By Joginder Tuteja
Mumbai, Jan 30 (IANS) Riteish Deshmukh, applauded for his performance in the just released film “Rann”, says the rumour that he sulked on the sets was “gossip at its funniest” and says he should also be cast for non-comic roles.

“The problem is that half the information is always bad information. Me sulking on the sets of my own film? Can it sound stranger than that? In fact, it all sounded so amusing to me that there was nothing for me to react to. It was gossip at its funniest,” Riteish told IANS.

Released Friday, Ram Gopal Varma’s directorial venture has received positive reviews. Usually seen in funny roles, this time Riteish plays a serious journalist - one of the three principal characters other than Amitabh Bachchan and Paresh Rawal.

This is not the first time he has donned such a role. A few years ago in Varma’s “Naach” he was was roped in for a guest appearance.

The same was the case with a segment in “Darna Zaroori Hai” where he was seen as a student along with Amitabh Bachchan.

One wonders whether Riteish makes such exceptions primarily for Varma?

“On the contrary I would say that rather than me making such exceptions, it is only Ramu who comes to me with such roles. At least there is one director out there who thinks of me differently from the rest,” he said.

In fact, when he was offered “Rann”, he did ask Varma for the reason behind his casting.

“I had an interesting conversation with Ramu where I asked him point blank when no one casts me in anything other than a comic role, how come he thinks of me differently.

“To which he replied that right from the day he met me, he looked at the serious side of my personality as well. He considered me to be a serious guy in real life and hence wanted to cast me in a different zone.”

Buoyed by the confidence showed in him by Varma, Riteish is hopeful that he would be looked upon as a far more versatile actor.

“I am open to all kinds of roles. Eventually I hope when people conceive non-comic characters, they think of me as well,” he said.