Hrithik Roshan is an actor who is known to be selective about films. That was not the case in the initial stage of his career when he used to have multiple releases every year. In the year 2000, when he made his debut, he had three releases (‘Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai’, ‘Fiza’ and ‘Mission Kashmir’). The following he had two releases (‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…’ and ‘Yaadein’). While doing multiple films in these two years yielded mixed results for him what with two films (‘Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai’ and ‘Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham…’) turning out to be huge successes, one (‘Mission Kashmir’) turning out to be an average grosser and the rest not doing well, 2002 turned out to be quite a bad year for him as all his three releases (‘Aap Mujhe Achche Lagne Lage’, ‘Na Tum Jaano Na Hum’ and ‘Mujhse Dosti Karoge!’) turning out to be failures. In 2003, he tasted major success again with ‘Koi…Mil Gaya’, though there was also a ‘Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon’ that did not do well at all. Since then, the actor has been pretty choosy when it comes to the selection of his films.
Interestingly, in the years 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2018 he did not have a single release as a leading man. In the other years, he has had one release each with 2006 and 2010 turning out to be the only exceptions. 2006 is actually his best year till date as he had two releases both of which turned out to be blockbuster hits. While ‘Dhoom 2’ was the biggest hit of the year, ‘Krrish’ was the second highest grossing film of the year. 2010, though, was not as fruitful as both hiss releases ‘Kites’ and ‘Guzaarish’ failed to perform at the box-office.
Despite doing a limited number of films, Hrithik’s popularity has only soared with time. He is also regarded as one of the very genuine stars in the industry who can pull the audience into the theatres at least in the first couple of days and guarantee a minimal opening figure for a film which he stars in. ‘Super 30’, his new film, arrives almost 30 months after his last film ‘Kaabil’ (2017) had released. Though the film had its share of delays, Hrithik did wait for almost a year after ‘Kaabil’ before he said a yes to this film. Doing a film in between would have been a good idea. Having said that, 2019 is an important year for him and ‘Super 30’ is an important film for him.
Hrithik, till date, has been appreciated for playing larger-than-life or heroic characters. His fans love to see him in out-and-out action films. Even in a film like ‘Koi…Mil Gaya’, where he was playing a mentally challenged person, one saw him transforming towards the latter half of the film and being a part of a few well-choreographed action sequences. The audience did not really warm up to ‘Guzaarish’, a film in which he was playing a differently-abled person. In ‘Super 30’, he plays Anand Kumar, a real-life figure who is a teacher in small-town Bihar. In the film, he is seen in a non-glamorous avatar and there is no scope for him to flex his muscles or show any kind of dance move. If the film succeeds, it will give Hrithik the confidence to try on more such experimental roles in the future. The success of the film is important also because it is first release in almost 30 months and a star of his stature needs a solid success at this juncture of his career to validate the fact that his stardom is intact. This is, thankfully, a year when he will have another release. ‘Hrithik Vs Tiger’, as the film is being referred to as at the moment, is one of the most anticipated films of this year as it brings together Hrithik and Tiger Shroff, two of the biggest action heroes around, in an out-and-out action film. Though not much is known about this Siddharth Anand directed film, one things is for certain that will have two things, that people like to see Hrithik indulge in, in abundance – action and dance.
‘Super 30’ has generated good enough buzz despite not being a typical Hrithik Roshan film and ‘Hrithik Vs Tiger’ is being keenly awaited. Now, it is important for Hrithik to keep the momentum going and sign at least one film which would be expected to arrive next year. He is definitely one actor whom the audience wants to see grace the big screen more often.