Riteish prepared for fame

Don’t ask him if joining politics is on the cards for him... he has answered this question a gazillion times! “Yes, I am bored of answering this question, but I will still say, as of now, I’m really enjoying what I’m doing. I’ve never thought of politics. Also, it’s not that tomorrow I can get up and say I want to join politics if I feel like doing so.It doesn’t work that way.”
He is a self-confessed shy guy, and says he was nervous while hosting the IIFA Awards. “I’m a shy guy, and I have immense stage fright. Working in movies and stage shows are two different things,” he reasons. But he still managed to be a good host. “When you’re hosting an awards function, apart from an understanding of other aspects, one has to understand that it is primarily a TV show – only a thousand people will watch the show live, and millions will watch it on television. And when I am hosting the show, all I think is, ‘I’m going to entertain people for the next three hours,’ and the only way I know to entertain people is humour. I do what I’m best at – humour,” he explains. And on second thoughts, he says, “After two IIFAs, I’ve probably become more confident, and hopefully, if I host this year’s IIFAs, it will be great fun, though nothing is confirmed as to who the host will be. But I’d like to host the awards ceremony.”
After spending a few years in Bollywood, Riteish has understood that “once you spend some time here, you will realise it’s not a strange world. Once you adapt yourself, you will realise it is as real as any other industry.” He’s single, and says nothing beyond that on his personal life. He has answered many questions about Genelia as well. He says that when he gets up in the morning and reads stories about Genelia and himself, it doesn’t bother him much; that he’s quite used to it. And on that note, he says, “People intruding in your personal life is the biggest price you pay for being in the film industry.” Was he ready to pay that price? “There’s a famous saying, ‘All your life you crave for success, and the moment you get it, you start hiding behind chains!’ It’s like, you become an actor, and you gain that popularity, the glamour, people like you, follow you, click your picture... one loves all these things when they come, right? But when you get used to it, you just don’t want it anymore. Things on the outside have not changed, it’s just that you – fed up of all that –wish to withdraw, and have changed towards them.”
But then, actors are prepared for the public glare and the fame – or aren’t they? “See, when you enter the profession, you know that all of this is going to happen, and at that stage, you are okay with that. Later, when it continues, you stick to an ‘I’m fine with it’ status, but after some time, it begins to bother you, and that is the time you feel, ‘It’s too much and it’s getting to me.’ But that’s human nature, so there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Then why enter the industry in the first place, if one finally gets uncomfortable with all that comes with it? “Everyone does it for their job na,” he says. “For instance, I am giving this interview, because I need to reach out to as many people as possible about my film Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai. It’s mutual. It’s a relationship we voluntarily share with the media – you ask us, we talk to you, and we should have that respect for each other, as long as either of us are not crossing any lines.”
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