A lot is heard and said about monkey business. Mostly referred to in plain humour, seldom does it happen that 'monkeying around' takes any serious connotation.

This is what happened during the shooting of Sajid Khan's Housefull where a monkey plays a key role in a funny fight sequence. Though the film does boast of an A plus setup with the likes of Akshay Kumar, Deepika Padukone, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal and Jiah Khan towering the cast, it was the pint sized monkey that demanded most attention. Reason? Its Hollywood roots. This is the same monkey who is nothing less than a star after having worked in a mega blockbuster like Pirates of the Caribbean. No wonder, 'starry' tantrums were at its peak during the shooting of Housefull.

Laughs Sajid Khan, "It was as amusing as it gets. My first film Heyy Babyy was a multi starrer and it went along so smoothly. People asked me that how would I handle my three heroes and three heroines in Housefull but I used to laugh it away wondering what was the fuss all about. After all most of the cast members are my friends first, and have immense faith in me and each of them was quite clear about his or her role in the film. This is why I always believed that the shooting of Housefull will go on smoothly. Little did I know that of all characters in my film, it would be a monkey that would end up throwing so many tantrums."

This ‘house’ is ‘full’ of cricket fans.

So it wasn’t surprising when a leading Asian sports channel announced a marketing tie-up with Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment for Housefull — they had done the same for Mujhse Shaadi Karogi and Heyy Babyy — with the cast of the film, Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Riteish Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal and director Sajid Khan, ready to go on field with their support for Team India in the ICC World Twenty20 in the West Indies.

Interestingly, the release of the romcom entertainer coincides with the launch of the premier cricket tournament on April 30.

And while his movie is not short on talent, Sajid made sure he motivated his team to the highest level. The actor, for the first time, reveals to us what he wrote in his handwritten letters to his star cast.

“It said Dear Akshay or Dear Deepika..Welcome to the first of the shooting of your career’s biggest hits. I know this sounds a little pompous, but believe me, just as you had faith in saying yes to this movie and trusting me to guide you out…just like that, have faith in what I am saying,” reveals Sajid.

“Let’s have a great time making this film. But let’s promise each other one thing - that we are not making this film for ourselves. We are making it for a ticket-buying audience, and we will give them exactly what they expect…and a little more,” read Sajid’s letter to his star cast, “For that, you have to have blind faith in me – your director – who is also your friend. And let’s just go out there and have fun. But just remember - we work for an audience… and we will not work without them.”

Riteish Deshmukh will have an uncharacteristic start to the year with Ramgopal Verma’s Rann that has him play Purab Shastri, an investigative journalist to Amitabh Bachchan’s Vijay Harshvardhan Malik, a media baron. Riteish, who reportedly got into the skin of the role describes himself in the movie as, “The guy with the mike and a lot of questions.”

After making a name for himself as an actor with a comic flair, Deshmukh is now looking to create a good mix. After Rann, he has within 2010, a romantic film Jaane Kahan Se Aayi Hai opposite newbie Jacqueline Fernandes (they also paired together in Aladin) and Housefull with a multistar cast comprising Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal, Deepika Padukone, Jiah Khan and Lara Dutta among others.

When we meet, it is Rann, a treatise of sorts on the media business as it exists, that becomes the fulcrum of our conversation. Not surprising since his political roots afforded the actor a ringside view of the media and its functioning much before his days as an actor. Deshmukh admits to being fascinated by both politics and media and is understandably excited about his outing in Rann as an idealistic reporter, true to his mentor.