Sep 15, 2004 06:05 PM
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(Updated Sep 15, 2004 06:05 PM)
The dazzling lights in a disco, the foot tapping drumbeats, the guitar strings that make you dance and Rajesh Roshan?s melodious compositions?Bingo!
That?s exactly how Bollywood welcomed the arrival of a new face in the year 1999. With his hazel eyes, bulging biceps, the dominating physique and the extraordinary dancing skill, Hrithik Roshan enchanted billions with his debut in the landmark movie, ?Kaho Naa?Pyaar Hai?.
Few Bollywood debuts have been as successful as Hrithik?s, the only comparable one being Hrishikesh Mukherjee?s ?Anand?, which introduced the legendary Rajesh Khanna as a cancer patient. KNPH was, nevertheless, just another typical Bollywood production, complete with a hero-heroine duo, a villain, some action with a pinch of humorous salts. What made this film a smash hit was Hrithik?s action and dancing, papa Rakesh Roshan?s direction, and uncle Rajesh Roshan?s music.
Hrithik instantly became the heartthrob of the country. We saw him again in Khalid Mohammed?s directorial debut, ?Fiza?, and again in Vidhu Vinod Chopra?s ?Mission Kashmir?. He played a terrorist in both the movies, and quite appreciably carried out the serious roles.
After that he suffered from a series of flops like Subhash Ghai?s ?Yaadein?. He bounced back in the year 2001 with Karan Johar?s ?Kabhi Khushi, Kabhi Gham? in a small but an active and effective role.
Last year, he appeared again in the film ?Koi?Mil Gaya?, which had an astronomical impact on the viewers. His most recent film, Farhan Akhtar?s ?Lakshya?, is in my opinion the best of all war films, including J.P.Dutta?s ?Border?.
Personally, I fell in love with Hrithik the moment I saw him as the stylish Raj Chopra in KNPH. I ate, slept and danced Hrithik. To this day, my Hrithik mania hasn?t faded one tiny bit, no matter how many flops he has given.
Hrithik was voted the finest actor of his generation by many. No other young actor (Bachchan Jr., Uday Chopra, Fardeen Khan, etc.) has been as successful. Many a times, he was also compared to Shahrukh Khan. What people don?t understand is that no such comparison is possible, both of them belong to completely different generations of Hindi Cinema.
His success is credited not only to his good looks but also to his acting prowess, as we all saw in ?Koi?Mil Gaya?. The character of a mentally ill boy was very beautifully portrayed by Hrithik, quite a challenging task few other actors are capable of achieving. The film, like KNPH, earned Hrithik lots of awards and more acclaim.
His next venture was ''Lakshya'', directed by Farhan Akhtar, who has achieved significantly with his urban comedy, ''Dil Cahata Hai''(2001). For both Hrithik and Farhan, ''Lakshya'' really hit the bull's eye. Both of them have brilliantly portrayed the transformation of Karan Shergill from an aimless carefree youth to a brave lieutnant.
One of the many plus points of this prolific actor are his dances. Prabhudeva is the only human on the Indian cinema screen, who dances better. Anyone who says different is calling me mad, especially after what we saw in ''Ek pal ka jeena'', and ''Main aisa kyon hoon...''
You gotta see it to believe it.
Dear Hrithik, If you are reading this, myself and all your fans are dying to see you back on the screen.
Love, Jaidev.
