/> For Riteish Deshmukh life is a drag. Rishi Kapoor did it in Raffoo Chakkar many years ago. More recently Kamal Hassan did a spectacular job of it in Chachi 420.

Now it's Riteish's turn. "I can't even begin to compare myself with those two.They were absolutely brilliant. But yes, I'm in drag for most of Apna Sapna Money Money. And it felt....weird!"

Riteish relives the experience. "To look convincing as a woman was the biggest challenge for me. I didn't want the character to end up looking like caricature. The trick is to not go too far with the farce."

Jack Lemmon in Some Like It Hot, Dustin Hoffman in Tootsie and Robin Williams in Mrs Doubtfire got the gender-bender dead right. Riteish explains, "I didn't want to play a manly woman. I wanted my character Sania to be authentic.

It's very difficult for a guy to behave like a girl. Luckily for me there were so many girls on the sets, so I just imitated them. After every shot I'd get back to behaving like my normal self. But after an hour I decided I'd remain in character constantly.

Then I behaved like a woman throughout the day. The director Sangeeth Sivan and my co-star Anupam Kher were in fits."

Since it was a small cosy unit it was easy for Riteish to get into drag. "It's very difficult being a woman. Apart from the time it takes to dress up, you are constantly scrutinized. When I got into women's clothes for the first time I remember how self-conscious I felt.

The walk from my van to the set was the longest I've taken. Everyone had this smirking smile. They couldn't tell me I was looking hideous...Me? I thought I looked pretty okay."

When offered the role of a woman Riteish was challenged. "It was exciting to think that a director actually thought of me in this role. One hardly gets to do something that's funny and different. Apna Sapna Money Money is a funny film.

I've tried my best to be convincing as a woman....It's amazing how flattered a woman must get by male attention. You should see how hard Anupam Kher hits on my character in Apna Sapna Money Money."

Riteish isn't tired of doing comedy. "I've done another comedy Kya Kool Hain Hum with the same director. This one could've got raunchier. My family was embarrassed watching it. They'd be okay watching Apna Sapna...I'm sure of that."

Notable Men In Drag

Kishore Kumar in Half Ticket
Amitabh Bachchan in Lawaaris
Biswajeet in Kismat
Rishi Kapoor & Paintal in Raffoo Chakkar
Anupam Kher in Zamana Deewana
Kamal Hassan in Chachi 420
Sharman Joshi in Excuse Me & Gol Maal
Govinda In Aunty No 1
Aamir Khan in Baazi
Salman Khan in Jaan-e-Mann