Source: Anandabazar Patrika Translated by: Aratrika Date: October 2014 He has the features of a Greek God. But who knew that very ‘God’ would have tears in his eyes during the interview? Indraneel Roy face to face with Hrithik Roshan in Mumbai. 3-4 support staff surround him in the lobby. In the midst of this, he enters the ballroom of J.W. Marriott humming a tune – and immediately proceeds towards the food. ‘I’m ravenous man. Going to gorge today.’ And what is the evidence of this gorging? One piece of fish, one helping of paneer bhurji and one roti. Hrithik takes off his cap, wipes his hands with a napkin and sits down for an unadulterated chat. I heard that you returned home in an auto at 3 a.m? (Laughs) Yes. Who told you? Your staff. Ha ha ha. Yeah, absolutely true. I was working at Filmcity. While I was leaving, my car met with an accident. I stopped an auto and got in. Apparently the auto driver didn’t recognize you. Can you beat that? The entire way, he didn’t recognize me. At first I thought that since it was dark where I got up, he didn’t see me. All he said was, ‘Baith jao sir’. Then when he stopped in front of my house, I asked him ‘Bhaiyya, kitna hua?’ He still didn’t recognize me. I found it hilarious that he doesn’t know who I am. (laughs) I thought to myself, ‘Man, are you really Hrithik Roshan?’ Damn, 15 years of stardom down the drain. I even took off my cap while paying him. Even that didn’t work. He just said ‘Thank you saab’ and went away. (laughs) Man, I’ll never forget this moment in my life. Ha ha ha. So tell me, how are you? You know, you haven’t been to Kolkata in a long time. Yeah, you’re right. It’s been quite a few years since I’ve been to Kolkata. Bang Bang is a Durga Puja release, isn’t it? Yes, it’s releasing on Ashtami. In fact, I told the producers, Fox Star Studios, that considering the excitement people of Kolkata have during the Puja, we’re going to get good collections from Bengal. (laughs) My grandmother was Bengali. I’ll have goddess Durga’s blessings with me. Who’s going to stop us? But the film almost got stalled. It took almost 2 and half years to complete. Yes, two and half years. At first I thought I’d get it over with in 4-5 months. Then obstacles kept appearing one after the other. But I must say that travelled a lot thanks to the film. Which location did you like the most? Santorini in Greece. Naturally. You’re also called a Greek God? What’s the point of calling me a Greek God? Just like the auto driver, nobody recognized me in Greece. Ha ha ha. But yes, it’s an unbelievably beautiful city. If I ever settle down anywhere outside India, it will have to be Santorini. The place is strangely similar to the way I see life. And anyway, I love to travel. Not just geographically. There’s a travel of the mind too. I undertake this mental travel quite often these days. Hrithik, may I ask you some personal questions? Please do. Today, I want to talk about it. Will tell me about the time just before you had the operation for your blood clot? You’ve come to my house, I was in the upper flat. On the treadmill. I was supposed to take a flight to Prague that night itself for the Bang Bang schedule. Night flight? Yes. Then? I already had a terrible headache. But while walking on the treadmill, I noticed the pain gradually increasing. I wasn’t getting the correct coordination in my limbs. I took a piece of paper and noticed that my handwriting had changed. I could barely write. I immediately called up the doctor. I told him I’m not feeling right but I have a flight to catch in eight hours. I think I should get another scan done. Where was your father or your other family members then? At home. What did the scan show? It showed that the left side of my brain was completely filled with blood. There was enough to shift my brain to the right. The doctor said that I must cancel my trip, else I’ll die the moment the plane takes off. What are you saying? Yes Indraneel, I am but saying the truth. The doctor said that the air pressure difference during the plane take off would immediately send me into a coma. And then death. The condition of your family…. Everyone was silent. My father was stunned. He wasn’t speaking at all. I was the son, couldn’t even show my nervousness. I controlled myself and called the doctors again. What do you mean, doctors? I called five doctors. Four-five months prior to this incident itself I had researched on the internet about the possible reasons for my headache, symptoms and emergencies. I’d learnt a lot. That’s why I was showing off my acquired knowledge even while talking to the doctors. I realised that four of the doctors were going along with my words, Yes, we can do what you are saying Mr. Roshan.’ I realised that to them, I am still Hrithik, not a patient. Then I called the fifth one. What did he say? (faint smile) I tried to explain things to him as well. But he didn’t respond like the others. He heard me out and then said, ‘Just shut up. I am the doctor, Hrithik. We need to operate right now or we will lose you,’ Bas, I knew he was the man. I understood that atleast his hands won’t shake while inserting a scalpel into my brain. That’s it, I immediately left the house. Inside the OT within 30 minutes. I asked the nurses, ‘What’s your favourite song?’ They said ‘Uthe sabke kadam…’. I said, ‘Sing that song for me.’ They began to sing. After that I remember nothing. My God. What were the symptoms of the pain you had? Symptoms? May no one ever face these ‘symptoms’. Since almost a year before my operation, I begun disliking any sort of sound. All sounds caused discomfort, I couldn’t concentrate on anything. And the most dangerous part of it, even when the room was silent, I felt as though someone was hitting me inside my head. Silence had become deafening. It was so painful, but I couldn’t even cry. Crying just increased the pain. And mind it, all this was in the middle of my deepest personal crisis. Even if I felt terrible, I could not cry….. I couldn’t even talk for long. And in front of me I could see my personal life in its deepest crisis. What a moment in life. Seriously man. But I had the pain even seven months after the operation. I kept feeling as though God has kept me confined within a box. No shooting, just sitting at home. How did you come out of this? This is a rather strange story. You’ll see when you face such a situation, the first question you’ll ask yourself is, ‘Why me? I am not a bad person. Why did this happen to me?’ These are the questions that kept coming to my mind. And then? Then I would sit at home and watch Discovery and National Geographic. I realised that God has created it in such a way that life is supposed to be unfair. Is it fair, that a tiger eats her calf in front of her and the mother can’t do anything about it? And how much time does she get to mourn? 30 seconds, at the most. At the 31st second, the mother has to start walking with her herd again. What can be more unfair than this? I would see these and get inspired. Later in that very program I would see the mother resting in peaceful shade. She’s contentedly grazing there. I would see that God has also provided her with bounty and comfort. These stories would inspire me. I heard that even after the operation you performed the stunts of Bang Bang on your own? Yes, the first day of shooting after the operation was in Shimla. I went and saw that all the stunts had been completed with my body double. I felt bad. Then I told my director, Siddharth Anand, that I want to do these myself. And I did so, one by one. Now when I see it, I wonder what a huge risk I took. But trust me, if I did not take that risk you would have found me still sitting in that Juhu flat living only on my negative thoughts. You mean the stunts helped you? Certainly. That was me wrestling with my fear. After those stunts I realised that no matter what dangers I have to face in my life, I will look them in the eye and fight them. When the doctor told me about the operation, I believed I wouldn’t survive. But that’s the journey of life. You really thought you would die? I did. I thought, I only have a few hours left. I returned to life only after fighting through this very fear. Now when I see people talking about ‘Bang Bang’, I keep think that this was the interval point of my life. And I am going to ensure that the second half of my life is the better half. This is a very clever answer Hrithik! Not clever. True. You performed so many stunts. You came back to life. Yet when you return home, there's nobody to share it with. I did share. I shared it all with my family, my staff, my closest friends. Hrithik, as a journalist I have to ask you this. I was talking about Sussanne. In the middle of your greatest trial in life you did not have her by your side. (a little absent-minded) True. (silence) I am sorry for asking this.... No, it's okay (faint smile). Abhi kya kare? Some things happen in life for which there are no explanations. This is something like that. I am searching for the answers to so many questions that have come up as a result of this situation. Someday God will give me the answers. But as I said, I don’t ask ‘Why me?’ anymore. God has given me the answer to that. And what’s the answer? There’s only one. God is testing you with misery because He knows you can take it, that you can come out of it. And He wants me to be better. He wants me to be the best. I wish I could write a book on all these chapters of my life. It’ll be a bestseller. I don’t know about that. All I know is, the second half of my life will surely be the better half.