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| Edited By: Nayandeep Rakshit |Source: DNA |Updated: Jan 10, 2017, 12:00 AM IST
Rakesh Roshan is extremely ‘happy and proud’ of his son Hrithik, who turns 43 this year. We caught up with Roshan Sr, to talk about his beta, read on..
Right from his childhood, the endearing thing about Duggu is that whatever he wanted to achieve, he would. If he took something up as a challenge, he make it happen.
He was a briiliant student and focussed in his studies. He was an introvert and a quiet kid. He was not a socialising boy at all. He would mostly be at home, playing his games. As a child, he never showed an interest in acting. He was not dancing/acting in front of the mirror. He was very fond of reading. He preferred being indoors after returning from school.
He was always closer to his mom. I was struggling to make my mark at the time, so I could not spend much time with my children. But I would make sure we went for holidays. I would join them just for about three or four days. Growing up may have been tough for them because I could not give them everything as I couldn’t afford it. But I made sure I brought them up really nicely.
After graduating from college, he was selected to learn special effects abroad. But he chose to be here and started working with me on Karan Arjun. As an assistant director. I was very strict with him. I made sure he would not sit with us for lunches, dinners. He would not travel in my car. Instead, he would travel with the other ADs, in taxis, autos or buses. We would be having breakfast on the same table at home, but on the set, he was not my son, but just another assistant. He would have to share a room with three other people and have food with them. That’s the way I thought he would learn much better. He assisted me on Karan Arjun, Khel, Koyla and then, I launched him in Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.
I have hit him once or twice. When he was seven or eight years old. We were staying on the 13th floor of a building. We had a big terrace and I had kept some soda bottles and beer bottles there. The kids were throwing all those bottles down and it could have hurt somebody. I lost my temper and out of anger, I gave him two or three slaps. But then, I realised after an hour that maybe, it was not the right way to deal with the situation. I should have just explained it to him. The other time, I hit him is a funny incident. Hrithik was too fussy about eating. And I would make mashed potatoes and other dishes, expecting him to eat and he wouldn’t. Once I got angry and I toppled the bowl on his head.
He has worked really hard. I failed as an actor. But like any parent, I wanted my son to live my dreams. Hrithik has done the things I could not do in my life. He’s a superstar, he is idolised by so many across the world. But he’s my son and he makes me a proud father. He has had his ups and downs in his career and I feel it should always happen because that’s how he will learn from his mistakes.
Hrithik trusts people too easily. But that should be the case, right? You need to trust people to work with them or be friends with them. But at times, he ends up getting hurt, but that’s also a big learning curve for him.
Hrithik is a good son, but he’s a better dad. He realises I was not there for him. So whenever he gets time, he’s with the kids. He’s either vacationing with them, going for a movie or just spending time with them. He takes them out on adventure trips. Maybe, it is an extension of what he wanted to do when he was their age. He teaches them to perform magic, and play the piano, and guitar. He takes them exercising and do athletic stuff like flipping and they would do it perfectly.”
