Filmfare recommends: Biggest hits of Hrithik Roshan
by Devesh Sharma
Ever since he burst on the big screen in 2000 with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Hrithik Roshan has been breaking records as far as the box office is concerned. He’s become a dependable star when it comes to the commercial viability of a film. Be it romance, action or even a historical, he has done a variety of subjects and has proved his mettle in every kind of a genre. We present a list of some of his biggest box office successes that will surely make a welcome addition to your movie-watching list this lockdown.
War (2019)
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor
Box office collection: Rs 317.91 cr
Kabir (Hrithik Roshan) and Khalid (Tiger Shroff) have a teacher and student relationship of sorts. Both work for a mysterious Indian intelligence agency. The film opens with Kabir going rogue. Khalid, who has always looked up to his senior officer, is most hurt by this change. He wants to capture and interrogate Kabir before he kills any more security personnel. The film goes into the flashback, establishing their relationship. We see them training, fighting and going on missions together, cementing their bond. They even dance together on a Holi song. Later, we see Khalid using everything he learnt from Kabir to capture him but the latter manages to stay one step ahead always. There's more to his defection, which becomes clearer over time. Hrithik and Tiger share a mentor-protege relationship in real life as well and it has been perfectly captured in the film. Hrithik is in his element here playing the experienced agent and Tiger adds the naive charm of a newbie to the proceedings.
Super 30 (2019)
Director: Vikas Bahl
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Virendra Saxena, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Shrivastava, Nandish Singh
Box office collection: Rs 146.94 cr
Super 30 is an inspiring film based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar. Anand Kumar is best known for his Super 30 programme, which he started in Patna in 2002, which coaches underprivileged students for the IIT entrance test. His has really been an inspiring journey, as 422 out of the 480 students till 2018 have cleared the tough entrance test, thanks to his efforts. He has been felicitated by the government for his efforts and has been the subject of a Discovery Channel documentary. The film belongs to Hrithik Roshan. He makes you forget the bad make-up and varying accent through his sheer involvement in the role. He underplays the anger, the pain, as well as the joy, felt by his character and makes us believe in Anand Kumar.
Kaabil (2017)
Director: Sanjay Gupta
Cas: Hrithik Roshan, Yami Gautam, Ronit Roy, Rohit Roy
Box office collection: Rs 103.84 cr
Hrithik Roshan plays a blind voice-over artist who isn't able to get justice after his wife is raped and killed. He trains himself and becomes a dreaded killer. The police can never fathom that a blind man is behind the killings and hence he is able to perform his vigilante work without any hindrance. He uses his voice modulating skills to lure his victims at secluded spots and kills them one by one. He concocts a story of them turning against each other for the benefit of the cops and gets away scot-free. His blindness becomes his shield and the police are powerless to do anything despite having doubts. Kaabil was compared to the 1989 ring Rutger Hauer film Blind Fury and Hrithik’s character, in particular, was praised for his performance.
Bang Bang (2014)
Director: Siddharth Anand
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Katrina Kaif, Danny Denzongpa, Javed Jaffrey, Jimmy Sheirgill
Box office collection: Rs 181.03 cr
It was a remake of the 2010 American film Knight and Day by James Mangold starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. Hrithik Roshan played an undercover Indian agent out to capture and kill the leader of a terrorist cell and avenge his brother’s death in the process. Katrina Kaif plays an innocent bystander who gets embroiled in his exploits. She gets attracted to him and decides to help him, leading an adventurous life in the process. The film was shot across Europe and a portion was shot in Kashmir as well. Hrithik performed all kinds of stunts in the film. He got injured performing one of the stunts and had to be operated upon for blood clot removal from his brain. His chemistry with Katrina was much admired in the film.
Krrish 3 (2013)
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Vivek Oberoi, Priyanka Chopra and Kangana Ranaut
Box office collection: Rs 244.92 cr
Scientist Rohit Mehra (Hrithik Roshan), who was rescued by his son Krishna Mehra (Hrithik Roshan) in the last film lives happily with his son and daughter-in-law Priya (Priyanka Chopra), a journalist. Priya is pregnant and that’s a matter of joy for the Mehras. Meanwhile, an evil genius called Kaal (Vivek Oberoi), who is wheelchair-bound has been making animal and human hybrids. He spreads a virus whose antidote exists in his own blood. When Rohit observes that the virus has no effect on him or his son, then he makes the virus using his own blood cells and saves the citizens of Mumbai. Kaal sends Kaya (Kangana Ranaut), a mutant who can shape-shift into anyone to find out about the virus. She kidnaps Priya and takes her place. Kaal later learns that he was created using Rohit’s DNA and kidnaps him. How Krrish, with Kaya’s help, who has fallen for him, rescues his wife and father forms the crux of the film.
Agneepath (2012)
Director: Karan Malhotra
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Sanjay Dutt, Rishi Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Om Puri, Zarina Wahab
Box office collection: Rs 115.00 cr
It was a remake of a 1990 Amitabh Bachchan starrer of the same name. Hrithik Roshan plays the role of protagonist Vijay Deenanath Chauhan and Sanjay Dutt reprised the role of the antagonist Kancha Cheena, originally played by Amitabh Bachchan and Danny Denzongpa respectively, while Rishi Kapoor portraying the newly minted character of Rauf Lala. Kancha not only kills his father, but he also destroys his reputation as well. A young Vijay, who has been witness to it all, vows to take revenge upon growing up. He goes through it systematically, first gaining the confidence of Rauf Lala, becoming his right-hand man and then using him to reach Kancha. It was a far darker film than the original but the audience took to it nevertheless and it became a blockbuster. Hrithik’s grey-shaded avatar was much admired by the masses.
Jodhaa Akbar (2008)
Director: Ashutosh Gowariker
Cast: Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan, Sonu Sood, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Ila Arun
Box office collection: Rs 56.04 cr
This historical romance tells the story of how Rajput princess Jodha (Aishwarya Rai), married to King Akbar (Hrithik Roshan) for political alliance learns to let go of her prejudices and falls in love with her husband. He too begins to look inward, thanks to her influence and becomes a better ruler in the process. The film was shot on a grand scale and had plenty of action juxtaposed with the romance. AR Rahman’s music was another highlight of this poetic film. Both Aishwarya and Hrithik did full justice to their roles and looked like they were born to play their characters.
Dhoom 2 (2006)
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Uday Chopra, Bipasha Basu
Box office collection: Rs 81.01 cr
Sanjay Gadhvi was at the helm again for Dhoom’s sequel which came out two years later. Abhishek Bachchan was still the gritty cop but Uday was somehow pushed into the police force as a police inspector. This time, the influence seems to be the Mission Impossible franchise in the sense that the film had a super-intelligent thief, Mr A, played by Hrithik Roshan who made extensive use of face masks, just in the MI films. Besides Hrithik, it had another acrobatic thief in the form of Aishwarya Rai. She’s actually a bait put forward by Abhishek to catch Mr A but ends up falling in love with him. The film was shot extensively abroad in Rio and Durban. Hrithik and Aishwarya’s chemistry crackled, and the well-crafted stunts gave it an edge-of-the-seat feel. It was one of the first films to make extensive use of CGI and green screen.
Kaho Na Pyaar Hai (2000)
Director: Rakesh Roshan
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Amisha Patel
Box office collection: Rs 44.28 cr
Kaho Naa...Pyaar Haimarked the entry of Hrithik Roshan. The crowds went wild watching the film. Such was his impact that the industry thought they had been blessed with another Rajesh Khanna. His chiselled face, Greek god physique and dreamboat eyes was unlike anything the audience had ever seen. He danced like a dream, had a well-modulated voice and showcased acting chops aplenty. Also, another remarkable thing was that he pulled off a double role in his debut film itself, something that was never done before by any star. Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) loves Sonia (Ameesha Patel), a super-rich girl. Her dad, however, doesn’t approve of the match. One day, he witnesses the murder of the police commissioner but before he could do anything, he’s killed as well. Sonia goes into depression and is packed off to New Zealand, where she meets with his lookalike Raj (Hrithik Roshan). He falls for her but she doesn’t reciprocate. He comes with her to India but is mistaken for Rohit by his killers, who fire at him. That’s when he lays down a plan to bring them to justice. Rajesh Roshan’s music proved to be the icing on the cake.