Veteran actor-filmmaker Amole GupteKnown as the creative force behind ‘Taare Zameen Par’ and loved as ‘Froggie Uncle’ by kids across India, he has now added a new and personal chapter to his long journey with young talent by training the sons of Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh to make their screen debut in the Marathi-Hindi epic ‘Raja Shivaji’.
Riteish Deshmukh The boys enter the frame with ‘Raja Shivaji’
Riaan Deshmukh, 11, and Rahyl Deshmukh, 9, are seen playing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in different stages of his childhood in ‘Raja Shivaji’, an ambitious period drama directed and starring Riteish Deshmukh. It was Amole Gupte who worked with the boys to prepare them for their first experience in front of the camera.Speaking to Variety India, the veteran filmmaker-actor said, “Riteish and Genelia are family friends and were also at the forefront of promoting my film ‘Stanley Ka Dabba’. It was pure pleasure to spend time with their two kamaalichi (incredible) boys. At their age, you can imagine, they can recite ‘Ganpati a Stoitra’ and ‘Ganpati a Stoitra’ by heart. play Shivaji Maharaj at different ages, Rahyl she’s the youngest seen in the trailer, while Riaan makes Shiva look a little older!”
Amole Gupte shares how he trained the Deshmukh boys
True to his philosophy, Gupte refused to call what he did with the boys “training.” “Those are the wrong words!” he laughed. “I had a blast interacting with both of them, and now they’ve become my fast friends! We used to play with Marathi lines because he gave me their part of the script, and I gave him speaking tips! They took to it quickly, and I started looking forward to getting together every Saturday. It wasn’t like a teacher-student equation at all, but a connection with Uncle Froggie over samosas and jalebis, which is what they always wanted from me!”Gupte described the boys’ natural instinct as something that emerged on their own during these quiet Saturday sessions, calling them “heerey” (diamonds). He added that the technical aspects of the filmmaking, such as camera angles and markings, were later handled by Riteish himself.
Amole Gupte talks about his role in ‘Raja Shivaji’
On one of those Saturdays, Riteish Deshmukh asked Gupta if he would be willing to play Adil Shah, the seventh Sultan of Bijapur, in the film. Gupte did not hesitate. He shared, “I took it because I can’t say no to Riteish and Genelia, and it was a fabulous role. But with the two prodigies, their sons, my friendship will last as long as I live!”
More about ‘Raja Shivaji’
Directed by Riteish Deshmukh, Chhatrapati Shivaji plays the role of Maratha ruler Maharaj. It also stars Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Amole Gupte and Genelia Deshmukh.The film will be released in theaters on May 1, 2026.
