Souce: TNN
It makes for a most unlikely parallel, to be sure, but there is no denying the fact that Hrithik bhaiyya and chacha Kalam have done a Harry Potter on the kids of the state.
Even JK Rowling can’t create the magical effect these two heroes have over the under 18 junta, giving them the right reason to hum ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. Whether it be the kind of euphoria the Prez generated while interacting with the students of Lucknow on Monday or the manner in which Hrithik was almost run over by an overenthusiastic cluster of Kanpur chumps over the weekend, TWTW (the week that was) clearly was dedicated to the juniors.
So how is it that two totally dissimilar people in two totally dissimilar professions belonging to two totally dissimilar age brackets (one is 72, the other is 28), have such a super fan following among the little ones? Trust us to come up with the answer. And it’s all purely scientific. APJ Abdul Kalam is a scientist of calibre who today as the President of India has a wonderful equation with little ones.
His belief is that the youngsters of today are the leaders of tomorrow. When Hrithik Roshan’s popularity at the BO started dwindling Papa Roshan took recourse to a science-fiction story with a kiddy angle to it and came up with ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. This multi-crore venture sees Hrithik in the role of a teenager.
With special effects and a cartload of kids in the starcast, the film has been declared a hit from the word go. So Farhaan, a student of Methodist High School, Kanpur says, “Hrithik is the best because he makes movies specially for kids. He answers fan mails and e-mails from his little fans. He even signs autographs and hugs kids when they approach him.” Not very different from Farhan’s opinion are the views of Srishti who’s studying in Lucknow Public School, but she’s talking about our president here, “I had written to Kalam chacha that I wanted to grow up and become a scientist like him.
He answered my e-mail the next day and suggested that I study hard and keep upgrading my knowledge of scientific discoveries.” While the kids can’t stop talking about their encounter with the two stars, the police actually had a tough time keeping the rush at bay. When in Kanpur, the film actor was thronged by his small admirers, the security force had no clue about how to handle the confusion. The buzz during the Prez’s visit in Lucknow was much the same, though with ten times the amount of security. Kids were all over the place and the scene looked just like a ‘baal mela’.
Similar or not, the fact remains that Kalam and Hrithik have both got it in them to make a splash with our youngsters. While some say that the science (fiction and fact, both) factor is the key here, others opine that the unconventional profile of the Prez and the offbeat character played by Hrithik have taken the fancy of the younger brigade. While there can be two opinions on these, nobody can contest that only genuine people click with kids. That explanation, we guess, sums it up!