Ritesh Deshmukh is an actor, hailing from Latur city in Maharashtra. His father is current chief minister of Maharashtra, Vilasrao Deshmukh. The actor has completed his acting course from the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute in New York. He also worked in New York while completing his studies. Ritesh made his Hindi film debut in 2003 with Tujhe Meri Kasam, which fared moderately at the box office. He shot into prominence when directors discovered his penchant for comedy, following the release of the comedy Masti. After the release of Masti, he had hits like Bluffmaster opposite Abhishek Bachchan, Kya Kool Hain Hum and Malamaal Weekly, all of which had him in comical roles. He also appeared in Ram Gopal Varma's Darna Zaroori Hai. The actor had a good run in 2007 with the film Dhamaal and Hey Babyy, further reinforcing his image as a very good comic actor. His sole release in 2008 so far, De Talli, didn't put up much of a show at the box office. His forthcoming films in 2008 include Chamku, Loot, Saamna and Alladin.