah Rukh) exudes on screen is unbelievable,’’ he says.

He knows that the fate of his first film will decide the shape of his career but more than anything else he’s hoping he doesn’t embarrass his father. ‘‘My mother is glued to the TV watching the promos of my film, and my father also seemed quite pleased when he first saw one. It’s important that I live up to my dad’s reputation. I don’t want people to say I failed him.’’