Hrithik Roshan on his upcoming flicks which include the remake of Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Agneepath’ and the 'Guzaarish' and 'Kites' fiascoes.
With ‘Guzaarish’, you’ve set impractically high standards for yourself. How do you intend to live up to those standards?
There is room for ‘Dhoom’ and ‘Guzaarish’ type of films in my career. I just follow my heart. I played an autistic character in ‘Koi...Mil Gaya’. But it didn’t affect me the way ‘Guzaarish’ did. I can’t explain why! My next release is Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ which is completely different from ‘Guzaarish’. It’s a world filled with joy and fun.
Zoya is the only director besides your father with whom you’ve worked with more than once.
I really like Zoya and her perspective. She’s my first female director. She thinks out of the box. With Farhan and Zoya on the location, it was a fun fest. Farhan is the greatest mimic ever. He has a sharp mind. He has also written the dialogues of ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’. So he was able to help me with my thought process. Katrina Kaif is fantastic. Her energy and enthusiasm levels are superb. We all bonded beautifully.
Your next film is the remake of ‘Agneepath’ done to national award winning perfection by Amitabh Bachchan.
A lot of people think I am foolish to attempt a role that’s been done by Bachchan. I am not here to fill his shoes. It’s a script and character which have been considerably re-worked.
What did you feel about the response to ‘Guzaarish’?
I’ll be eternally indebted to Bhansali for giving me the role. We worked hard on it. Bhansali had the courage to make a film about a man who cannot walk or move in spite of a commercially unsuccessful film behind him. Some people may laugh at what we’ve done. I feel sorry for them. It’s easy to follow the herd, put an item song and six-pack. But that man really wanted to build a film of enduring aesthetic value.
What went wrong with ‘Kites’?
I thought it was time to break the language barrier in our cinema. But it was premature. I went with my gut feeling but we failed. It was Shabana Azmi who made me realise my mistake.
2010 had its share of controversy and scandals around you.
When you’re a celebrity, you’ve to fight certain battles because you’ve no choice in the matter. All the attack in the media helped me feel the pain of my character in ‘Guzaarish’ even better.
Your specially-abled friends saw ‘Guzaarish’. What did they think of it?
They really enjoyed it. They changed my life. I’ve a relationship with them for life. I owe them a lot. They’re happy about ‘Guzaarish’ and are pleased that there’s some awareness about them now. These are very bright minds. They were jubilant while watching the film. They give me so much love. A hug from them makes my day!
How have these new friends inspired you?
We spend out lives in mundane bickering. These guys helped me take away pettiness from my life. I want to give some of my joy back to them.
Hrithik Roshan displays an eye, used in making up a waxwork figure, during his visit to Madame Tussauds in central London - AP/PTI Photo. [International, England, United Kingdom, Britain, Hrithik Roshan, Bollywood film actor]
