Fighter and War showcase a new era of Hrithik Roshan but here's why we miss the side of him I grew up watching

Right from Kaho Na Pyaar Hai to Koi Mil Gaya and many more, Hrithik Roshan was the heartthrob of the early 2000s and we terribly miss that era!

With Sidharth Anand’s War and now Fighter, we’ve seen Hrtihik Roshan in an action avatar which clearly makes for massive success at the box office. War was an entertainer no doubt, and he outdid himself when it came to high octane stunts, his performance and of course his dancing! But as someone who has grown up watching his movies, I cannot help but miss his soft lover boy era in movies that everyone fell for.

The first movie that I watched of his was Kaho Na Pyaar Hai and his zest to fight for his love tugged at my heart even at such a young age. There was a period of time where I would watch this film everyday and I would refuse to eat if I wasn't allowed to watch it. Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham was a winner for me in every sense. I was such an avid fan of his at that point that I even loved a film like Main Prem Ki Deewani Hoon, which in a recent interview he himself admitted that it was too overboard. It was the way he fell in love with his on-screen partner; he was a companion while also being a friend which is a great quality to have. 

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Koi Mil Gaya and Krrish really changed the way I looked at him. He was India’s very first superhero. I cried when the version of Rohit who was on the autism spectrum was misunderstood by everyone around him. And I cheered when Jadoo and him became the dream team that they were. I saw him shift from character to character but one thing remained the same - the principles all his characters stood for. They rarely had a mean bone in their body. Jodha Akbar is a prime example of this. I remember watching the trailer and thinking that I would never imagine him playing a historic character. Even as an emperor, he brought empathy to the character which added to the beauty of the film. I will always have a fond memory of the film because of the way he aced portraying a king. Right from the lingo to the posture. 

I don’t know what it was but I was fully fooled with his heist plans in Dhoom 2. He was a statue, an old man, and even…Queen Elizabeth and I believed it ALL! And that's not all! We’ve all copied his steps when we were kids but none of us even came close. He will always be the OG dance guru of Bollywood for me and many others.

Films like Mujhse Dosti Karoge and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara were based on complications of love and friendship and in the midst of an ensemble cast, he always left an impact on the audience. 

So while Vikram Vedha, War and (his upcoming film) Fighter are phenomenal in terms of entertainment and him experimenting as an actor, I cannot help but teleport back to the 2000s boy next door era, where his movies felt like fairytales and he was in the center of it all! We would root for him no matter what the genre is, but we hope to see him in a rom-com soon where his eyes as always reflect the love that we miss!

Happiest Birthday to the Greek god and dance champion of Bollywood!

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