The Roshans review: An intricately designed insider look into the success stories of the Roshans!

The Roshans review: An intricately designed insider look into the success stories of the Roshans!

‘The Roshans’ - 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 the euphoric Netflix documentary, ‘The Roshans’, it is all inscribed to a legacy of three generations.

The Roshans review

The opening shot of the 4-part documentary series crafted by Shashi Ranjan shows a thoughtful and jubilant Hrithik Roshan playing his grandpa’s song and listening to his voice for the very first time (Roshan Lal Nagrath) in a vintage tape recorder. It is told that the rare archival footage was found only during the filming f the film.

What follows is a free flow of nostalgia, taking us back to the origins of the legendary Khandaan – the inception of one of the greatest and most underrated music directors of Hindi film industry. Partly recreated and aided with visuals of the golden era (black and white), Ranjan’s documentary is effervescent and powered with a momentum that glues you the storytelling.

The stories are divided wisely into four episodes – dedicated to Roshan Lal, Rakesh, Rajesh and Hrithik Roshan, but they are not mutually exclusive. Roshan’s soul stirring compositions and iconic collaborations in “Rahe Na Rahe Hum” sets the tempo of the narrative. Rajesh Roshan’s immaculate style but a reserved demeanor is sufficiently engraved in his memorable melodies that get a revive in ‘Thoda Hai Thode Ki Zaroorat Hai’.

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.

Roshans reminds us of the gargantuan success of Karan Arjun but also the skepticism of Shah Rukh Khan for this project. He admits he could never access the soul of the film and the fundas of reincarnation, while reminiscing of the playfulness, frivolity and naughtiness of himself and Salman, which dismayed Rakesh ji and Pinki Roshan.

The show offers a lot of insightful commentaries and the reverences of the industry’s influential figures across generations – from Shatrughan Sinha, Subhash Ghai, Javed Akhtar, Honey Irani, Asha Bhosle, o Suman Kalyanpur…to Farah Kham, Farhan, Abhishek and Zoya. All of them conform to one truth – that Rakesh is a man of convictions, He never shied to challenge himself as a filmmaker, he always pushed the envelope. He had incredible belief in himself. When people dissuaded him for ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ and even ‘Krrish’, he moved ahead – he knew that the concept of superhero steeped in Indian tradition would work for the masses.

What is striking here is the raw and genuine flush of emotions as the Roshans narrate their struggle, dilemmas and hardships that went into carving the success stories. My throat lumped when I heard Rakesh ji’s recounting his days as a young boy who lost his father at a tender teen, as an actor, then as a producer. You can feel the choke in his throat as well. Hrithik’s reflections on his father and Chacha also strikes a chord in your heart.

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).

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 favour. 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 (‘Jodha Akbar’), a paraplegic seeking euthanasia (‘Guzaarish’), a workaholic turning into a carefree freak in the company of a life-coach (‘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 recency, ensuring a healthy influx of moolah into his repertoire and revenues for the production house.

The Roshans is however very localized to Filmkraft’s ventures. It doesn’t offer us the information around the films outside of his home production. Similarly, his private life and marital turmoil is conveniently cornered. In one scene, we see Hridaan and Hrehaan exercising with Hrithik and Rakesh Roshan. That’s it.

 

---

---