It has been 3 years when Simi Garewal last interviewed our HEARTHROB of the Nation: "HRITHIK ROSHAN". Going down the memory lane we pick up a few leaves from our Hearthrob's life. Our special thanks to Dufan ISHA from Dubai who typed up this interview and enlivened the whole ambience. The excerpt...
Simi - Back with a bang
By: Kshama Rao and S Ramachandran
Date: August 28, 2000
Simi Garewal is back. Not that she went anywhere, it was just her show Rendezvous with Simi Garewal which went off the air six months ago and now returns for a new season. The nation's current heartthrob 'Hrithik Roshan' will be the guest in the inaugural episode. It's scheduled to begin around Diwali on Star Plus (tentatively slotted at 8.30 pm, safely before Kaun Banega Crorepati). We met Simi on the sets of the Bombay Recording Studios where she had just finished canning the first part of the episode with the Roshans. Running almost an hour-and-a-half behind schedule, Simi is all excited and nervous as she pampers the guests and the journos alike. You also notice, breaking away from her standard only white wardrobe, Simi has worn a different colour. A baby pink silk and sequinned formal suit, which she tells us later, she picked up from LA, Simi looks dazzling. Taking a few minutes off, she's game for a quick tete-a-tete.
Excerpts:
"What really made you invite Hrithik on your show?
He's become such a phenomenon. Hrithik mania is not just in India but it's all over the world. And as it happens with me, I have a natural curiosity to know more about people. I wanted to know more about Hrithik, to know what kind of a guy he is. I wanted to know him better through his parents' point of view.
"So the episode has two parts?
Yeah, we just completed a part of the episode where I'm talking to Hrithik along with his parents Rakesh and Pinky. The second episode will have only Hrithik.
"What did the four of you talk about?
We spoke about his childhood, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, his success and the Hrithik phenomenon. It's been an interesting conversation so far.
"Did he make any discoveries about himself?
Yes, quite a few actually. His parents in fact made a few observations about him. But I'm not telling you that. You'll have to wait and watch.
"What were you up to in this six-month gap?
I was planning another series which Star Plus wanted me to do. It took longer than expected. Besides, it was time for me to return with a fresh season as scheduled before the year-end. So I kept the other project on the backburner and decided to work on Rendezvous.
"You lay a strong premium on research, don't you?
(Laughs) At this point, I can write a thesis on Hrithik. There's so much about him to know. I've seen Kaho Naa... five times and it still seems there's a lot more to explore. Research is one reason why I prefer to go off air and come back after a gap. Seasons are happening abroad and I see no reason why they should not happen here. Taking a break is essential. One, to back your show with solid research and two, the viewers too are prepared to wait for more. Your show doesn't become the part of your furniture. There's some exclusivity to it.
"It's said sometimes, you probe more than necessary. For instance, some did feel that the Zeenat Aman episode was handled very insensitively. There she was weeping and you were still wanting to know more...
Yes, some television writer did comment on that. Let me tell you, nobody has told me I'm insensitive. In fact, there are times when people tell me I should be more ruthless. With Zeenat, it was she who wanted to let everything out of her system. Though I tried to change the subject, she kept coming back to the Mazhar Khan episode. It was a catharsis for her and that's what matters to me.
Thank you ISHA!
Rendevous with Hrithik Roshan - Part 1!
Hey guys.... I know a lot of you must have not seen Hrithik's interview with Simi Garewal on her show - Rendevous'! Its a DO NOT MISS interview....so, I've typed it up for you guys in conversation format! But since, its very very long - I'll put it up in parts! This is the first. I hope you guys enjoy reading it - I certainly enjoy watching it & I truly enjoyed typing it up too! I can assure you one thing - you guys are gonna RE-FALL IN LOVE with Hrithik after this one!!
Introduction:
Simi Garewal - "What a beginning! The birth of a new century & a new superstar, who arrived gift-wrapped by his father in a spectacular debut. It unleashed a mania that will not go away. I'm proud to have as my guests, the creators of this phenomenon - his family. Father & ace director Rakesh, mother & anchor Pinky & their son - the sensational Hrithik Roshan!!"
SG: Rakesh, Pinky, Hrithik. It is great to have the 3 of you here. Thanks for coming!
All 3: Its our pleasure to be here.
SG: First. Congratulations, Mubarak, Badhaai - you've made the greatest hit of this year, this millenium! Did you imagine it to be such a success - KNPH??
RR: I definitely knew that it would be a good film. But commercially, nobody knows how big a hit its going to be.
HR: I knew it would be appreciated, but not to this extent!
PR: He asked me how the film was, and I told him right away - I said ' You have 3 aces in your hands - a good film, great music & Hrithik'!
SG: Could you have predicted his success?
PR: No, not really!
RR: But I always knew he's a good actor. I always thought that even if my film is not successful at the box-office, he would be accepted.
SG: Accepted?? Only?? Thats a minor word!!
PR: Just Thank God!
SG: (to Hrithik) You got how many proposals on Valentine's Day?
HR: (embarrased) I really don't know.....but a lot! hehe...
PR: Lots of fan-mail, lots of letters, lots of flowers.....
RR: We had to change the telephone lines 2-3 times, coz every second there used to be a call saying that 'we want to talk to Hrithik'....
SG: Girls?
RR: Girls, young boys....
PR: Children, lots of children.....
RR: And their mothers for me!! hehe.....
SG: Ok, tell me. Bachpan mein, what was Hrithik like?
PR: He was a dreamer!
RR: Very stubborn, never used to eat anything....
PR: I don"t think he ate, or drank milk....
HR: Dad used to cook for me! For me to gain weight!
RR: One day I cooked mashed potatoes for him.....
SG: He liked it??
RR: He didn"t eat....so I put it on his head (hehe!). But he was very good in studies.
HR: I was okay!
RR: He used to stand in the first 3....
SG: Always in the first 3?
HR: No! Pfff!! Not in the first 3. I used to manage a 65% average....
SG: Why didn't you eat?
HR: I....just....couldn't find enough time from all my playing!
RR: Cycling....
HR: I used to cycle a lot, do all these stunts....
PR: (looking at HR) I think you are forgetting something here - it was more of indoor sports, with your small cars & pencils....
HR: Aaaahhhh!! Well, it sounds so stupid now! I used to have these men...these toys....
PR: He used to live in his own world.....
HR: And sometimes when I didn't have these toys, like when I was in school, I used to just take my pencils, and pretend they were these soldiers & make them fight with each other...
PR: Oh yes! I've watched him do that....
HR: A drop-kick here, a somersault there....I used to spend hours doing that, all the time. Or with my small little dinky cars. I used to take my kambal (blanket), make mountains & drive them up & down.....
SG: Up the slopes, down the hills... hehe!!
HR: Oh! So much fun! Those days were fun!
SG: Was he always as good as he seems today?
RR: Yes, he was! Never got into trouble, and always a very truthful....
HR: I got into trouble once, I remember.
PR: I don't remember!
HR: Those beer bottles! PR: Ohhh, ok! Yes! Major trouble!!
RR: We had a terrace flat on the 13th floor. There were these empty beer bottles kept, and they kept flinging everything down....
HR: Flung beer bottles down 13 floors.....
SG: Oh my God!!!
PR: Thats when I entered in my car, and I see all these lot of people. I was wondering what happened in the building!! And my son was responsible for throwing all those bottles down!
RR: Thats the only time I hit him. I just lost my temper....
HR: hehehehe....
PR: Mercilessly!!
RR: I put him on top of the dining table & started hitting him......but then I realized it was not his mistake. He was just a kid....
SG: Did you tell her?
HR: Before I could do that, dad used to always....you know, whenever he used to scold us, me & my sister....he used to always, always make it a point to come back. He would just stand there and say - 'Is it paining you? Did I hit you too hard?' - Or he used to just apologize, something or the other, and that used to make it all okay...
SG: Thats very sweet!! Ok, did his talent as an actor reveal itself early?
RR: I was making a film called 'Bhagwan Dada', and we needed a young boy in the film. So, Omji (Hrithik's grandfather) said, 'Lets take Duggu' - we call him Duggu at home....
SG: Why do you call him 'Duggu'? RR: Coz my name is 'Guddu', so we reversed it....
SG: I thought so!
RR: So, he came on the sets, and when he was giving his first shot, I ran away!
HR: hehehe.....He was the producer!
RR: I went away and was watching him from far. He did this thing (kind of good-bye salute) to Sridevi & went. I said to myself, 'How did he do that?' Thats the time I realized he has it in him!
SG: And you enjoyed that experience?
HR: Yeah....it was fun at that time!
SG: So, is that why you always wanted to be an actor? HR: Always! Though I might not have expressed it in so many words. But at the back of my mind, I always knew that this is what I had to do. I once had to make a decision on whether I should not do it....
SG: Like when? HR: Whether I should go abroad, further studies....coz dad has struggled so long....
RR: I wanted him to finish his studies, do something and then come and join films, so that you have something to fall back on. Coz the way I struggled all my life/career, I didn't want him to go through all that.
HR: NYU was where I was going. When the time came, I asked myself very honestly, 'Why am I going? Coz I'm afraid of the struggle? Maybe I'll have to go through what dad went through, that's why I'm going?' If I'm doing that, then I'm just running away. I'm not the kind of man I want to be then. So, I went back to dad & told him, 'You've stuggled, you did it the hard way. Trust me, I'm your son...
SG: Really? HR: Let me find my own way....
RR: I asked him if thats his final decision, and then I said okay.
HR: I was already assisting him at that time.
SG: As an assistant, you did everything.....
HR: hehehe....more than everything!!!
SG: You used to push the trolley & used to also serve the stars their tea......
HR: Yeah....I've served......
SG: Who? Whom did you serve?
HR: Salman! I've served Salman breakfast once! hehehe....in Sariska. Yeah!
SG: Tell me, Hrithik. When you were an assistant, you used to watch other actors acting for your father. Standing in the sidelines, did you feel 'Oh, I could do it, do it better, if only I got the chance'?
HR: I felt I could do it...but 'better' was something that never came to my mind, coz he was working with the best. I was watching actors like Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman.....I mean, I saw the best at work. So....
SG: But didn't you ever ask the camera attendant to stay back?
HR: Aaahhhh! You've heard of that! hehehe....yes! I had this thing with the camera attendant. Right after pack-up, when everyone used to leave, I used to hold back the camera-car.....
RR: I don't know about this....
PR: Even I don't know about this......
HR: Dad, you caught one shot once, but I don't think you remember. I used to hold him back, hold one of the light guys back, tell him to hold the reflectors up for me & say 'Roll the camera!'. And I used to either walk to it, give one of those turns, look up, say a dialogue, or do something or the other! And then, I had this thing with the lab! You know - 'Keep my roll seperate'!!
RR: Thats why I did not see! hehe...
HR: Oh yeah! That was fun!
SG: Interesting, ha? How much he did on his own. And you didn't even know it!
RR: I'm telling you, he went for his first photo-session & I didn't know about it! He came back & said, 'Papa, I want to show you something!'. I said, 'What is it?' He said, 'I have some photographs, and I want you to see them!'. When I saw the photographs, they were amazing.....
HR: And then I said, 'If you like the pictures, I need 10, 000 Rs. coz I need to pay the photographer!' hehehehehe
Part 2
SG: Guddu, we go back a long way, don't we? The making of 'Seema'?
RR: I think I started my career in that year.....
SG: And I remember it was during that film you both fell in love and got married....
RR: Yeah....we went to Manali....
SG: You went to Manali for your honeymoon during the film?
RR: Yes....
SG: But you know, nothing's changed. You'll still look like a honeymoon couple!
RR: (touching his head) hehe...only this thing has changed! SG: It looks very elegant!......
PR: hehehehe....
SG: But Guddu, you have been in this bizarre business for 30 years! I remember at that time, during Seema there was a huge buzz around you, and everybody had predicted a Rajesh Khanna success for you. But despite being a wonderful actor, it never really happened. Why?
RR: I think I never got the chance to work with good directors. Thats very important in the beginning of your career. Secondly, I didn't choose the right roles, so I made a lot of mistakes.
SG: But you have said - 'It was a 20 year journey of heartbreaks'..
RR: Yes. It was very frustrating, and she would see me at times, but I couldn't help it. I had to do my work, whatever came my way. As an actor, I was becoming smaller & smaller instead of growing. So I thought this is not my game, and I started producing films.
SG: But, financially everything was alright, or were there problems?
RR: There used be problems....
PR: It was tough, very tough, and we all lived together. His mom, his brother...all of us have stayed together, and faced those tough times together. Maybe thats why we did not feel it so much. Coz we all were so united. And all there for each other as well.
RR: But I didn't deprive them of anything, especially the children. I put them in the best schools - Bombay Scottish....
PR: Thats his nature, he never says no for anything or anybody....
RR: We went for the best of holidays.....but that inner satisfaction was not there.
HR: I remember reading an interview of dad's, when I was very very young, and it said - 'I will not die until I prove myself'. As a child I was reading that - that was my father. I got hold of my sister, we sat down on the bed & prayed to God, like 'let it happen'. I remember that. And then, I remember going for the premiere of his first film....
PR: 'Khudgarz'....
HR: I was too young to understand anything...for me it was just another party. I remember driving upto the theatre, and mom & dad were very tensed. I thought they were having a fight or something....
PR: hehehe.....
HR: And I remember mom asking dad, 'If this doesn't work, where will we go?'
PR: 'What next?'
HR: His everything was on the line - he'd mortgaged the house, cars...everything. And I saw a tear in her eye. I didn't understand at that time, but now I do. I understand how much it took for him to get what he has got.
RR: With the frustration, there was a lot of humiliation also. Like I, Pinky, Jeetendra, his wife, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu.....we all are good friends and we used to go to parties together. But when we used to enter the party, all the photographers used to say, 'Rakeshji, aap zara side mein ho jaaiye, please.' So, Pinky and I used to stand on the side and they used to be clicked! I never used to feel bad for myself, but for her. But then, I couldn't do anything.
SG: This industry can be very cruel....
RR: Oh yes! Its a lovely industry, but good only for people who are doing good....
HR: Yeah....survival of the fittest!
RR: I remember I was so thrilled when Khudgarz released, and in the very first week there was a party at Holiday Inn. I entered the party & I was so used to it, that I went on the side by myself before they could tell me....
HR: hehehe.....
RR: But at that time, they only wanted me! 'Rakeshji, aap kaha jaa rahe hain. Aap yahan khade hoiye, wahan khade hoiye!' Coz Khudgarz was a successful film.
SG: But Pinky, you came from a hugely successful film family. How did you cope with all this?
PR: I just let everyday happen, and cope with everyday as it came. I never majorly got stuck to one thing - 'Oh I don't have the money, my husband is not so popular....' I never ever thought of that. I was very content within myself, whatever I had I was just happy. And I also knew, that one day he would make it....
HR: Yeah...she used to tell me, 'See the way he is working, he is going to be successful, his films are going to work....so you've got to study hard, and pass your exams the same way!'
RR: hehehe...
SG: But you know, I was just thinking....while the men pursue their grand dreams and ambitions, its the wives and mothers who keep it all together, cope, support sacrifice even....
HR: Yeah...absolutely. She has been the emotional support...hehe...
PR: Thats the first time he's actually telling me that. Thank you very much.....
HR: What nonsense! I've said it before....hehe....
SG: And they never win the Filmfare Award, do they? Nobody knows what all they did, to make it happen...
RR: Right....
HR: I think they get more than that...when they see that they have achieved what all they dreamt of.
SG: Actually the rewards are there....the rewards are there for all to see....
PR: Exactly....
SG: Coz on that day, when Hrithik was on stage at the Filmfare Awards, your expression said it all.... (interspersed with clips from the awards function)
PR: (almost crying) Thats my most memorable and very touching day for me. The way he spoke...I mean, I could just cry even now...
SG: No, don't cry...
HR: hehe... PR: He spoke very well, and made me very very proud.
HR: Thank you!
SG: And you were so happy....
PR: Tears of happiness & joy, yes.
Rendezvous with HR - Part 3....
SG:
KNPH was a vindication of your struggle & talent. But here too, Guddu, the success you should have enjoyed, was overshadowed by this terrible shooting incident. Tell me about it.
RR:
I came down from the office at around 6:10 pm, sat in the car, and suddenly I saw the windscreen breaking. I thought someone has thrown a stone or something. Then I saw 2 guys in front of the bonnet & they were shooting, they've got guns in their hands. I ducked, and asked the driver to move, and he moved. So, one gunman came on the right, and the other gunman came on my left, and he shot from there and thats the bullet which I got. And as I went out, the first thing I did was call and find out where Hrithik was. I rang up home and asked Pinky where Hrithik was....
PR:
I said, 'He must be somewhere, at the gym or Uday's house.' 'Where is Duggu?'. I said, 'Why are you getting so hyper? What happened?' Then he just cooled down, and said, 'Nothing, nothing. Some people have just shot at the car.' I said, 'What? Shot at the car, or at you? Are you ok?' He said, 'I'm fine. Bas thoda sa kaanch lag gaya hai'.
RR: I didn't want to tell them on the phone, otherwise they would panic. Then I rang up Hrithik, in Yashji's house & told him, 'You be there, don't get out of the house'. Coz I thought the shooting is taking place simultaneously. So then he asked me, 'Papa, what happened?' I said.....
HR: He said, 'Nothing, nothing. I've just been shot and I'm going to the cops'. After I got over that initial second of shock, I realised what had happened & I asked him, 'What are you doing going to the cops, go to the hospital'. He was so angry at what had happened, he didn't want those guys to get away with this. So, he drove to the cops first....
SG: I know, its unbelievable. Bleeding?
RR: Yeah, I was bleeding....
HR: He could coordinate. His mind was still coordinating with his hands, and he could dial the number...then the cops took him to the hospital, and he collapsed there.
PR: Thats where I saw him, in the hospital, lying on the bed, with his jeans full of blood, like we see in the movies, and thats where I got my shock.
SG: But I must say, amazing courage. So few people ever face a near-death situation and come out smiling....
PR: True...
SG: But, tell me Guddu, does that scene that took place, when they fired at you....does it haunt you?
RR: Sometimes it does. I remember one day, I was sleeping, and in my dreams I said, 'Bachao, bachao', I started screaming. She woke me up and said 'What happened?' I was dreaming that again there are 4-5 people shooting at me, and there was no place for me to run, couldn't escape....
PR: The nightmare is still there....
HR: But you gotta focus on the good....
SG: Yeah....thats the spirit! But it can't be easy to forgive a world, where success invites terrorism...
RR: I think God gave me success and a life together....one more life together.
SG: Hrithik, you always idolised your father, didn't you? I believe you used to mimic him....
HR: Yes...
SG: How did you do it? What did you do?
HR: My father was a hero, and every child wants to be like his father. My father was a 'hero' in films, so....I used to play his songs, put my collars up, pretend I'm him, and do the things he did....
SG: Did you ever see him do it?
RR: No, I've never seen him...
SG: Then we've got to see it now! How did you do it?
HR: I don't know....I was a kid....
SG: Kaise kiya?
HR: I don't have the kind of collars now....
SG: Pretend there's a collar....
HR: I don't know...the things he used to do, put his collars up and.....(he starts imitating his dad!)
SG: hehehehe....
HR: He used to do all kinds of things.....
SG: Since becoming a star for the first new year, does your family treat you differently?
HR: No!
SG: No extra bhau?! hehe...nahin?
HR: I wish....but no!
SG: But tell me. How far can your parents influence you into doing things today? How dependent are you on them?
HR: I am dependent, yes....but I always follow my heart. Eventually. So far its been the same way. Their way and my way has so far been the same way. I don't foresee any problems, but I've been taught by them to follow my heart, so even if we differ, sometime in the future....
SG: God forbid...
HR: hehehe
PR: God forbid....
HR: I will do as I have been taught....I will follow my heart. Always.
SG: Well, for all of you, your lives can never be the same again. Its all changed. But I'd like to know what specifically changes? Do you change, or do people change around you?
PR: I think people change around you. You are the same person. Somewhere they think differently. Now she is so & so's wife, now she is Hrithik's mom - so she has changed. But its not really true.
SG: You know, meeting you again, its been like we've revisited our lives all over again. Its been a lovely journey, a very truimphant journey for you. But I want to ask you, can I keep Hrithik back for a little while more, coz I want to talk to him.....
PR: Definitely!
SG: But I want to thank you both for such a lovely evening.....
PR: Thank you for having us.
SG: Thank you Rakesh & Pinky.....Thank you for this Rendezvous......
RENDEZVOUS CONTINUES WITH HRITHIK ROSHAN!!
This is very interesting! I don't know if you guys know this - but Simi Garewal always.....always wears only WHITE clothes! Maybe only a black shirt inside her suit or something! But she made an exception - ONLY for Duggu! She wore baby pink!! In so many years, she wore baby pink only for Hrithik! And I read an interview of hers in some magazine - and she mentioned Hrithik as one of her favourite guests! She was very very impressed with Hrithik's humility & down-to-earth personality! He definitely is one of her favourite person!!
SG: Hrithik, I'm delighted to have you here. Thank you for staying on!
HR: I was enjoying myself, I had to stay on.
SG: You know, I think I am a mind reader. I can tell you what millions of viewers are thinking right now....
HR: What is that??
SG: They are thinking - how lucky Simi is, to be sitting with Hrithik Roshan, right? And they are right....
HR: (totally embarrased) I don't know...hehe...
SG: When I met you soon after KNPH, you seemed bewildered by your success at that time. Have you had time to digest all that is happening to you?
HR: Well, I have sat and tried to analyse whats happening to me, but somewhere down the line it just doesn't make enough sense. Coz too much has happened too soon. I know I did correct work in my film....it was nothing extraordinary. Its like I worked for 50 Rs. & I got a 100 Rs. Everyone gave me a 100 Rs. I've kept my 50 Rs. in my pocket, the rest 50 Rs. I've kept it aside, coz I know they'll want it back.
SG: You know, actors are an extraordinary mixture of self-confidence & self-doubt...
HR: Yeah....thats very well put actually. Thats so true.
SG: Or is it just your way of keeping yourself grounded?
HR: I don't do it consciously...I'm just being me. Before KNPH, I did not believe in destiny. I believed you get what you deserve & and you deserve what you get....
SG: Fair enough....
HR: After the release, I've had to re-think that because I have got much more than I deserve.
SG: One day no one knows you. And the next morning, the world is besotted by you...
HR: It was exactly that...when I went to see my film in the theatre, the first show. I entered as a nobody, and when I came out, there was hysteria all around me. The only way I can analyse this is - is that its a craze....
SG: It is..its a mania...
HR: Craze comes from the word 'crazy' - makes no sense. Right now, all this - it makes no sense. I'm waiting for it to settle down, for people to see the truth. To see my faults. Right now, all they are seeing is what they want to see - they are seeing me as this perfect person, which I am not.
SG: You've lost your normal life, haven't you?
HR: Well, I'm striving to hold on to it as much as I can...but yeah, its slipping away....
SG: Its slipping away?
HR: Yeah....
SG: Everyone wants a bit of your time, wants a piece of you?
HR: Its just tiring...very very tiring. These long hours of work....its all good, but I need time to myself...
SG: Do you ever wish you could give back some of your celebrity status, for some of your privacy?
HR: Right now! I'd do it right now....
SG: You would?
HR: Right now.....hehe...
SG: Coz I've also watched you....I've seen you go through the motions of stardom...seen you signing autographs, shaking hands, working the crowds....but I felt there's a part of him thats detached....he's not letting himself go and enjoy the moment....
HR: I would be enjoying myself, but somewhere its become a little ugly, with dad being shot and all, I just can't help but feel this is not right. Why? Why?
SG: I know...coz for you, the messenger of success was that bullet that nearly took your fathers life. Was that the reason that was holding you back?
HR: Subconsciuosly...you're probably right. I couldn't analyse it right now, but I'm sure it has something to do with that, obviously.
SG: What went through you, when you learnt that your father had been shot at?
HR: (almost in tears) Oh...I don't know....from shock to anger...to seeing him lie on the hospital bed - had never seen him like this. Basically....I....don't know.....(he was crying here slightly. his voice was cracking up) I just wanted to quit films. Coz I knew it was directly or indirectly responsible for what had happened to him, and nothing was worth it. All this is not worth his life...
SG: Nothing is worth that....
HR: So, I just wanted to quit. Sometimes I think I should have....
SG: Don't say that....
HR: Yeah...coz its very disillusioning, maybe it goes from bad to worse. I know I had that chance then, I didn't take the first step, so I can't hold anyone else responsible for not doing anything about it....I didn't do anything about it....
SG: Why are you saying this?
HR: Start a movement or....I don't know....if I had quit at that time, maybe people would have....
SG: No, not at all! Its like your father. If he had quit at that time, would that have been a sensible thing to do?
HR: Well, you asked me what I went through. Thats what I went through...thats what I wanted to do. But as you can see, I did not. I did it your way.
SG: But if that shooting incident had not taken place.....?
HR: Things would have been very different....
SG: You wouldn't have felt like this.....?
HR: I'd probably be a different person right now. Who knows, probably it would have gone to my head, and I would have become this arrogant star....hehe....who knows? But I would have been different, I'm sure....
SG: You would have enjoyed your success a lot more...
HR: Yes...
SG: Coz you never had time to celebrate....
HR: No we didn't. Especially me. People all around me were telling me, saying that 'You're a star, the film is a big hit...' I was just waiting. I said, 'I will wait till the next Friday. I will read, see it with my eyes, then enjoy myself, then I'll have a party.' I was waiting for that Saturday, and dad got shot on Friday. It was like so simultaneous. I remember reading the trade paper - it said 100% - and I knew this is it, we've done it...I'm there. And my dad was in the hospital at the same time. It was a 'dream come true'...but, co-existing with a nightmare....
SG: Absolutely...
HR: It confused the hell out of me!
SG: And that party never happened?
HR: It'll happen....
SG: It will?
HR: It will. Actually, there was this day, where I stopped myself & said, 'I should enjoy this, I'm being stupid.' I remember that day....we were playing that match....at Wankhade....that cricket match, the Sahara India Group had organized it. And in the break, I had to run around the field. There were so many people there, and I was like - 'Why are you taking me, there are so many more senior people here. I don't feel right' ...no, no no & stuff. Anyways, they took me out and I was like 'Hi'...I was feeling like all this was awkward, it wasn't right. Then in the middle of the crowd, I saw these little kids. They weren't waving or anything...they were just looking at me and smiling, they had this glow on their face. I just saw them and something happened, something inside me snapped, and I said to myself - 'What the hell am I doing? This is never going to come back'. Suddenly, I saw myself from a different perspective. In the middle of that stadium, there were 1000's of people, its like the entire world around you, and I was not feeling good about it?....
SG: What more do you want?
HR: Yeah...I said, 'What the hell is wrong with me? This is it, this is what people dream of, and I am complaining?' I said, 'I should enjoy this moment, it'll never come back'. And I looked to the left of the stadium, put my hand up & heard the entire side roar. And then I looked to the right, held my hand out & there was a roar from that side.....and then I started enjoying myself. I was waving, and running along. So that day changed a lot. I said, 'Stop it - this is life'.
SG: I know that your father's bullet injuries, by the grace of God, have healed. And I hope the scars that you are carrying will heal.
HR: They will.....they will.....
Rendezvous with HR - Part 5.....
This is the FUN part!
SG: How long are you going to carry on being just Mr. Nice Guy?
HR: No...thats not really true....well, I'm not all that good....I can be really mean if I have to....
SG: Oh yes.....
HR: Enough of this nice guy....I'm a good actor....I can be pretty bad....
SG: Really? Like how??
HR: I remember this one time, we were in Bangkok. My mother and my sister were up in their room, I came down & played this little prank on them. I called up the room & pretended that I was a voice....a machine talking to them.....
SG: Ohhhhh....
HR: You know, 'Evacuate the room immediately. Hotel on fire! Evacuate the room immediately, hotel on fire...!' I just went on & on & on....
SG: hehehehe.....
HR: Cut 2 - I see my mother & my sister, the lift door opening and my sister's specs are in her hand, my mom has just come out of her bath & her hair's like.....passports in hand & she's like all over the place.....
SG: hehehe...nooooo.....
HR: I saw her & I just burst out laughing! And my mom...she was sooo angry! She was sooo....HAHAHA!!!
SG: Not fair.....hehehe
HR: Yeah....and she didn't speak to me for the whole day!
SG: hehehe....I don't blame her. I wouldn't have spoken to you for a whole week!
HR: But it makes a good memory, you know....
SG: People may think its just talent & luck....but like an athelete trains himself for a marathon, you prepared yourself for your acting career, didn't you?
HR: Oh, I did everything & anything that I could think of that would help me, directly or indirectly in my work.
SG: Like how?
HR: I used to live with a video camera...hehe...since the time it was decided that I was going to be in dad's film. I used to shoot myself on & off...
SG: Really? Self??
HR: Yeah....just place the camera there & act out scenes, just see how I look, how I walk, how I talk....I didn't want to wake up one day, after my film had flopped & I was a failure...I didn't want to have any excuses. I didn't want to say, 'Oh, I didn't do that. If I'd done that, then probably I would have been successful.' I wanted to live with no excuses, if I failed then I was not good enough. So, I did everything. I took singing classes, diction lessons, the urdu, and the dance classes, the fight classes...the works....
SG: And what about the biceps and the triceps & the other ceps...? All of them? How did you do that?
HR: Yeah...well, I was always interested in having a good body. Coz its one thing that you can call your own....
SG: Sure...
HR: So, I was training by myself, and then once things got decided that I was going to be in dad's next film.....there was no time. I was skinny as hell. I was half of this, so you can imagine. I said, 'Ok, who's the best in the business?' The name popped up. Salman Khan.
SG: Absolutely...
HR: I got his number, called him up...out of the blue...I had to remind him who I was, you know, 'I'm Rakesh Roshan's son - Duggu. Do you remember?'
SG: 'I served you tea once....'
HR: Yeah, yeah...he's such a nice guy, I mean he just took me in.....
SG: Really?
HR: And along with training me, the moral support that he gave me was incredible! He was one of the few people who really believed that I would be a 'phenomenon'....
SG: Its great to see this kind of.....one always imagines people to be competitive....
HR: Exactly...you know, I've read some stuff like - Salman is insecure, because I'm around! You have to see him when he's around me, you know. He's always pushing me, 'What's wrong with you? You've lost weight. Do this & don't do that...' He's like a brother! He really is...
SG: Your friends say that you were very introverted, very shy....
HR: I still am...
SG: You still are...?
HR: But, I'm in the kind of career now, that I cannot afford to be......so, I'm trying to change.
SG: They say that earlier you used to stammer as well because you were so shy. How did you overcome that? Thats remarkable! I'm sure there are a lot of people out...who are watching..who probably do the same. I'm sure they'd love to know....
HR: (surprised) Well, I've never spoken about this...hehe...yeah...but its okay. I want people to know that its ok. It is sad, because it's the only handicap that is ridiculed by society....
SG: Yeah....
HR: It is....coz it looks funny....
SG: Its very cruel....
HR: It is. Believe me, it is. As a child, I've howled myself to sleep, because I've been made fun of...
SG: Really??
HR: Yeah....Its happened all through....all throughout my life...you know, it was really hard.....coz you're kind of left out.....
SG: Why were you so shy?
HR: Somehow I didn't.....I don't know....
SG: Your nature....
HR: Yeah, probably. Some kind of phobia that develops into something like this....
SG: But, you've changed yourself remarkably, full marks...
HR: Oh, it has been the hardest...hardest battle of my life....
SG: It has to have been....
HR: It still is...you know, but I could do it, that means people can do it too...
SG: How hard you must have worked....?
HR: I have sat up nights....all night just reading from a book. I have watched entire films, repeating each & every dialogue as the film is running....I've done meditation....I've done everything that
there was to it....it has been the greatest battle of my life....but I'm okay now (wink!)
SG: You certainly are....but when people talk about overnight success, they don't know the 15 years that went before it.....
HR: Yeah.....
Rendezvous with HR - Part 6!
I really love this segment! You'll know why we are so proud of him....of his thoughts!!
SG: Hrithik, one element that remains unchanged in your life, is your relationship with Suzanne....
HR: (with a 2000 watt smile!) Yeah...
SG: She's a lovely girl....
HR: Yeah she is....
SG: What makes her so special to you?
HR: (blushing!) What makes her special?....Simply put, she's just what I dreamt of...in a woman. She's exactly that.
SG: You've known her since the 10th standard...
HR: I've known her all my life, but we really became friends....I think....when I was 21, is when I met her....
SG: Thats when you became boyfriend-girlfriend??
HR: Yeah...before that, we knew off each other. I knew who she was, she knew who I was..we lived in the same neighbourhood...
SG: Thats it?
HR: Yeah...
SG: But tell me, is it important to you that you knew her while you were still unknown?
HR: If I would have had it my way...I would have...I was always afraid...I said, 'Ok, let me become something, and then take this kind of a responsibility'. But you never know when it strikes. It just struck....just happened...
SG: How has she taken your success?
HR: Well, she's excited, obviously....she's happy....
SG: Can't be easy to "share" you with the female population...
HR: Its a compliment....and thats how she takes it. Simply put.
SG: In a relationship, when one person suddenly becomes 'hot property'..it changes the balance, and the other person has to make more adjustments. Do you find that she has to make more adjustments with you?
HR: Well, the time factor, yes. I see my mom in two days...once in two days...hehe...
SG: What kind of a boyfriend are you?
HR: I don't know....you'll have to ask her that...hehe
SG: Are you possessive?
HR: Oh no! Not at all! Its a case of perfect understanding....there's no point if there is no trust in a relationship...and we trust each other completely.
SG: But tell me something, are you a romantic?
HR: Completely!
SG: You ARE a romantic???
HR: I'm romantic about everything....I romanticize everything in my life. Even this is going to go down in memory as this.....you know, I'll remember the flowers, your face....and....everything around me gets romanticized in my head...becomes a memory.
SG: Suzanne calls you 'Bholunath'....
HR: She doesn't call me that...its just that....she thinks I'm too naive....and she's wrong! (wink!)
SG: hehe...oh dear!!
HR: I'm not naive at all.....
SG: Why does she think you're naive?
HR: The fact that I trust people. I believe there is good in every man alive. And I give the benefit of doubt, no matter what, unless I see it with my own eyes. That is something that is not okay with everyone, because they think I'm naive. Even the people who shot at my father - he must have a way of justifying what he did, though it was wrong. He must have done it for a couple of thousand rupees; maybe he had to get his sister married, or mother was in the hospital......so, I give the benefit of the doubt to every person. And thats not supposed to be intelligent, I guess. But thats the way I am. Thats how I like to be. I think its wrong to bring up our children saying that....you know, by instilling fear in them. It starts as simply as 'Don't do that, or buddha baba will come and....'
SG: Fear....
HR: Fear! Lets not instill fear in our children...you know, lets not tell them that the world is a jungle...lets not tell them that people are bad.....teach them that the world is a beautiful place, you must trust each other, coz we are all part of the same family. Eventually, the world will become a better place.
SG: You're going to make a great father!
HR: hehehe....
SG: But you're not very money-savvy....
HR: No! And thats a problem!
SG: Not business savvy.....
HR: The first film I signed....I told dad, 'Okay, I'll go talk money, handle my own stuff'. Then I came back to dad and said, 'I've signed a film, got the film!' So he said, 'How much have you signed it for?' I said, 'Lot of money' I was really excited, I said, '50,000 Rupees!'......he goes, 'Go and sit in your room!!' And, obviously....hehe...I got signed for much much more than that!
SG: But tell me, are you planning to marry really soon?
HR: Well, I can afford it now....so soon....yes.
SG: You have no remorse for all the broken hearts out there?
HR: (smiles!!)
SG: hehe...I'm joking. When you two get married, you must come and see me together.
HR: Absolutely!
SG: Okay? I would love to have the both of you here together!
HR: It will be a pleasure!
SG: You said you took singing lessons....
HR: Hmmm....
SG: Would you sing a song for me?
HR: HAHAHA! No ways!!!!!
SG: You can't....you haven't learnt how to say NO!
HR: HAHAHAHA!
SG: Sing a nice love song!
HR: Nice love song?? Its tough singing....but I'll try.....
SG: Thank you.
HR: "Hmmmm....mere man mein,
Khayal aata hai,
Ke jaise tujhko
Banaya gaya hai mere liye....
Tu ab se pehle,
Sitaron mein bas rahi thi kahin,
Tujhe zameen pe,
Bulaya gaya hai mere liye.........................
SG: Thank you so much!
HR: Thank you!
SG: You are so special...you really are special.....
HR: Thank you! It was great to be here....
SG: Don't ever change!
HR: I won't!
SG: Just be this person....you promise me you won't change....
HR: I promise.....hehehe....I won't....
SG: And I hope the Hrithik Magic will continue to enchant us for a very long time.....
HR: Well, THANK YOU!
SG: Thank you for this Rendezvous........
HR: Thank you!!!
THE END
(The never ending Hrithik Mania!)