To play a character you have to live the character… And this is exactly what Ritiesh Deshmukh is following.

After tickling audience with his witty comedies in several films, Ritiesh is stepping into a completely distinct role with Ram Gopal Varma's 'Rann'. Here you won’t find the usual jovial hasmukh Ritiesh, instead he will be sans smile and serious-looking. The actor plays a news reporter of a news channel owned by Vijay Harshvardhan Malik played by Amitabh Bachchan in the film.

Talking about his role in the film, Ritiesh revealed, “I had to put up the serious look to get into the skin of his character of Purab Shastri, an investigative journalist working for Vijay Harshvardhan Malik's news channel. Even when the camera was not rolling I would maintain the serious and angry expression and never smiled since the character was not meant to be jovial.”

Looks like the film would be a turning point for the actor...

A film based on the media machinery, 'Rann' is slated to hit the screens on 22 Jan 2010.