4 minutes of readingNew DelhiFebruary 4, 2026 06:06 pm IST
Bollywood actors and couple. Deshmukh rite and Genelia Deshmukh recently appeared on tennis star Sania Mirza‘s podcast Serving with Sania. During the conversation, Sania asked Riteish an unexpected question – how did it feel to play her on screen? The question made the actor laugh as he remembered the moment.
Riteish had played Kishan in the 2006 comedy Apna Sapna Money Money, a conman who assumes multiple identities, including the female characters Sunaina and Sania.
When Riteish Deshmukh played Sania
Sania remembers that when she met Riteish years ago, he told her, “I am playing with you.” He couldn’t help but think, “I don’t look like that!”
Riteish then recalled the sequence with veteran actor Anupam Kher. “There is a scene where Anupam Kher asks, ‘Tumhara naam kya hai?’ and I say, ‘Mera naam… mera naam…’ as the camera pans to your poster, and I say, ‘Sania,’” he said, laughing at the memory.
Ritual about playing a woman on screen
Riteish admitted that playing a woman on screen came with its own challenges. “It was very difficult for two reasons. Firstly, none of my contemporaries were attempting something like that at the time. Secondly, a man playing a woman on screen is obviously not the most attractive image. Also, my father was then the Prime Minister, so I was also thinking about how it would be received, given that he was a public figure. This made the role even more challenging.”
Shave for the role
Riteish then revealed that Genelia Deshmukh was his go-to person for advice for the character. “I was constantly in contact with Genelia about what to do and what not to do. I even went a little overboard: I waxed and threaded as part of method acting. It was the most painful experience, and my hair stopped growing for a while,” he joked. “But when you see audiences laughing in theaters, that’s the ultimate gratification. That’s what makes it all worth it.”
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Genelia praised her husband’s performance: “I don’t think anyone could have done it better than him.”
Riteish’s first day on set playing a woman.
Riteish also shared how nervous he was on the first day of shooting. “The first time I got ready, it took me 2-3 hours. While walking from the van to the set, I kept my umbrella down because I didn’t know how to face anyone. Anupam Kher and Chunky Pandey were there and made me feel very comfortable. It was the most nervous I have ever been on the set,” he revealed.
He added: “Particularly in comedy films, while the audience is looking at the screen, we are looking at the audience. The laughter, the noise of the seats as the audience moves while laughing, that’s what tells you if a scene is working. Hearing that sound was so exciting that it made all the pain and preparation worth it.”
Apna Sapna Money Money, the 2006 Bollywood comedy, follows a cast of characters on a mad quest for wealth. The film stars Riteish Deshmukh alongside Suniel Shetty, Shreyas Talpade, Celina Jaitly, Koena Mitra and Jackie Shroff.