Hrithik’s ‘hopping mad’ about Kites rumours

[radhika_shru]

What should audience watch out for in Kites, apart from the fact that it features Mexican actress Barbara Mori in the lead opposite you?
What made Kites different for me, as an actor, was that Anurag let the film take shape without exercising too much control. No one came to the sets with any pre-conceived notion. All of us, Barbara (Mori), Kangana (Ranaut) and me, were allowed plenty of creative liberty under Anurag’s guidance. There has been talk of creative interference on the sets and even during the editing stages when certain ‘too intimate’ scenes were cut out. All these rumours should have made me hopping mad. Sections of the media have been misrepresenting the film.



The film’s director, Anurag Basu, has himself admitted in a recent interview that there were heated disagreements with your father and the film’s producer, Rakesh Roshan.
I have evolved as an actor and understand that our conscious decision to not talk about ‘Kites’ during its making made some people impatient enough to start their own investigations. It was sad but it didn’t provoke us into retaliating. Now that the film is complete, we are coming out with all the answers to the questions raised. Coming back to your question, I have lost count of all the arguments my dad and I have had while working on ‘Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai’, ‘Koi... Mil Gaya’ and ‘Krrish’. The point is that when you are working together as a team there will be some differences. When two-three heads meet they are going to bring two-three different points of views to the table. The way out is to shrug off egos, fight for the better suggestion and the better choice, and work towards making a beautiful film. I’m proud of the way ‘Kites’ has shaped up.

You play a con artist in the film. Will we see shades of ‘Dhoom 2’?
No, there is no likeness to ‘Dhoom 2’. This character is a real person who has his heroic moments. In one scene he is the quintessential hero, in the next he is a normal guy. This is the first time I am playing a hero who is not a hero in the stereotypical sense of the word. It’s been a fascinating journey.

There has been a lot of talk about Barbara and you.
I don’t want to comment on this nonsense.

Share some childhood Holi memories with us.
Firstly, a very happy and colourful Holi to all my fans. Holi was my favourite festival. I would look forward to it for months. On the day I would be up at 4 am and with a household help who was young enough to be my pal, I’d start filling balloons with water. We had balloon competitions with the kids of the two bungalows opposite ours. My sister Sunaina, would go out armed with ‘pichkaris’ (water pistols) and bad colours. I was afraid of her because she would streak me with oil paint that would take hours to wash off.
I remember the bashes at Mr Bachchan’s (Amitabh Bachchan) bumgalow and at Yash (Chopra) uncle’s. You would meet everyone from the film industry and the ‘mohalla’ (locality) there. We would all let our hair down. Abhishek and Shweta (Bachchan), Adi (Aditya) and Uday (Chopra), practically every Holi we met and celebrated together. It was a time for buddies.

Do you have any memories of playing Holi with your wife Sussanne?
All my friends would meet at Juhu’s Kalamal Estate. Sussanne would come there too with her gang. I used to be with the boys. I must have been about 15 then and a shy guy. I still am one. I didn’t have the guts to walk up to her and say “Hi”. But I always noticed her. (Laughs) My friends would catch me staring at her and tease me. Once we started seeing each other, we’d go out together during Holi.