Biography



Hrithik Roshan

Date of Birth

10 January 1974, Mumbai, India





Birth Name

Hrithik Rakesh Nagrath





Nickname

Duggu

Bolunath





Height

5' 11½" (1.82 m)





Spouse

Sussanne Khan (26 October 1978 - present) 2 children





Trivia

Son of Rakesh Roshan.



Was catapulted overnight to instant superstardom with debut hit film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000).



Has two thumbs on his right hand that are grown together.



Has a sister called Sunaina.



Has been called the Indian Sylvester Stallone, Brad Pitt and Michael Jackson rolled into one person.



Made stubbles fashionable in India.



Excellent dancer.



The country wide hysteria following the release of his first film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000) is known as hrithikmania and is unprecedented.



The look of his muscular, chiselled body started a fitness boom in India.



Eye color: Green



Often supports charities of various kinds.



Known as a perfectionist and control freak. Believes in extensive rehearsals and preparations.



Friend of Salman Khan who showed him how to work out and eat properly to put on muscle.



Hindi megastar.



Often visits terminally ill children in hospitals that desperately wish to meet him.



Role models as actor: Raj Kapoor and Sanjeev Kumar.



Wanted to quit the film business altogether after his father Rakesh Roshan was shot at and wounded by hitmen sent by the Bollywood mafia, but changed his mind.



Prepared himself extensively for his screen debut, taking acting, singing, dancing, fencing, riding etc. lessons for years. He also worked hard on his diction and physical appearance (strenuous workout routines).



Fought hard to overcome a stammering problem.



Worked for many years on the sets of his father Rakesh Roshan in various functions, including sweeping the floor and serving tea to the stars, to learn the business from scratch.



Believes in the good in every person, a character trait often misinterpreted by others as gullibility and/or naïvety.



Got 30000 (!) marriage proposals on Valentine's day 2000.



Was the victim of a defamation campaign in late december 2000. Rumors were spread that he stated in an interview that he hates Nepal and its people. This immediately led to riots in Nepal, cinemas showing his films were attacked, posters burnt, Hindi movies banned in general for some days and several people shot dead by the police. The events made headlines all over the world and the governments of Indian and Nepal got involved as well. Anti Indian/Hrithik sentiment died down quickly when it became clear that the alleged statements were a fabrication and the rumors were spread by a malicious third party, possibly the Bollywood mafia, still pissed about not getting the foreign rights to Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). Nepal born actress Manisha Koirala played an important role in getting the news to the people in Nepal that the accusations were false.



In January 2001 Hrithik Roshan was again involved in a controversy. This time about a poster created and used by the Democratic Alliance in South Africa in November 2000 to woo Indian voters. The poster used his face without permission. The ANC reacted angrily and threatened to ban his films.



Gets 20-30 million rupees per year for endorsing a brand for one year, including commercials [2001]



Occasionally smokes cigarettes



His total income from product endorsements in 2000 is estimated to be 20 crore Rupees (~5 million $), by far the most among Bollywood stars.



Was awarded the "National Citizen's Award" on August 25 2001 in Delhi. The award recognises excellence in various activities affecting national life.



Son-in-law of Sanjay Khan.



Has been called the first complete Bollywood actor who has no weakness and scores very high in every department: face, physique, voice, dancing, drama, romance, action, comedy, macho, softie...



Can't handle money. His wife and parents are taking care of the financial details.



On January 14 2000 Hrithik Roshan entered a cinema to attend the premiere of his first film Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai (2000). When he came in some people recognised him but not much happened. When the film was over there was a stampede and mass hysteria broke out. He got mobbed. The police had to come and escort him out of the cinema and away from a crowd of thousands. It was the first day of Hrithikmania in India, which held the country in its grip for many months to come.



Learnt Urdu to sound more eloquent in his films, this can be seen by the special reference to his ability with the language in the film Kaho Na Pyaar Hai



Came in on number 9 on a Bollywood power list released in December 2003, and on number 4 among actors (behind Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai).



Was diagnosed at age 21 with scoliosis and told he could never be an actor, dance and do all the things a Bollywood hero needs to do.



Hrithik has been documenting his daily life for many years by taking pictures and putting them in scrapbooks.



Hrithik Roshan and wife Sussanne became parents of a baby boy, named Hrehaan Roshan, on March 28, 2006 at 3:30 pm at Lilavati Hospital in Mumbai.



Hrithik's normal weight is 72kg. He adds to it or reduces it as the role requires. For Krrish (2006) he added ~6kg muscle, for parts of Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) he lost several kilos to look more childlike.



Very close friends with actress Preity Zinta, who is also a good friend of his wife 'Suzanne Khan'. Hrithik and Preity have worked together in three movies.



Came in on number 4 on the Filmfare Bollywood power list in January 2007.



Wife Sussanne Khan gave birth to the couples second child, a son Hridhaan on May 1, 2008.



Brother in law of Zayed Khan.



He is of Punjabi descent.



Related to Mumtaz. through marriage to Suzanne Khan.







Personal Quotes

(November 2000): "I take all this hysteria as a compliment."



(2000): "I am glad I have the intelligence to understand what is happening to me. If I allow myself to get affected by all this hype, I'll stunt my growth as an actor and be damned for life. I know that I still have a long way to go before I can even aspire to equal the achievements of any of the superstars. I know I am good at my job, and I am sure I will be damn good one day but right now, I also know how bad I can be."



(November 2000): "I have been elevated to such a high status that the fall will be very steep."



(December 2000): "Every once a week, I get up and feel that I cannot act any more. I just get very unsure of myself. But, once I give my first shot, I'm back on track. Insecurity isn't bad, it makes me work harder."



(December 2000): "Some day I want to be better than Shahrukh Khan. And I will be better than him, if I continue working the way I am. Some day, I would like to achieve more than what Shahrukh has achieved in his ten years. But first, give me my ten years of time."



(February 2001): "Every moment of my life, I live under threat. I have two gunmen with me. If I die now I will be immortal. Everything finished in a year. I will be a legend!"



(July 2001): "I thought of every possible angle which would drive me towards stardom. But I never thought of, when I become a star, what will I do, how will I handle it. Everything has hit me all at once. I realize I don't have the talent to handle it."



(July 2001): "Hollywood is definitely happening to me but right now I'm not happening for Hollywood. Maybe if offers still last by 2005 I will. I'm committed until then."



(2001): I make the best Spanish omelettes in the world, but I won't tell you the recipe!



(March 2002): "I can be the best James Bond there is."



(March 2000): I can never wear the same shirt twice because it's always torn by the time I come home!



(June 2002): I won't do a film with any film-maker unless he gives me a bound script... My date diary's blank from 2003 onwards.



(2000, when asked about his fantasy woman): "Gabrielle Anwar. I had a huge crush on her for ever so long. Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988). I thought she was really hot!"



(December 2002): "After two years of being in films I've realized that I don't need to do movies just for the sake of it. Now I will not do a film unless the role is to die for. It may sound preposterous but I'd also like to do something like 'Spiderman' or 'A Beautiful Mind'. Only such cinema stimulates me. I don't want to do the routine stuff."



(July 2003): "It's not a prerequisite for an actor to be obsessed about his looks. I know there are people who don't look in the mirror at all and I'm getting there."



(July 2003): "I've never had a decent haircut except the short one I'm sporting right now for "Lakshya"."



(July 2003): "I'm not religious. I don't visit temples. But I hope there is a superpower."



(July 2003): "Of course I'm curious about porn. It exists because there is a market for it. It needs to exist but it should be properly channelised. It shouldn't be accessible to everyone."



(July 2003): "My physique is all wrong. I'd like to change everything about my looks."



(July 2003): "Quite often I feel that there is no God. War, natural calamities, handicaps, suffering. When I see all this, I fear there's no God. And the thought scares me shitless."



"I'm a child myself. So how can I think of having one right now!"



(September 2003): I'm above hits and flops now. I wish to go down in the annals of Indian cinema history as a good actor.



(January 2004): I don't know fashion and I have no taste.



(January 2004): I've scrapped my entire working style and taken on a new approach. The release of Lakshya (2004) will prove whether the new approach is right or not. If it doesn't work I'll go back to the old mode of working. If it works, I'll be adopting this style in all my roles.



(2004): I would like to meet the person who shot my father.



(July 2004): I am the person I am today primarily due to the fine example set by both my parents.



(July 2004): I've done films without optimum excitement. It didn't work. I can afford to take my time now.



(July 2004): "Lakshya" is my most subtle performance. "Koi... Mil Gaya" was an in-your-face performance.



(July 2004): I've done various films for various wrong reasons. They didn't get me anywhere.



(August 2004): I am a complete 'foodie'. It's in the genes. I can't stop eating! It's only that I fear of the world finding out that I have a bad body which makes me strive to have my diet in place and exercise right.



(February 2006): I'm just a student who is still learning, so I can't give discourses on acting.



(February 2006): My big dream is to take our cinema to a world platform. The idea of acting in a Jackie Chan film doesn't excite me. That's betrayal.



(July 2006): One mistake we always make is to ape the West. We attempt films that we think they will like. The true crossover films are 'Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon' and 'Life Is Beautiful' where the director goes entirely by his conviction, culture, community and conditioning. I am hoping, not just for me and my father and family, but for Indian cinema that Krrish (2006) will succeed, so we can envision an even bigger extravaganza. We want to afford that freedom to take our cinema higher. I believe we are very close now to getting noticed on a world platform.



I was always the pet of my teachers in school probably because I was considered to be very cute. Because of my innocent looks I usually got away with a lot of mischief. I was spoilt and pampered by everyone. All I had to do was sport a lost-boy look and I would have things my way. At home too, if I wasn't given something I wanted, I would simply sit with a long face till I got it.



On his first villain role in Dhoom 2 (2006): "I've played the good guy long enough. Now it's time for me to get seriously evil. I always wanted to play a cool villain. And since the bad guy in Dhoom 2 is multi-dimensional, playing this nightmarish guy is a dream come true."



(December 2006): If someone pretends not to recognize me, then he needs to get a life.



On his infamous kiss with Aishwarya Rai in Dhoom 2 (2006): "I did give it a lot of thought. There was enough reason and inspiration here to go ahead. I tried to make it as beautiful as possible. And I stand by it completely." (April 2007)