Was Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan being melodramatic when he claimed that Kaabil, his new romantic thriller, altered him as a person?
Intense phrases such as “impactful journey”; “stirring” and “exploring creative spaces” rolled out of him with a dubious ease as he drummed up excitement about his January 25 release.
“Kaabil was an internal adventure which took a piece of your life with it. I am so happy to get a platform to interpret such a difficult role,” said Roshan in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
The father of two, 43, didn’t stop there. He claimed that the junkets for Kaabil, in which he plays a blind, doting husband Rohan Bhatnagar, reminded him of his unsure, coltish days in the run up to his debut feature in 2000.
“In my head, it’s Kaho Na … Pyaar Hai all over again. The similarity is not because both are love stories, but I feel like I have come a full circle. It’s almost like I am starting out again. I don’t know why I feel it,” said Roshan.
Perhaps, it’s because a lot rides on Kaabil. Roshan has been facing an underwhelming time at the box office with a slew of disasters such as his epic romance Mohenjodaro and the highly stylised action thriller, Bang Bang!. Kaabil could be his big ticket to underline his box office might.
Plus, this Sanjay Gupta-directed film is up against Shah Rukh Khan’s drama Raees. Translation? Roshan is up against the mother of all competitions. During his press junket in Dubai, the organisers requested everyone not to broach that sticky subject and Roshan was happy doling out soulful answers. Ask him if he dissected the reviews of his films, and immediately came some painful philosophising.
“Expectations are all good. The results that coincide with expectations becomes your parameters of success and helps you re-calibrate if it all goes wrong. My audience has allowed me to reflect, validate and re-direct me. I keep learning through it all,” said Roshan, who added that he ignores nasty reviewers and prefers to internalise constructive criticism. This actor, who’s glorified for his good looks, has a propensity to use fancy words. In an earlier interview, he had proudly said that he’s not a romantic, but he loves to romanticise everything. So, what did he mean by that?
“I don’t know what it means, but I liked the sound of it,” said Roshan as he laughed out loud at his joke.
Magic
“Let me try and articulate. In romance, it is an illusory world. You hear and think of things that don’t exist. I am like that in life. I believe there is much more than what meets the eye. I believe in magic and in projecting my world instead of just the way it is. I live in a beautiful place in my head despite the adversities and challenges,” said Roshan. His colleague and on-screen lover, actress Yami Gautam, who play his blind wife Supriya in Kaabil couldn’t agree more. Her interview was punctuated with an ode to the Roshans. If there was ever an exemplary conduct certificate to have been issued, the son of producer Rakesh Roshan creamed it.
“He’s such a big star. But he doesn’t carry any baggage with him. He’s not just one of the finest actors, but he’s an amazing human being. I can go on and on … But there’s no airs about him. He comes with the goal of being a better version of himself on the sets and he wants the best for everybody around him,” said Gautam, who was acted in hits including Badlapur and the award-winning comedy Vicky Donor. The admiration wasn’t one-sided. Roshan, who is known for his consummate dancing skills, recalls the filming day when he took tips on tango from Gautam for the song Mon Amour.
“For the first time in my life, we had to copy her steps while shooting for that song … She was doing a certain step with the kind of flair and was looking better at it. I was like: ‘can you please stop and do it for me ten times’ We danced all night,” said Roshan. In the film, they play a married couple who doesn’t let blindness define their existence. They lead a blissful life, until Gautam’s character is violated in her home. However, the film doesn’t carry any overt message about violence against women, said Roshan.
Plus, it doesn’t trivialise physical disability. Bollywood comedies are notorious for poking fun at the disabled. Any physical or mental disability is exaggerated and employed as a comic tool.
“Anybody who knows me knows that I won’t stand for trivialising blindness or speaking about it in a frivolous manner. We were extremely mindful of that,” said Roshan, who kept a DVD of Al Pacino’s American classic Scent Of A Woman in his trailer van during the filming.
Re-affirmation
“The only film that I ever watched for Kaabil is Scent Of A Woman … It was not for copying his mannerisms, but it was to gauge what was his premise that made his eyes go wide or narrow into slits … It was just a re-affirmation that I was doing the right thing,” said Roshan. It’s not just the acting that excited him. Director Gupta’s technical expertise is one of the highlights of Kaabil, said Roshan.
“He was an expert in technical aspects … there were times when I felt he had done a Tarantino style of filmmaking with all his camera placements and angles. His filmmaking is edgy and that made us feel safe. Our biggest coach was the director. If you have faith in him, you can trust him fully and you can explore the deepest of depths.”
Coming back to being philosophical, he adds that every film has its own destiny and no one can change that course. It also looked like his sunshine mood was contagious. Gautam claims it’s the first time in her career that she isn’t nervous about the release of a film.
“Everything about this film has happened in such an organic, seamless way … They have all emotionally cushioned me so much and that gave me the impetus to give more than my best. You will see all the hard-work and the brainstorming that went into Kaabil, once you watch it,” said Gautam.
Don’t Miss It!
Kaabil releases in the UAE on January 25.
Did you know?
Hrithik Roshan has never auditioned for any role, except for a film by director Shekhar Kapur. The audition went well, but the film got shelved.
Digital detox is on Roshan’s mind. Being addicted to social media can turn toxic, he says.
