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Ritiesh and Genelia Deshmukh made their debuts together with the Hindi film Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003) and have been together since then. They also have two sons Riaan and Rahyl. The husband and wife duo have reunited once again on the big screen for Riteish's passion project . The Hindi-Marathi bilingual has the actor-turned-filmmaker directing Genelia again for the second time after Ved (2022). In a conversation with Zoom, Riteish shared why he felt it was important for Genelia to act again. The actor revealed that he was happy that she continued to balance both.

The Raja Shivaji star told Zoom that he and Genelia always have the best interests for one another as a couple. He called her one of the finest actresses that he had worked with.   also praised her work as a producer on Raja Shivaji but he revealed why he felt it was necessary for her to do something for herself years ago.

He shared, "In a relationship you need to understand who your partner really is. I remember when we had kids, she really took out time from work and she was just busy with the kids [for] about 8 years. I looked at her and said, 'You know, you're a great mother; you're a great wife. Genelia as a mother is wonderful, Genelia as a friend is great, Genelia as a partner is fantastic, as a daughter... but what about Genelia as Genelia? I said, you haven't met the Genelia you are, who loved to be on set, who loved to be in front of the camera.' And I said you need to meet her. It's high time."

In 2022, Genelia made an acting comeback with not just the Marathi film Ved but also the Hindi film Mister Mummy, which also starred Riteish. Since then, Genelia has starred in the films Trial Period, Sitaare Zameen Par, Junior and of course, Raja Shivaji as Saibai.

Riteish went on to add that when he saw Genelia back on the silver screen, he felt this was what she had been missing. He felt that to be a better mother, daughter, wife and partner, one needed to do things that really make you happy. "Sometimes she wasn't seeing it, I saw it and I'm so glad that from that day onwards she just actively taking part in acting along with handling the family so that's really wonderful," he concluded.

Riteish plays Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the historical drama. Also starring Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, and Amole Gupte, it is the most expensive Marathi film ever produced. Raja Shivaji was released in theatres on May 1, 2026.