Hrithik Roshan interview

Kids love him. If Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai had them aping his dance steps, particularly the hand movements in the Ek pal ka jeena number, his transition from Forrest Gump to a capeless Superman in Koi Mil Gaya has only won him a following among the juniors. “I love children,” announces Hrithik Roshan. So it’s a mutual admiration society. “In fact, I meet nearly 20-30 kids every day,” he says. “Every morning there is a bunch of them outside my house. Or there are kids of my friends or relatives who come over home to meet me.”

He is also pleasantly puzzled that kids should gravitate towards him with his debut flick three years ago. “I don’t think Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was a children’s film at all,” he muses. “So it was surprising that they should like it so much. Actually, it’s quite flattering.” This time round, Koi Mil Gaya had every reason to appeal to the minor community. It had kids, special effects, an ET-like creature and a superhero with a kid’s psyche. “But I never thought of Koi Mil Gaya has a children’s film,” admits Hrithik. “For me the challenge was in playing a mentally-challenged character.” In fact, he was reportedly so nervous playing the character that he almost shied away from initially seeing the rush print. “I hadn’t done anything like this before.” Now that the film has hit a century at the box office, his efforts have paid off handsomely. So what about a sequel? “As much as I would love it,” says Hrithik and laughs, “I don’t think that’s going to happen. Because dad wouldn’t want to do it all over again.” But playing a comic book hero would be most welcome. “Yeah, it would be fun to play one of those superheroes.”

However, for a star basking in the glory of the second biggest solo hit of his career, Hrithik Roshan hasn’t signed any film in recent months. “I haven’t signed any film after Lakshya,” he says. “That film is 30 per cent complete. Once Lakshya is over, I will go on a two week vacation out of the country. Then I will be back to read scripts and listen to narrations.”

Hopefully, while Lakshya is a war flick, he will be back to doing something that will have children cheering and applauding. Like he says, “I love kids. I am quite concerned about their future. I certainly don’t want to disappoint them.”

Tags: Koi Mil Gaya, Ek pal ka jeena, Forrest Gump, Lakshya, Dhoom2