Talk of the Town

Even before the release of the film, whenever some cinema halls showed the trailers of Hrithik Roshan's Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, the girls in the audience would whistle loudly each time the latest Bollywood hunk appeared on the screen. Since the film's release in mid-January, Kaho Naa....has been doing roaring business at the box-office. No wonder filmmaker Yash Chopra, the film's distributor for the Mumbai and overseas territories, says, "A star's born. The public has accepted him totally." The last time one saw female audiences going so crazy over a new actor was more than ten years ago when Aamir Khan arrived with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak. Trade pundists attach special significance to the Kaho Naa...'s success because the film was sandwiched between two mega releases of the mighty Khans - Aamir's Mela and Shah Rukh's Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani. But both the Khan-starrers failed to live up to expectations, and a novice stole the show. Hrithik - the first major star to arrive since Shah Rukh Khan burst into Bollywood with Deewana and Baazigar - is now the new hope of a film industry hit by frequent, colossal flops and rare hits.

But how is the object of all this adulation coping with his mint-fresh status as Bollywood's new superstar? Well, 26-year old Hrithik is feeling "embarrassed and awkward," and trying hard to remain the "average guy" he claims he is. The third generation of two premier film families (he has music composer Roshan and filmmaker J. Om Prakash as his grandfathers), Hrithik assisted his director father Rakesh Roshan for five years before the latter launched him in the glamorous, youthful and romantic thriller Kaho Naa.... "It's Dad's magic and hard work that has paid off," says Hrithik, "I was just hoping for pass marks. I didn't expect this to happen. I still haven't come around to enjoying the success of the film. I was waiting for the first week to finish before really letting my hair down, but then this happened to Dad." 'This' refers to the attempt on Rakesh Roshan's life in which the director had a miraculous escape. Hrithik is particularly uncomfortable at the idea of his newly-acquired drooling female fans. "It makes me very nervous. I'm basically a very shy person. My female fans expect to see me as Raj (the name of the character he plays on screen) when they see me. But I'm like any other guy.

Hailed as the most sensational dancer the industry has ever seen, Hrithik says he's actually "very awkward" on the floor. "If you ever see me in a disco, you'll realise I'm not a great dancer at all," he says. "I just rehearsed a lot with Farha Khan (the choreographer) for all my dance in Kaho Naa..."

Though filmmakers have started queuing up outside the actor's Juhu home, Hrithik insists he's going to judge films very carefully before accepting them. "I plan to do only three or four films at a time," he says. "After all, movies are all about creating moments. You need to take a break in between to recharge yourself. I also don't see myself in any particular image. I want to be an actor and fit myself into any and every role."

He already has some enviable projects lined up - a film with Karan Johar, Subhash Ghai's next movie called Yaadein, with Kareena Kapoor, a film each with Rahul Rawail and Raj Kanwar, Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Mission Kashmir, and Khalid Mohammed's Fiza. Hrithik realises the responsibility - of living up to Kaho Naa...'s success - that rests on his muscular shoulders. "It's scary," he says, "all I can do is strive for the best and be a good human being. After all, I'm just an ordinary guy trying to earn my bread and butter."

- Screen