Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan has completed 15 glorious years in the film industry. A career that began with Rakesh Roshan’s ‘Kaho Naa.. Pyaar Hai’ way back in 2000 has been filled with ups and downs, but Hrithik continues to be one of the most popular superstars in India.
When Hrithik made his debut 15 years ago, on this very day, expectations were low as Rakesh Roshan’s previous film Koyla starring Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit was a box office disaster. Hrithik’s first film wasn’t even the most awaited debut of the year, as Amitabh Bachchan’s son Abhishek and Raj Kapoor’s granddaughter Kareena were also set to make their debuts in the same year.
But what followed on January 14 will be etched in the memory of not just movie buffs, but an entire generation of teenagers.. Hrithik Roshan took the nation by storm. Kaho Na Pyaar Hai was running to packed houses all over India and Hrithik was hailed as a complete package; someone with charisma, screen presence, great looks, unbelievable dancing skills and to top it all a fantastic actor.
15 Years of Hrithik Roshan
He was on the cover of every magazine, every brand in India wanted him to endorse their product. Roshan was also compared to senior and experienced actors like Shahrukh and Salman Khan.
And the Hrithik phenomena didn’t end there. During the awards season in January 2001, Hrithik’s performance was the highlight of all award shows. Kaho Naa.. Pyaar Hai bagged more than 100 awards and Hrithik was one of the first actors in history to win both the Filmfare Best Debut and Best Actor award in the same year.
Unfortunately for him, the fall was almost as sudden as his rise. Fiza, Mission Kashmir, Yaadein and a few forgettable films flopped at the box office. Most of these films were signed before he turned ‘superstar’ with KNPH. With directors trying to cash-in on his stardom, scripts were rewritten at the last minute to extend his role.
He hit the lowest phase of his career when Sooraj Barjatya’s Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon flopped at the box office. In Hrithik’s own words, the lowest point of his career was when “a magazine which had my face on the cover read ‘Finished’”.
Having seen it all at the age of 29.. Hrithik proved his detractors wrong when his second home-production, Koi Mil Gaya went on to be the biggest blockbuster of 2003. The film also won him the Filmfare Best Actor Popular and Critics.
Today, as Hrithik celebrates 15 years of his career, he has delivered outstanding performances in films like Lakshya, Jodha Akbar, Krrish, Dhoom 2, Guzaarish, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara, Agneepath and Krrish 3. He has hardly put a foot wrong in the last 10 odd years with two rare failures in Kites, an experimental film and Guzaarish, which is widely considered to be one of his best performances.