Says Hrithik Roshan Hrithik Roshan's back in the studios once more. Looking hotter than ever, happier than we've seen him for a long time.
For starters, Dugu's sporting a sexy lean `n' clean look, having lost five whopping kilos after dancing his way across the UK, US and Canada over a long 45-day schedule.
"There was major tension a week before I left," he tells me. "Everything piled up together--dubbing for Mujhse Dosti Karoge, the photo-shoot for Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon and promotions for Na Tum Jaano Na Hum. I was working round the clock."But all the stress was washed away with the first show in Atlanta. There's just one word to describe the experience-- illusion. The entire one-and-a-half month span was a dream. The crowd response was astounding. They made you out to be some kind of God. It's very easy to get affected by all this and I had to keep pinching myself so that I wouldn't get carried away."
And his co-stars made it even better. "It took me about a week to gel with my co-stars on the shows," Hrithik confides. "But once Arjun (Rampal), Aftab (Shivdasani) and I understood each other, we really had a ball. Arjun is phenomenal on stage and I made it a point to see his act. He used to inspire me a lot."
But it wasn't all fun `n' dance, he points out, doing 19 shows and constantly jetting from one city and one time-zone to the other. They were a very hectic six weeks," he says, "and to top it all, I can't sleep on flights. I was like a zombie throughout.
"The only time I relaxed was when we had a couple of days off between shows. During one of those breaks, Sussanne and I took time off for a honeymoon. Would you believe it, in our six years of courtship and two years of marriage, this was the first time it was just the two of us together for so many days."
His eyes sprakle as he talks about their unexpected holiday. "We took a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles and made our way to a small hotel in Santa Monica which has these wonderful chateaus??? by the beach. The place is very popular with Hollywood stars who want to get away from the crowds.
"In the morning, Sussanne and I used to get into our shorts and cycle to the gym. It's said to be the biggest in the world and I freaked out in it. We went shopping in the malls too and no one recognised us. It was great fun. Those three days were sheer bliss. They made up for all the pain I've ever gone through."
Hrithik now has a faraway look in his eyes and it is a little reluctantly that I bring him back to India and hard reality by asking him about his latest release, Mujhse Dosti Karoge. Hrithik calls it his best work experience ever. He enthuses, "The Swiss schedule was memorable. Uday Chopra, Bebo (Kareena Kapoor), Rani (Mukherjee), her mom (who's a complete delight) and I had a ball out there." This is the first time he has worked in a two-heroine film, right? "Yes--the more co-stars, the more fun!" he laughs.
He's in pretty good spirits for a man with a string of flops-- how come, I ask. "Well, all my films can't be big hits," he retorts. My latest, Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, wasn't a bad film at all. It kept everyone happy; no one lost any money."
And, he says, suprisingly, the offers still keep coming. "It's raining films in my backyard now," he laughs. "All the film- makers who were hesitant about approaching me after Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai are more confident of coming to me now. Earlier they thought I couldn't spare them the time; now they feel I can."
In spite of all the talk about his career woes, Hrithik is happy enough with the media, too:
"Most people in the media have supported me from the time I stepped into films. And they're still really nice to me. I've been praised in reviews more than ever before. Yes, there are some who seem to be against me, but that's okay."
And as far as his co-stars are concerned, he says, "They're all too aware of the cycle of ups and downs in this business. They've been through what I'm going through now. The show goes on. Nothing changes."
On the family front, his father, Rakesh Roshan, mom Pinky and wife Sussanne have grown up in the industry and take his fluctuating fortunes in their stride. "The only two to be really affected," reveals Hrithik, are my Dadi and Nani. They are old, sensitive and affectionate. They don't understand this game and get very upset when the media writes nasty things about their precious Dugu. And they make all these faces while reading such reports!" Of course, he's at the receiving end of loads of advice from all quarters. But he takes his own decisions, he says."I listen to all viewpoints but what I think is right is right and what I think is wrong is wrong," he states stubbornly. Does he regret his choice of films? He shrugs, "I don't stop and reflect. I prefer to look ahead and follow my instincts. Most of the time my heart rules me, but I've started listening to my head too. My only problem is that I can't displease anyone or say no. I'm learning slowly, though."
He continues, "I don't know about other actors but I have to feel an emotion honestly to express it. I don't think I could do a Fiza right now because I'm far happier today than when I did Fiza. At that time I felt like Aman. I felt loneliness, I could identify with his struggle, the anger, the pain. At the time, I ewas trying to establish myself, I was experiencing the same frustrations that Aman was on the screen. Today, I'm doing a whole load of happy films. I'd be a total misfit if a film-maker wanted to cast me as Devdas right now!"
And he grins happily, "Right now, I'm having the time of my life. I've got more than I ever wanted. I've bought a house, I'm doing one shift a day and I'm working with the best banners in the industry. I have enough time for interviews and my fans. It's going to be only one film at a time from now on."
There are so many things I'm dying to do, he says animatedly. "I want to learn scuba diving and tap dancing. I want to jump off a cliff with a parachute, I want to learn to play the guitar and mouth organ, I want to master at least one instrument. And as an actor, I want to achieve the respect that some of our great seniors have achieved over the years."
What if, God forbid, his acting career plummets? "Nothing lasts forever," he states philosophically. "I'll do something else connected with films. Alongside, I'll fulfil my other ambitions. I have to learn tap dancing before I'm 50!"