For years, Riteish Deshmukh found himself typecast in Bollywood as the go-to actor for comedy roles. But over the past decade, he’s slowly but steadily broken out of that mould, taking on varied characters in films like Ek Villain, Lai Bhaari, the web series Pill, and more recently, Raid 2. In a conversation with Galatta India, Riteish opened up about this shift in his career, attributing it to writers and directors who chose to envision him differently. He said, “Hum actors jitna kaam karte hai… agar uss performance ke liye 100 rupees ka credit milta hai… we’re worth only 20 rupees… kyunki woh 80 rupiya director aur writer ko jana chahiye kyunki unhone itna achha likha hai aur humara kaam bohot aasaan ho gaya hai… To do it on screen, it’s very easy. (As actors, even if we put in work worth 100 rupees, we’re only worth 20. The remaining 80 should go to the writers and directors because their writing makes our job easier. Acting becomes effortless when the material is strong.)” Riteish Deshmukh …