“My film is greater than me”

...says Hrithik Roshan, who speaks to us along with Pushkar-Gayathri on Vikram Vedha, filmmaking as a collaborative effort and what excites them in a remake

- KARTIK BHARDWAJ

IF Hrithik Roshan had to draw a line demarcating the shift in his career, it would cut through Kaabil (2017). In the rape-revenge drama, the actor played a blind voice-over artist, veins popping, slamming doors, seeking vengeance for his lover’s murder. “I got tired of looking at my shots,” he shares. “I was hiding a lot of myself because I was afraid of my shortcomings, my failings. After Kaabil, I started being more of myself.”

Although the lavish celebration of Hrithik’s Greek God-persona, along with his sturdy action and equally flowy dance moves, resulted in the 2019 colossal hit War, he felt that the actor in him was slipping away. “After Kaabil and Mohenjo Daro (2016), I got myself an acting coach and asked him to see all my films. I asked him to point out my repetitive expressions to rework them. I don’t think I am a natural actor. I might know the craft because I watched actors, was an assistant to my father, and was born in the film industry. I knew the DNA of a hero, but I was missing the abandonment of an actor.”