Hrithik Roshan: Tiger can make me look like a piece of sh*t

Hrithik Roshan. Pic/Tejal Patni

It's been a chaotic few weeks for Hrithik Roshan as he oversees post-production on Super 30, set to release this month, and completes the shoot for his untitled film with Yash Raj Studios, also featuring Tiger Shroff. He's also working out for three hours every day, but it isn't only to maintain those abs. At 45, he wants to "remain fit and fighting, to be pain-free and feel normal."

In an upcoming interview for GQ Magazine's July issue, Roshan discusses consciously choosing films that deeply move him, because then "the rest of the journey becomes easy. I'm not a very good actor, I'm not the fittest guy. I'm the opposite of these things, so movies for me, are difficult [to make]. It takes a lot out of me to do the simplest things that other actors do instinctively. That's why I need to find stories that fuel me to go through the entire process - to wake up at 6 o'clock, to take the aching back, knees, shoulders, the broken bones, and do what I do. Super 30 just hit it out of the park for me, especially the climax."

So when he was offered a gruelling, high-octane action film with Yash Raj Studios, he was tempted to sign on, but on the condition that Tiger Shroff would also do the film. "After doing movies like Kaabil and Super 30, I needed a force that would drive me to be my best. I was getting too complacent, and I felt only Tiger had the power to stand in front of me," he laughs, "and make me look like a piece of sh't. I don't think anyone else would've ignited me the way he has."

He sees himself at the cusp, having made his debut at the turn of the millennium, a bridge between the Khans and today's young guns. He's taking his cues from Gen Z, and trying to break out more often than he has in the past. "I've done some very lonely characters, and now I want to have fun. My YRF film with Tiger has been so enjoyable. So I'm open to doing more of these two-hero films and ensembles, as well as incredible one-off characters in smaller films. Right now, I'm looking for the niches, as well as the big fun projects."

Also read: Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff's upcoming movie to be called Fighters?

If any of those projects involve recasting the traditional Hindi film hero, all the better. That guy needs to grow up; Hindi films need to stop pretending like the only legitimate kind of love is romantic love. "Every single Hindi film hero, until 2006, has had a victim syndrome, and propagated this idea of obsessive love. I blame my people for creating this mindset," he says sheepishly.

Also read: Tiger Shroff calls film with Hrithik Roshan 'correct permutation'

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