Source: Daily Bhaskar
Date: July 5, 2012
There is a scene in Karan Johar’s ‘Agneepath’ where a totally-doused-with-blood lead hero has been beautifully shot running in slow-motion towards his enemies. There are ample reasons to why you sat in complete awe while the sequence unfolded, but the prime reason is a certain phenomenon known as Hrithik Roshan. The raw intensity in his eyes, the fury and vengeance on his face, and the brawn in his arms while he trails in that particular sequence is, in a nutshell, no feat of an ordinary actor. We would not have set our hearts on doing a prose on somebody devoid of celestial charms. Hrithik deserves the world on his palm, let alone a flawed feature. Here’s our tribute to the superstar, the only we say, at par with his much-celebrated Hollywood counterparts.
When he burst on the screen with the advent of the millennium, shouting, with his ripped guts intact, “Aiey Mere Dil Tu Gaaye Ja”, we knew somebody had arrived, somebody substantial, somebody who’d go a long way. He was a ‘prepared’ debutant, unlike the best of them. He had the looks, the moves, the body, and yes, he could act too. Adolescent girls throughout the nation heaved a sigh after the exaltation. Another, heavier sigh when they came to know that the guy they had just begun infatuating about is already seeing somebody. That did not harm his fan-base, though. Hrithik was not to be ignored. His first feature had broken all previous records set in Bollywood, and by several notches of magnitude. The future seemed bright as the sun in the noon.
Hrithik was not a flash in the pan, we are familiar now. He hailed from a Bollywood family, but the family desperately needed a successful scion then. The scion fulfilled all the promises with flawless finesse.
Now, regarding why we make such strong claims about a guy who hasn’t seen as many ups in the career as the traditionally glorified Khans; well, he is a breed apart. While Salman and Shah Rukh seldom go out of their comfort zones, Aamir is also excruciatingly cautious while signing on a movie project. Hrithik begs to differ. He does a ‘Guzaarish’ for every ‘Krrish’. His Greek-God physique would’ve been enviable for even those we draw the term from. He acts like a dream. He doesn’t put a foot wrong when he takes to the dance floor, invoking the most sophisticated trying to whistle, trying to join him. Pity, he cannot, Roshan is a superhuman while gyrating. He looks like the shadow of the blessed Himself too; he has got some intimidating features, truly out of the Bible. In fact, many a people had even speculated that he would be the best bet to play Jesus in a Hollywood adaptation, if ever the producers were serious. With his facial growth and bronze looks in ‘Kites’, he looked every bit of the redeemer. And we won’t be taken to the hangman if we compared him to the style icons of the west. With a physique as that, he makes any and everything look good once it wraps itself around him, even if it’s a rugged rug.
With this year’s first major blockbuster, ‘Agneepath’, Hrithik also eased himself to a trendy ‘100-crore-club’ in Bollywood. The movie raked in a magnanimous amount at the Box-Office, to the tune of Rs. 125 crores, his actions shouted a lot louder than the words of the boastful beings. His likeable persona is another trait that wins him a fan-following effortlessly. That has resulted in his being one of the few Bollywood superstars that have been immortalized in wax in the world-renowned Madame Tussauds museum in London. He is there because he sells well.
Hrithik generally deserves a lot more numbers than he garners, but that trend has also experienced a welcome change with ‘Agneepath’. His sequel to ‘Krrish’ is highly anticipated and auspicious portents could already be witnessed. We expect it to be a monstrous hit.
Some years ago, on a sunny morning, a leading newspaper ran a full-page report of Hrithik being chosen as the newest, and the first Indian, James Bond, when the MGM Studios had announced the discontinuation of Pierce Brosnan’s services to be the super spy for their next. They observed justificatory points too on why he had been chosen. Apart from the delight, our reaction was akin to that of the main protagonist’s in Paulo Coelho’s ‘the Alchemist’, we believed it to be ‘Makthub’, an Arabic term which means ‘it’s written’. Alas, it was the 1st of April, and the syndicate had made fools out of us. Deep within, we felt it had been a bad joke since it was so believable. For Hrithik is fit to be preached, not toyed with.