I am on right track: Producer Ritesh Sidhwani

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NEW DELHI - In a short span, 39-year-old producer Ritesh Sidhwani has not only churned out successful films like “Dil Chahta Hai” and “Rock On!” but also won several honours, including two National Awards. He is well aware that it usually takes an entire life to come this far in Bollywood.

“It is extremely heartwarming and makes me feel high looking back at what I have received from this industry. It takes an entire life for an individual to be honoured with what I have been noticed and appreciated for. It gives me a boost that I am going on the right track,” Sidhwani told IANS in an interview over phone from Mumbai.

Recognition brings bigger responsibilities, he says.

“One needs to be responsible every time one makes a movie. But now I feel the expectations have grown more. We need to be conscious all the time because a lot of people invest in our ventures.”

Sidhwani ventured into the movie business with the 2001 blockbuster “Dil Chahta Hai”. Starring Aamir Khan, Saif Ali Khan and Akshaye Khanna, it was directed by his long time friend Farhan Akhtar. The film won him his first National Award. He won the second one for “Rock On!” that marked his friend Farhan’s debut as an actor.

His other hits include “Don - The Chase Begins” and “Honeymoon Travels Pvt. Ltd”. Right now he is gearing up for the release of “Karthik Calling Karthik”, which stars Farhan, Deepika Padukone, Shefali Shah and Ram Kapoor and is directed by Vijay Lalwani. It is releasing Friday.

Commenting on his camaraderie with Farhan, he said: “Working with Farhan has been amazingly superb. Between us it has never been you or me, it has always been ‘we’. We have always stood together on our decisions that have made us taste failure or success.

“We are each other’s lucky charm. We are childhood friends and our partnership has worked wonders. Fortunately, our vision and bonding have been on the same graph which helps us bring similar thoughts together in our movies,” Sidhwani told IANS.

Talking about Farhan’s role in “Karthik Calling Karthik”, Sidhwani said: “The character named Karthik is a loser…he has a different approach (towards life)… (he is) not the traditional type. Even after being timid and introvert, the character gives a lot of inspiration.”

Sidhwani’s future projects include “Don-2″, starring Shah Rukh Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Arjun Rampal and Boman Irani. Farhan will wield the megaphone for the film that is scheduled for an October release. He is also making a film featuring Abhishek Bachchan that is being directed by Abhinay Deo.

Then there is Zoya Akhtar’s film in the pipeline that may feature Hrithik Roshan, Abhay Deol and Farhan.

(Manpreet Kaur can be contacted at mkaur@ians.in)