Though actor Hrithik Roshan was given the label “nepo baby” on his entry into Bollywood, his father, actor and director Rakesh Roshan, made sure his son did not have an easy start. The director is gearing up for the re-release of his film Karan Arjun, in which Hrithik, at 21, served as an assistant director.
In an interview with News18, the Krrish director said, “He (Hrithik) wanted to join films. I said if you wanted to join films, then you become an assistant director. He had two choices - he can go abroad for further studies or be here. He chose to be here. He chose to be my assistant. He thought it would be a very rosy walk with me, but it was not. We used to have breakfast at the same table before going to shoot. I used to take my car, he had to come by bus. After pack-up, he used to return home by bus, and not with me. He never travelled with me on a flight for outdoor shooting. He travelled with the unit, stayed with the unit—with four people staying together. This is how I came into the industry. So, I thought he should know all these things."
“For four to five years I did that with him. This helps one to know what happens behind-the-camera. That’s why, when you see Hrithik shooting as an actor, he will never be late on the set," he added.
The father-son duo also worked together on Khudgarz, King Uncle, Khel and Koyla. Rakesh revealed his son rarely complained. "He only complained once; not complained, rather requested, when we were shooting in Nairobi for Khel. 'Papa, can I have a bath in your room? The water is dirty water in our bathroom'.”
In a recent Instagram post, Hrithik hailed the re-release of Karan Arjun. Under a video compilation of the film, he captioned, “That afternoon in 1992 (I think) when we were all sitting around dad's living room with the writers brainstorming on the screenplay for Karan Arjun, after another long spell of silence in the room (sometimes these silences lasted more than 10-15 mins) and suddenly dad went “ek idea aaya” (I have an idea)."
Hrithik recalled his excitement on hearing the idea for the film. “As a 17 year old experienced my first jolt of audience euphoria!!! My hair stood on ends, the room was applauding like in a movie theatre!”
Karan Arjun will make a return to the big screens on November 22.