He came, he saw, he conquered - this was when Hrithik Roshan made a debut creating history. With his popularity come many notches down since his debut, Hrithik Roshan now dares to re-conquer his lost glory.
"I was always attracted to the glamour of film Industry. I always knew that I will become an actor someday,” confessed Hrithik Roshan during one of his maiden interviews.
Fresh and full of boyish excitement then, his debut film Kaho Na Pyar Hai catapulted him to stardom overnight. Hrithik Roshan came to be called ‘the phenomenon’.
Such craze was last seen when Rajesh Khanna rode the Aradhana crest of fame. But he was no Midas. He was just an artiste, a performer who also needed good stories and directors to draw the best out of him. Destiny gave him neither a good director nor a decent story, resulting in lackluster draw that ended in a catastrophe for his latter films.
Those days are past. Hrithik has an impressive line up of films now. Not only has he chosen a good story and good directors but also has shown a flair to dare. Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, his latest release has shown this streak to take on the unknown. A Rajshree Production, this film has thrown up some new challenges for its lead trio, especially for Hrithik.
Hrithik has to showcase his histrionics in high-risk water sports, which is a novelty in Bollywood. “It was fun. We have done bungee jumping, scuba diving, jet boating, river rafting. For scuba diving, we first practiced in a pool but the actual shooting was done in deep sea off the coast of Mauritius,” informs the actor.
“Nothing had made me apprehensive, but bungee jumping put me a little on guard. A couple of shots have been performed by a double, otherwise I, myself, have done all the other sports,” says Hrithik.
However this film not only showcases the actor participating in daring sports to add freshness to the film. Director Sooraj Barjatya refused to settle for the second best from Hrithik and prodded him to get the best out of him.
“Soorajji had done research on me. How I dressed, behaved, my body language, emoting, the entire gamut. He had a lot to show me to determine the best look and clothes for me,” recalls the actor. “It was really an honour to work with him.” Hrithik plays ‘Prem’ - a flamboyant young boy in love with life.
His other two projects are Koi Mil Gaya (home production) and Lakshya by Farhan Akhtar. All three films are very different in presentation, story line and concept.
After the debacle of his last three films, Hrithik has wizened up to choose carefully. Even if it means experimenting with braces or hairstyles; he would rather take the risk and come out a winner than drown floating. A trait that's been there since he was young.
“In college I was very short and had to look up to girls. But then I worked in the gym to overcome this shortfall,” Hrithik once said about his so - called shortcomings amongst others that he conquered.
He is approaching his career also with same determination and grit, so what if it means extra sweat to achieve the desired results. This is the reason that he’s not at all anxious and uneasy about his next release. “No apprehensions at all. Just a little hopeful that the film does well. I don’t sit to think about what may happen and waste time on that. Basically success or failure of a film is all about the film as a whole, and not the individuals. It’s the film that works”, he says when asked about his state of mind on his new releases like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon and Koi Mil Gaya.
If there’s anyone who shares Aamir Khan’s enthusiasm for perfectionism, then it’s Hrithik Roshan. Such was his penchant for perfection that it had driven the directors of his previous films over the edge. It is said that an over-indulgence in his keeping with his image had also caused substantial damage to the storyline and development of the other characters.
“We keep nothing but the best. We love it when a person is equally committed and passionate about his work. An actor has to be cautious, but at the end of the day he has to respect the director. It was pleasure working with Hrithik because he is so involved and knows his character so well. He was a thorough professional on the sets,” defends Rajat Barjatya, Rajshree Productions.
Positivity and authority of the director is required to make any film a success. In fact he attributes the same qualities to Sooraj Barjatya, whom he’s in awe of. But total surrender as an actor was visible only when he worked with his father, Rakesh Roshan in Kaho Naa Pyar Hai.
That rawness once again seems to be coming to the fore in his second film with his father, Koi Mil Gaya. Looks like Hrithik is hell-bent on repeating screen magic only with his father.
On the other hand, he goes all out to work on his looks - getting a crew-cut and putting on slight weight for Farhan Akhtar’s film centering on war. Time will tell us whether Hrithik Roshan is malleable material with other directors as well.
But this year, with three releases like Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Koi Mil Gaya and Lakshya, it’ll prove the star power of the phenomenon called Hrithik Roshan.