25 Years of Hrithik Roshan

25 Years of Hrithik Roshan

This week has been a harbinger of nostalgia. Hrithik Rishan’s 51st birthday to 25 years of ‘Kaho Na Pyar Hai’ that marked his hysteria-soaked debut in Bollywood followed by an euphoric anticipation of the Netflix documentary, ‘The Roshans’, it is all inscribed to a legacy of three generations.

Back in 2000 January, the unparalleled success of ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’ and the launch of the youngest Roshan from the house of FilmKraft created a stir in the industry.

As Hrithik Roshan completes 25 years in the film industry, I recollect how he emerged as a phenomenon that time! The craze was unseen, it was like a wildfire that caught the frenzy of the youth. Probably the only actor to have that kind of instant super stardom in the past was Kumar Gaurav. 

The template of ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’ (KNPH) was nothing more than ordinary. It had the stamp of Rakesh Roshan cinematic sensibilities all over it, apart from the K Factor. In almost all his films, the protagonist avenges the assault meted out on him (or her) in a different avatar. Does the she-hero of ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’ (played by Rekha) ring a bell in your memory? Or the eponymous avengers of the 1995 reincarnation saga, ‘Karan Arjun’ – which, in fact, was Hrithik’s first dive into films. He assisted his dad and struck an off-screen chemistry with both Shahrukh and Salman Khan. That continued even in the 1997 revenge drama ‘Koyla’, where Shahrukh’s character gets a second life (and voice) to punish his life-long perpetrators.

KNPH starred Duggu in dual roles - a mild-mannered Rohit and a hunk Raj. Rohit is killed, Raj emerges to settle the score. He romanced Amisha Patel who had replaced Kareena Kapoor in the blockbuster. After a string of commercial successes, senior Roshan had mastered the art of curating super-hits. He knew what would work for film and what would not. KNPH had a solid soundtrack (by Rajesh Roshan), stunning cinematography and slick action to add on to its strengths apart from an absorbing, heart-tugging drama. The spell of staggering success continued for FilmKraft with ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ (2003), ‘Krrish’ (2006) and ‘Krrish 3’ (2013).

Duggu's instant stardom in 2000 made Shahrukh insecure when his Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani tanked and soon got buried under the monstrous success of ‘Kaho Na Pyaar Hai’. It was quite evident in the Sansui Awards of 2001 - when SRK got Best Actor Award for Mohabbatein and he was heard shouting aloud, " Chalo Rakesh Sir, kuchh toh mila!"

But that stardom was quick to fade down with duds like ‘Fiza’, ‘Mission Kashmir’ and spilling to the next year in 2001 with another disaster, ‘Yaadein’. Even the films with mile-long titles like ‘Naa Tum Jaano Na Hum’ with Esha Deol, ‘Aap Mujhe Achhe Lagne Lage’ with Amisha, ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge’ with Rani and Kareena and ‘Main Prem ki Deewani Hoon’ hadn’t worked in his favor. He was doomed for disaster. Some even compare him with the one film wonder – Gaurav. ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ revived him. Then there was no looking back. The abs of steel, the dance-like-a dervish moves and the endurance had entered into a payback time.

In the subsequent years, we saw Hrithik maturing and glossing his acumen as an actor with a variety of carefully-picked characters – a soldier rediscovering himself in the war-torn Kargil (in ‘Lakshya’), a historical emperor rooted in Mughal mystique (in ‘Jodha Akbar’), a paraplegic seeking euthanasia (in ‘Guzaarish’), a workaholic turning into a carefree freak in the company of a life-coach (in ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’) and treading the fire-course of the vintage Bollywood superstar, Vijay Dinanath Chauhan,  albeit but with a remarkable restrain in ‘Agneepath’.

His filmography strongly suggests a desire of quality over quantity. He takes flabby breaks between his films. But he hasn’t steered clear of masala entertainers – like ‘Dhoom’ in the past, ‘War’ and ‘Fighter’ in recent years, ensuring a healthy influx of moolah into his repertoire and revenues for the production house.

With ‘War 2’ waiting to unleash his masculine charm on the big screen again, I can’t wait to glean the insights anticipated from the upcoming Netflix documentary, The Roshans, which starts streaming from the 17th of January 2025.

 

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