Ajay Devgn and Riteish Deshmukh are arguably among the best comic pairs that Bollywood has come up within the past decade. The two actors who were earlier paired in Masti (2004), Cash (2007) and Himmatwala (2013) have been pitched together again in Inder Kumar’s Total Dhamaal that releases tomorrow. But they aren’t the only ones. There’s also Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Boman Irani, Sanjay Mishra, Johnny Lever, Mahesh Manjrekar and Ali Asgar who are notorious for making audiences laugh too. The icing on the cake of this comedy franchise is that veteran actors Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit came onboard to let their hair down and join in the fun. PeepingMoon.com caught up with Ajay and Riteish before the film’s release and shared a laugh with the two actors.

[caption id="attachment_215665" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Team of Total Dhamaal[/caption]

What does the term Total Dhamaal mean to you both?

Ajay: For me, there’s nothing between the lines. It’s what the term is. Total dhamaal means total dhamaal!

Riteish: It means getting back together with people with whom you have the most fun and having a blast on the sets of the film.

So, this film was a laugh riot from the start?

Ajay: When I heard the script, Indu ji (director Inder Kumar) gave me a two hour narration, I literally laughed non-stop. I told him I would do the film if he made it as it is. And when I saw the film, I laughed again – for two hours! So I was very happy. In between that, on the sets, we were only laughing. Totally cracking up! That’s because we all get along so well. And we’ve all worked together earlier. There’s no ego between us. I mean, I can understand Riteish and me getting along. But somebody like Mr. Anil Kapoor also! We could cracks jokes on him, rag him, do whatever, but he was so sporty.

Riteish: We have respect for each other and each other’s work. Ajay is a friend. I have worked with him inMasti(2004), Cash (2007) and Himmatwala (2013). So there’s no barrier between us.  But for Anil Sir and Madhuri Dixit ji to stop being seniors and just be one of us, and to join in the fun, that was a big deal.

Ajay: That’s also because they knew our intention was right. I keep cracking jokes. But when I was asked who are the actors I have shot with from Hollywood, I said there were two in Total Dhamaal – one was the capuchin monkey Crystal that you would have seen in Hangover II and Night at The Museum, and the other was Mr. Anil Kapoor who’s also come from Hollywood. And guess who laughed the loudest?

[caption id="attachment_204015" align="aligncenter" width="647"] Stills from Total Dhamaal song Paisa[/caption]

Is comedy hard to do?

Ajay: It’s not easy to make people laugh. Indu ji, once while cracking up, analyzed it by saying,“Ek trolley challa lo, peeche ek violin baja do, aur ek laash leta do, apne aap rone lag jaate hai log!”Just by making faces, I can’t get you to laugh, right? So if you have to make people laugh, it has to be on page.

Riteish: Performance is 20 per cent. And 80 per cent is inherent written material that has to be funny in itself. I have been part of theHousefull and Masti franchises before, and now the Dhamaal series as comic fare, and Ajay’s synonymous with Golmaal – the most iconic comic franchise that we have in India today. And we have realised that everybody enjoys comedy.

Ajay: Kids and old people, too.

Riteish: Yes, we have to cater to all ages that enjoy comedy. Aunties and uncles and grandparents want to go out and have a great laugh too. So to have humour that cuts across all ages is not easy to combine in one film.

[caption id="attachment_156333" align="aligncenter" width="647"] The team of Total Dhamaal[/caption]

Ritesh, Ajay is basically an action and drama hero, he does intense films, and then to do an all-out entertainer like Total Dhamaal, amazing isn’t he?

Riteish: I have seen Ajay doing all that and the beauty of the actor is his understanding of the subject. Even in Total Dhamaal, he’s being funny, but yet he’s holding his own. See my character can go completely off. Completely loud. But Ajay goes completely down and then he gets serious. It’s the understanding he has of the character. The space that he’s is in, in terms of comedy, is phenomenal. It’s so wonderful to watch him.

[caption id="attachment_214000" align="aligncenter" width="647"] File photo of Ajay Devgn[/caption]

Do you have favourites among screen comedians?

Ajay: I can’t pinpoint a name. It’s not always about the comedian. It’s about the script. It’s about which film makes you laugh, actually. Like Riteish said, actors are just 20 percent of the comedy, it’s how the script is written and taken forward that counts. You can do comedy seriously too. Pokerfaced also. I mean if the script is written in the manner where the audience is laughing but the actors need to perform very seriously, that’s also comedy.

Ajay, you have come onboard Total Dhamaal as co-producer. Apart from being a first class actor you are also a director. Did you help with your directorial skills?

Ajay: In this film I had to do a little bit. That’s why I came onboard as co-producer. It’s a difficult film the way it needed to be shot. They needed help where CG (computer graphics) is concerned. Not just CG, but how to execute the part before getting into CG. That’s what Indu ji also wanted. So I said I want to be a part of it. Let’s do it together.

Riteish, you had Sanjay Dutt as a co-star earlier in Dhamaal (2007) and Double Dhamaal (2011), but now you don’t have him. Instead, you have Ajay...

Ajay: We wish we had Sanjay Dutt in Total Dhamaal. But we didn’t get his dates. His character was written for the film, actually.

Riteish: I miss him. I’ve known him over several films. Sanju and Ajay are dear friends. I always wanted to work with Ajay after the great outdoor experience I had shooting with him for Cash. The film didn’t work. But we always said we should get together again.
Ajay: The way we shot Cash, it had to not work! But we had total dhamaal!