The evilness in Ek Villain personally scared and shook me - Riteish Deshmukh

Ek Villain will finally provide Riteish Deshmukh, the much needed break and relief from the comic genre of movies that he has been a part of since ages. And more than him, it’s his wife Genelia D’Souza who wanted him to explore something different. Says Riteish, “Exactly two weeks before I was offered Ek Villain, my wife Genelia told me that I should be doing something in the dark space. But I was like how can I do something unless offered. And then, Ek Villain happened. But when I was offered the role, I had no idea about the other actors of the movie. When I told Genelia about it, she said, ‘Don’t think. Just do it.’ Then later, Sidharth (Malhotra) and Shraddha (Kapoor) came on board.” For someone, who has till date essayed genial, comical and pleasing characters, Ek Villain will see Riteish exploring the darkest side of his personality, something that he has never ever done even in personal life as well. “The character that I am playing is completely against my personality. On Day One, I had doubts about whether I would be able to perform such a dark role. On the second day, I got a slight feeling that yes, I could do this role. By the sixth day, I thought I was immensely capable of such evil that I portray on screen. That was in fact the scary part and it completely shook me. I never thought I could be capable of such evil. Coming to terms with my own dark side was really scary though I am not like that at all in real life.” Those who have already seen the advance shows of Ek Villain have been raving about Riteish’s masterly performance in the movie. However, Riteish considers the compliment from Big B as his best ever. Reveals Riteish, “I met Amit sir at Dilip Kumar’s saab’s book launch. Amit sir was standing behind Dilip saab and on seeing me he said, ‘Hi Riteish, how are you. I loved the promo and also your look in the movie.’ I consider that to be my best compliment. Amit sir has not only been my co-star but also my idol.” While Riteish seems gung ho about his new onscreen avatar in Ek Villain, it’s his better half Genelia who is more excited. Does he take Genelia’s opinion before signing scripts? The actor gives us a positive nod and says. “Yes, I take her opinion on every script that I sign but the final decision is always mine.” Ek Villain opens in theaters across India tomorrow.