Hrithik Roshan
Hritik Rakesh Nagrath, known professionally as Hrithik Roshan, is an Indian actor who works in Hindi cinema. Referred as the millenial superstar, he has portrayed a variety of characters and is known for his dancing skills. One of the highest-paid actors in India, he has won many awards, including six Filmfare Awards, of which four were for Best Actor. Starting from 2012, he has appeared in Forbes India Celebrity 100 several times based on his income and popularity.
Roshan has frequently collaborated with his father, Rakesh Roshan. He made brief appearances as a child actor in several films in the 1980s and later worked as an assistant director on four of his father's films. His first leading role was in the box-office success Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, for which he received several awards. Performances in the 2000 terrorism drama Fiza and the 2001 ensemble family drama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham consolidated his reputation but were followed by several poorly received films.
The 2003 science fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya, for which Roshan won two Filmfare Awards, was a turning point in his film career; he later starred as the titular superhero in its sequels: Krrish and Krrish 3. He earned praise for his portrayal of an army officer in Lakshya, a thief in Dhoom 2, Mughal emperor Akbar in Jodhaa Akbar and a quadriplegic in Guzaarish. He achieved further commercial success with the comedy-drama Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, the revenge drama Agneepath, the biopic Super 30, and action films directed by Siddharth Anand—Bang Bang!, War, and Fighter.
Roshan has also performed on stage and debuted on television with the dance reality show Just Dance. As a judge on the latter, he became the highest-paid film star on Indian television at that time. He is involved with a number of humanitarian causes, endorses several brands and products and has launched his own clothing line. Roshan was married for fourteen years to Sussanne Khan, with whom he has two children.
Early life and background
Roshan was born on 10 January 1974 in Bombay, in Maharashtra, India into the Roshan family, prominent in Hindi cinema. Roshan is of Punjabi and Bengali descent. Hrithik's paternal grandmother, Ira Nagrath was a Bengali Brahmin from Kolkata and a singer by profession, while his paternal grandfather, Roshanlal Nagrath was from Gujranwala and a music director by profession. Hritik's father is film director, Rakesh Roshan; while his mother, Pinkie, is the daughter of producer and director, J. Om Prakash. His maternal grandmother was the sister-in-law of director, Mohan Kumar, himself the uncle of model-turned-actor, Deepak Parashar. His uncle, Rajesh Roshan, is a music composer whose daughter, Pashmina Roshan, is an actress.Roshan is informally referred to as Duggu, a nickname given by his grandmother Ira, who reversed his father Rakesh's nickname Guddu. Roshan has an older sister, Sunaina, and was educated at the Bombay Scottish School in Mahim. Roshan belongs to a Hindu family, though he considers himself more spiritual than religious.
Roshan felt isolated as a child; he was born with an extra thumb fused to the one on his right hand, which led some of his peers to avoid him. He has stammered since the age of six; this caused him problems at school, and he feigned injury and illness to avoid oral tests. He was helped by daily speech therapy. His father has said that Roshan would lock himself up in the bathroom to pronounce sentences fluently.
Roshan's grandfather, Prakash first brought him on-screen at the age of six in the film Aasha ; he danced in a song enacted by Jeetendra, for which Prakash paid him 100. Roshan made uncredited appearances in various family film projects, including his father's production Aap Ke Deewane. In Prakash's Aas Paas, he appeared in the song "Shehar Main Charcha Hai". The actor's only speaking role during this period came when he was 12; he was seen as Govinda, the title character's adopted son, in Prakash's Bhagwaan Dada. Roshan decided that he wanted to be a full-time actor, but his father insisted that he focus on his studies. In his early 20s, he was diagnosed with scoliosis that would not allow him to dance or perform stunts. Initially devastated, he eventually decided to become an actor anyway. Around a year after the diagnosis, he took a chance by jogging on a beach when he was caught in a downpour. There was no pain, and becoming more confident, he was able to increase his pace with no adverse effects. Roshan sees this day as "the turning point of life."
Roshan attended the Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University in Churchgate, graduating with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, where he also took part in dance and music festivals while studying. Roshan assisted his father on four films—Khudgarz, King Uncle , Karan Arjun and Koyla —while also sweeping the floor and making tea for the crew. After pack-up, Roshan would enact Shah Rukh Khan's scenes from Koyla and film himself to make a judgement about his performance as an actor. While he assisted his father, he studied acting under Kishore Namit Kapoor.
Film career
2000–2002: Breakthrough and setback
Roshan was originally scheduled to make his screen debut as a lead actor opposite Preity Zinta in a cancelled film – Shekhar Kapur's Tara Rum Pum Pum. Instead, he starred in his father's romantic drama Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai opposite another debutante, Ameesha Patel. Roshan played dual roles: Rohit, an aspiring singer brutally killed after witnessing a murder, and Raj, an NRI who falls in love with Patel's character. To prepare, he trained with the actor Salman Khan to bulk up physically, worked to improve his diction and took lessons in acting, singing, dancing, fencing and riding. With global revenues of, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai became one of the highest-grossing Indian films of 2000. His performance was acclaimed by critics; Suggu Kanchana on Rediff.com wrote, " is good. The ease and style with which he dances, emotes, fights, makes one forget this is his debut film... He seems to be the most promising among the recent lot of star sons we have been subjected to." For the role, Roshan received Best Male Debut and Best Actor Awards at the annual Filmfare Awards, IIFA Awards, and Zee Cine Awards. He became the only actor to win both Filmfare Best Debut and Best Actor and IIFA Best Debut and Best Actor awards for the same film. The film cemented Roshan's status as a leading actor in Bollywood, propelling him to superstardom. The actor found life hard after his overnight success, particularly the demands on his time.In his second release, Khalid Mohammed's crime drama Fiza, Roshan played Amaan, an innocent Muslim boy who becomes a terrorist after the 1992–93 Bombay riots. Roshan took on the role to explore new dimensions of his acting. Co-starring Karisma Kapoor and Jaya Bachchan, Fiza was moderately successful at the box office, and Roshan's performance earned him a second nomination for Best Actor at the Filmfare ceremony. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama praised him as the production's prime asset, commending his "body language, his diction, his expressions, his overall persona." Roshan next appeared in Vidhu Vinod Chopra's action drama Mission Kashmir alongside Sanjay Dutt, Preity Zinta, and Jackie Shroff. Set in the valley of Kashmir during the Indo-Pakistani conflicts, the film addressed the topics of terrorism and crime, and was a financial success. Roshan was drawn to his complex role of a young man traumatised by the discovery that his adoptive father had been responsible for the death of his entire birth family. In Adarsh's opinion, Roshan "brightens up the screen with his magnetic presence. His body language, coupled with his expressions, is sure to win him plaudits."
In 2001, Roshan appeared in two films, the first of which was Subhash Ghai's Yaadein, a romantic drama which paired him with Kareena Kapoor and reunited him with Shroff. Although highly anticipated, Yaadein was reviled by critics; in The Hindu, Ziya Us Salam criticised the director for relying on Roshan's commercial appeal. Roshan next had a supporting role in Karan Johar's ensemble melodrama Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Kareena Kapoor. He was cast as Rohan Raichand—the younger son of Bachchan's character who plots to reunite him with his adopted son —after Johar had watched a rough cut of Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham finished as India's highest-grossing film of the year, and among the most successful Bollywood films in the overseas market, earning worldwide. Writing for Rediff.com, Anjum N described Roshan as "the surprise scene-stealer", praising him for holding his own against the established actors. Roshan received a nomination for the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance.
In 2002 Vikram Bhatt's romance Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage reunited him with Ameesha Patel but failed at the box office, as did Arjun Sablok's romance Na Tum Jaano Na Hum, in which he co-starred with Saif Ali Khan and Esha Deol. Roshan's final role that year was in a Yash Raj Films production, the high-profile Mujhse Dosti Karoge! co-starring Rani Mukerji and Kareena Kapoor. The romantic comedy was heavily promoted before its release and made money internationally, though not in India. In another commercial failure, Sooraj R. Barjatya's Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon, Roshan was cast alongside Kareena Kapoor for the fourth time, and Abhishek Bachchan. The press labelled Roshan a "one-trick pony" and suggested that the failure of these films would end his career.