Riteish Deshmukh, 34 and counting

Riteish Deshmukh turns 34 today. At the end of an eventful year for the comedic actor, here's a look at how this politician's son became a movie star.

Riteish Deshmukh was born on December 17, 1978, in Mumbai. He is the son of the late politician and former Chief Minister of Maharashtra Vilasrao Deshmukh. Riteish holds an architectural degree from Kamla Raheja Vidyanidhi Institute for Architecture and Environmental Studies and even practiced for a year with an overseas architectural firm. He owns architecture and interior design firm Evolutions.

Riteish also owns and captains the 'Veer Marathi' Celebrity Cricket League, which also includes actors like Mahesh Manjrekar and Shreyas Talpade.

Riteish Deshmukh married longtime girlfriend and Bollywood actress Genelia D'Souza on February 3, 2012, eight after they started dating. Their's was Bollywood's first big wedding of 2012. They had a Marathi ceremony followed by a less-publicized church wedding.

But 2012 turned out to be a mixed bag. Just a few months after Riteish and his younger brother Dheeraj got married, their father died on August 14, 2012 from multiple organ failure.

Riteish's debut film was Vijaya Bhaskar's Tujhe Meri Kasam (2003) opposite Genelia D'Souza. The movie didn't do too well at the box office and the actor was able to get a breakthrough only in 2004 in the commercially successful comedy film Masti.

Riteish subsequently appeared in Bardaasht and Naach. His first successful lead role was in the comedy Kyaa Kool Hai Hum with Tusshar Kapoor. While the film was did not go down too well with critics, it was liked by the audience and was fairly successful at the box office.

The actor next appeared in the comedies Malamaal Weekly and Apna Sapna Money Money. He also had a role in Bluffmaster! Which featured Priyanka Chopra and Abhishek Bachchan in the lead. He was also seen in Ram Gopal Varma's Darna Zaroori Hai.

2007 was a good year for Riteish. He first made a guest appearance in Namastey London and then in the multi-starrer action film Cash which was declared a box office hit. Later that year, he appeared in Sajid Khan's Heyy Babyy, which also co-starred Akshay Kumar and Fardeen Khan. The movie was a hit and is his most commercially successful film so far date. He subsequently appeared in the comedy Dhamaal which was also a super hit.

2008 was a year of ups and downs for Riteish. He was praised for De Taali and Chamku but neither movie did well at the box office. In 2009, his first release was Aladin, another flop, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Sanjay Dutt and Jacqueline Fernandez. He then played a supporting role in Ram Gopal Varma's Rann, co-starring Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal and Rajpal Yadav. His final film of 2009 was Do Knot Disturb along with Govinda, Sushmita Sen, Sohail Khan and Lara Dutta.Though his performance was appreciated, the movie was a flop.

In 2010, Riteish appeared in the blockbuster Housefull with Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan. His first release of 2011 was F.A.L.T.U. The same year he also starred in the highly successful comic sequel Double Dhamaal. Both films were very successful.

In 2012, Riteish first appeared in Tere Naal Love Ho Gaya with his new wife Genelia D'Souza. He then starred in Housefull 2, which was a hit just like the original movie. His last release of the year was the sequel Kyaa Super Kool Hain Hum which proved to be a super hit at the box office.

The actor is currently busy shooting for Grand Masti, a sequel to the 2004 hit Masti. He turned producer with the Marathi film Balak Palak and has begun work on his next Marathi production based on a state leader.

Here's wishing Riteish a very happy birthday.