'There is nobody else like me'

'I am a slave to my instincts.'
'My instincts are determined by how impactful the script has been on my soul.'

It's not an exaggeration to say that Hrithik Roshan is extremely picky with his films.

The actor, who has clocked 22 years in the industry, is ready with his 25th film, Vikram Vedha, an official remake of the Tamil hit.

Ask him if he feels left behind as other actors do more films than him, and he tells Rediff.com Contributor Mohnish Singh, "How can I be left behind when I am the only one on my path? I am walking alone, as we all are..."

You return to the big screen after 2019's War. What advice did you get about the choice of your next project after that film's phenomenal success

No, I haven't gotten any advice.

I think it's because I hold myself very, very, responsible for doing my very best, and I think people somewhere know that. So they leave me to it.

But did that add pressure?

You know, War put a different kind of pressure on me.

It was so much adulation for Kabir that I got lost.

I didn't know who and what I should take next.

It was a very confusing time for me.

I need to be comfortable being me.

You know, it's okay that I am not as good as Kabir or Vedha. I am not. I am not that guy.

These are handmade characters. They (makers) make them and I do them, but they're not me.

That's my job. It's important to differentiate me from the person I am and the persona that I project on screen.

If I don't separate the two, I'll live in chaos.

 

Why don't we see you more frequently on screen, especially now that we have more options thanks to OTT?

I want to do more films, I just don't find the content.

(Directors) Gayatri and Pushkar are the best minds I have come across.

Such incredible writing! If I get writing like this, I will do four or five films a year, if I could.

But I am a slave to my instincts. My instincts are determined by how impactful the script has been on my soul. So really, it's not my decision.

I mean, I am not doing it for the money.

When did you first see the original Vikram Vedha? What did you have to learn or unlearn from what Vijay Sethupathi did in it?

I saw the film in 2017 when it came out, and I was blown away by it.

I expressed a desire to do this film; if there is a remake happening, I would love to do this film.

I had sent that out to the universe, and I think three years later, it circled back to me.

I didn't approach this film thinking about what I should or shouldn't do in light of what has already been done.

I just liked this character, and I found that character inside me. I just had to play it like how I would.

You have spoken about how you choose your projects and how you only pick things that you can't say no to. But other actors are doing much more. Do you feel left behind?

How can I be left behind when I am the only one on my path?

I am walking alone, as we all are.

There is nobody else like me.

I have to live my days to the best of my ability.

South Indian films are having a good run at the box office. If given the opportunity, will you do a South film?

I am open to films of all kinds from every part of the world.

I would like to collaborate on every piece of good content.

I am a student of cinema. Cinema can be from anywhere.

Post-pandemic, we have to sit and take this amazing feedback from the audience.

It's time to recalibrate.

It's a time to grow.

It's the most incredible phase.

It's an opportunity. I look at it as a positive thing because the world is our audience now.

• Part 2: 'I begin the film knowing that I am zero'