Hrithik Roshan is without a doubt one of today's biggest superstars in the Indian film fraternity. He started out with his first film Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, which went on to become the biggest blockbuster of the year and won him not only accolades for his performance but the best debutante actor and best actor awards as well.
Professional approach
Rightly labelled as the "Mass hysteria and madness creator" superstar, Hrithik has always painstakingly worked on his performances. Be it for the numerous get-ups in Dhoom 2 or his creatively different photo shoots, he has always exuded a professional approach in everything he does.
He is always known to get under the skin of the characters he portrays on screen. A little known fact is that Hrithik even gets photo shoots done with most of the film costumes (with various hairstyles) before he actually shoots for his film scenes. This goes back to his days even before his first film KNPH was to be his launch pad.
Memories
Bollywood celebrity photographer Dabboo Ratnani recounts his memories of the superstar who walked into his office one day for one of his first portfolio shoots.
"Hrithik Roshan is one of the few stars whose amazing confidence level (even before he became famous) was a jolt out of the blue," said Ratnani. "At our first meeting, he didn't confide in me that he was Raakesh Roshan's son.
"On first sight, I realised I had noticed him in my school. His only request was that he would only pay me the money after seeing the results.
"That's when he voiced his true feelings: 'Only if Dad likes the pictures can I convince him of launching me in a movie'," he said.
It was raining cats and dogs on the agreed photo shoot day. Ratnani who always preferred to shoot in the wilderness of the outdoors contemplated cancelling the shoot. Roshan junior was insistent and didn't want to let go. The only option available was a dilapidated apartment which had a leaking roof top.
'I knew'
"The minute I switched on the light and looked through the camera lens, I knew Hrithik would be a big star. I had shot numerous portfolios earlier; I had great trouble giving instructions to budding models to give the right feeling for the shot.
"And here I had a rank newcomer who gave me 10 options for every wish of mine. He looked like a dream in front of the camera. A raw animal magnetism oozed from every pore despite the glumness of the shabby room we were shooting in. Once we started the shoot, I could see his eyes lighting up. He was totally energised and posed like a true Adonis in a hypnotic trance. He had an instant love relation with the camera. My gut feeling told me that here was a star."
Papa Roshan was impressed with the Ratnani's portfolio. A couple of years later, Hrithik was launched with Kaho Na Pyar Hai. The rest is history. A star was born.
