Hrithik Roshan Is Still Candid After Battling Emotional And Box Office Storms

Hrithik Roshan on the fun and games that life is all about. Jitesh Pillaai enjoys this ‘chicken soup for the evolving soul’ conversation one wintry evening.

- Jitesh Pillaai

How to encapsulate two decades of knowing someone? He was like the obedient student ready for his exams, textbook, compass box and pencils… all in place when I first met him on the sets of father Rakesh Roshan’s Koyla. Nothing’s changed since then. He’s always been diligent. I remember the first time he walked into the Filmfare office to check his transparencies and prints after Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, there was a frisson of excitement all around on seeing ‘the star’. But Hrithik Roshan was calm. The ‘star’ in question was more bothered about the correct colours and layouts being used for the cover story. He obsesses over his successes as much as he mulls over his failures. He’s disciplined and can be a royal pain in the event of a fast approaching deadline. But he delivers. Cover shoots with HR have been such a pleasure.

In between there was a lull in our relationship. Reasons I won’t get into. But things became okay soon after. He’s been in the eye of a several storms over and over again. A very public separation, plus some other upheavals that don’t beg repetition. Hopefully, Hrithik Roshan’s trial by fire is now truly over. In 15 years he’s scored several box-office smashers and has also had his share of pitfalls. Milestones and millstones define both his personal and professional career. That he’s been anointed as one of the most beautiful men in the world is a given, while never risking his reputation as an actor. He’s rock solid. On the cusp of the release of Kaabil, I mosey to his tastefully appointed sea facing apartment to know what makes him tick. His kids Hrehaan and Hridhaan repair to their room while I try and find out what makes HR still one of B-town’s biggest bankable stars and enduring actors. Excerpts from a freewheeling conversation…