Riteish Deshmukh recently shared a TikTok video, purportedly in response to the violence that broke out in Delhi between those supporting the Citizenship Amendment Act and those opposing it. The actor can be seen lip-synching to ‘Maula’, a song from his 2015 film Bangistan. The lyrics allude to communal harmony and talk about how childhood friends were torn apart over religion.
He sings, “Mujhko kuch bhi pata nahi tha, waqt bada hi accha tha. Mera koi dharam nahi tha, jab mai chota baccha tha. Fir ik mazhab milte hi mera bachpan choot gaya, dooje dharam ka dost wo mera choot gaya. Allah hoon, Allah hoon. Hey Ram, Hey Ram.”
The song features vocals by Rituraj Mohanty and Ram Sampath, who also composed it. In the video, Riteish sports a new bleached blonde hairdo, which has received a lot of attention from fans. Sharing his new look, the actor wrote on Instagram, “Andar ka Baaghi (the rebel inside).”
While some congratulated him on his hairdo, others weren’t so kind. One user called him a “Thoda sasta DJ Snake (cheap imitation of DJ Snake)” referring to the French musician behind ‘Taki Taki’. Riteish took these jabs in his stride responding, “Bhai main sasta nahin hoon... Nagpanchami ke din book kar le - main free mein aaoongaa (I’m not cheap. But book me on Nagpanchami; I’ll play for free)!”
Riteish was last seen opposite Sidharth Malhotra, Tara Sutaria and Rakul Preet in Marjaavaan. His next film is Baaghi 3, which stars Tiger Shroff and Shraddha Kapoor. The action film hits theatres on 6 March.
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