Amole Gupte on preparing Riteish Deshmukh's sons Rahyl and Riaan Deshmukh for 'Raja Shivaji': 'They've become my fast friends'

Veteran actor-filmmaker Amole Gupte, best known as the creative force behind 'Taare Zameen Par' and beloved by children across India as 'Froggie Uncle', has now added a new and personal chapter to his long journey with young talent, coaching Riteish and Genelia Deshmukh's sons for their on-screen debut in the Marathi-Hindi epic 'Raja Shivaji'.Riaan Deshmukh, 11, and Rahyl Deshmukh, 9, will be seen playing Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at different stages of his childhood in 'Raja Shivaji', the ambitious period drama directed by and starring Riteish Deshmukh in the title role. 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 they were also in the forefront to promote my film, 'Stanley Ka Dabba'. It was sheer pleasure spending time with their two kamaalichi (incredible) boys. At their age, can you imagine, they can recite the 'Ganpati Stotra' and so many aartis by heart! In 'Raja Shivaji', they play Shivaji Maharaj at different ages, Rahyl being the younger one seen in the trailer, while Riaan plays a slightly older Shiva!"True to his philosophy, Gupte refused to call what he did with the boys "training." "Those are wrong words!" he laughed. "I just had fun interacting with both of them, and now they have become my fast friends! We would just play around with their Marathi lines, as the portion of their script was given to me, and I gave them tips on how to speak them! They were quick on the uptake, and I started looking forward to meeting them each Saturday. It was not at all like a teacher-and-student equation but a bond with Froggie Uncle over samosas and jalebi, which they always wanted from me!" Gupte described the boys' natural instincts as something that surfaced on their own during these relaxed Saturday sessions, calling them "heerey" (diamonds). He added that the technical aspects of filmmaking, such as camera angles and markings, were handled later by Riteish himself.On one of those Saturdays, Riteish Deshmukh asked Gupte whether he would be open to playing Adil Shah, the seventh Sultan of Bijapur, in the film. Gupte didn't hesitate. He shared, "I took it up, as I cannot refuse Riteish and Genelia, plus it was a fabulous role. But my friendship with the two prodigies, their sons, will last as long as I live!"Directed by Riteish Deshmukh, the film features him in the titular role of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, the Maratha ruler. It also stars Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Mahesh Manjrekar, Sachin Khedekar, Bhagyashree, Fardeen Khan, Jitendra Joshi, Amole Gupte, and Genelia Deshmukh.The movie is set to release in theaters on May 1, 2026.