 Hrithik Roshan with Parikh Worldwide Media Entertainment Reporter Rajiv Vijayakar at his party for the media on January 7. Photo: Nishika V. Hrithik Roshan, who once said, “I thought I would just get passing marks. But what I got was much more and it’s growing and scaring me. One fine day I get out of bed, go out and the traffic stops. It’s hard to digest!” did something unthinkable in the last quarter century at least. On January 7, the actor threw a lavish yet intimate party for the media alone at Mumbai’s One8 Commune, an exclusive resto-bar part-owned by cricketer Virat Kohli in a former portion of the legendary Kishore Kumar’s bungalow. Dressed simply but earthily in white, and donning a dark-blue jacket and cap, the ever-smiling star did not look a day above 35 even as he touches a fit 50 on January 10. In his opening address (for want of a better word!) he simply thanked everyone for being present, and said, “It’s been 25 years. I don’t like to use words like legacy and milestone, and I’m not here to say, ‘25 years, Yeah!’ I’m not doing that. I remember when Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai was released, I was so shy and anxious that I didn’t do a single interview. I didn’t step out of my house to do anything. I just skipped the entire promotional event. 25 years have passed and unfortunately, that side of me has not changed, I’m still as shy, and just as anxious as always.” He went on, “But I have to thank you guys. Your questions made me uncomfortable, but more responsible, and more accountable. Because you all helped me search inside myself as to what kind of human I want to be in this world. And apart from that, it is through your words that people understood me and it is you speaking to them, telling them how to see me, and how to understand me. So thank you, thank you, for it’s your perceptions that you shared with the world. So thank you for making me contribute so much to my journey. This meeting today is not about me but about you! And today, I want to do something that I have never done before! I want to sit down and have a drink with you guys!” Amidst cheers, the actor added. “So Happy New Year and let’s get the party started!” Hrithik cheerfully spent time chatting individually with many journalists and also posing for countless pictures. He then also made it a point to stop by at every table and spend time with the journalists, happily answering their questions and making candid admissions about many aspects of his personal and professional lives down the years.Interestingly, his debut film that made him a superstar, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai, which first hit the screen on January 14, 2000, re-releases on a big scale this January 10, which also happens to be Hrithik’s birthday. And buzz is that the actor’s next and long-awaited sequel to Krrish 3, Krrish 4, will be announced on that date. As he put it during a chat, “Maybe it is time to put on the (Krrish) mask again!”Hrithik Roshan hosts exclusive party for the media on his Silver Jubilee |
