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Meet Ritesh, paving his path to reach heights in the entertainment industry
Coming from a defense background, Ritesh Rawat earlier chose to serve the nation and later followed his heart. Ritesh in his 20s was in Airforce. Later he switched to modeling and acting to follow his passion. He is paving his path to get into acting and leave a mark with his charm and talent. Ritesh is an opinionated person and stays true to himself and feels hard work is the only way to be successful in life. Let us know more about him.
Ritesh started his modeling career in Pune with an academy. Since his childhood, everyone used to tell him that he has good looks and can try modeling. The thought remained in his mind and evolved.
“If you try for something you definitely get into something. So the thought struck my mind once. That seed was slowly growing into a tree and now I am getting the fruits. I am doing good shows now.”
Ritesh apart from modeling, is also a gold medalist in Boxing. He loves horse riding and is an avid swimmer. He also is a fitness freak.
Being in the industry for the past 4 years, Ritesh has faced criticism about his dusky skin tone. In every casting call, he went for, people hesitated to caste him. Elaborating he said that the industry has now changed.
“Indian mentality is like they want fair skin tone. But it is changing, they are understanding that. Now, most of the famous celebrities are dusky, so they know that. Men do face this sort of criticism and it is not new. Because there are people from Haryana and Rajasthan as well. Earlier the modeling industry was tough. But now it is different. The dusky complexion of mine is making me stand out. I accepted that criticism and took it in a positive manner.”
Ritesh is more inclined towards acting and modeling just is a stepping stone for him. Recently, he was shortlisted for a Gujrati web series and would start working on it in September. He has a keen interest in the South’s entertainment industry as well. Praising the industry, he says,
“I love the south industry because they are a bit different and they are also producing good quality movies. Also, they accept the reality. I am looking forward to work in the industry. Many well-known stars are from the South, for example Sonu Sood. I admire him a lot. He is kind of an idol for me.”
Ritesh is creating his own way to reach certain heights and is consistent with his efforts. Talking about the hurdles he faced coming from a defense background and then joining the modeling industry, he mentioned,
“Like for every newcomer, it is very difficult. Your good height, good body, good looks do not matter at that time. There are many people with the same qualities. What matters the most is your attitude. Your work can only make you succeed. So, once what happened was that there was an audition and I was practicing. For that only the person who selecting saw me because of my attitude he selected me. It is not like I am praising myself but that attitude of working hard makes me stand out.”
In the initial days of his career, he was totally unaware of how the industry works. Due to which he faced a lot of rejections. He did not know whom to meet and go.
“It was very difficult for me as a newcomer but now I am completely familiar with it. Now I am getting good work opportunities and I feel blessed.”
Ritesh builds his contacts through a photographer as he had his portfolio. He used to mail his portfolio and ask production houses for work opportunities. He met a lot of people in that journey of starting out.
“Eventually, hard work pays off and you get what you really want”
According to Ritesh, maintaining what you achieved in the industry throughout is the biggest challenge on the face. Considering the competition in the industry, it is very important. Otherwise, people adjust to any conditions.
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When asked about the financial instability of the modeling industry and what Ritesh does to overcome it, he said he trains people in fitness. Also, several sources of income are very necessary, adding to which he says,
“You can not put all your eggs in just one basket. So you have to juggle a lot of things side by side. But the focus is very important. You need to focus on just one thing and whenever you have time, do things which you like. Do things in which you have the knowledge and do not drain all your energy. So that you don’t divert yourself with your aim.”
In the end, Ritesh’s take on the recent controversy of Sabyasachi and H&M where they were called out for labor exploitation was,
“I did not like it at all. Just to show the contrast between them is not good. If they are showing that background, I think they are capitalizing on their situation whatever they are facing in order to stand out. So I don’t think they should have done that. Also, I support the media outrage. I have no idea what was the reason why they did that. It could be a publicity stunt but ethically it is not good. If it was art photography, then it was acceptable but in order to make your brand, a bit odd from the league is not worth it.”
Read: Prajyoti Is a Self Taught Artist Who Made Her Way Into The Industry All on Her Own
