When Hrithik Roshan said father Rakesh Roshan was shot at due to KNPH’s success: ‘Wanted to quit films, felt very dirty…’

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan has been working in the industry for over two decades. The actor had made his very successful debut with the romantic thriller Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai, which was helmed by his father and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan. Since then, the actor has gone on to star in a slew of well-mounted and well-received movies.

However, the success of Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai was marred by a personal tragedy. His father Rakesh Roshan was shot at by two assailants and endured serious injury post the shoot and release. Hrithik had once opened up about the entire episode on a BBC interview with Karan Thapar.

"I had not even begun to enjoy the success of my film and this happens. I was waiting for trade papers to say KNPH was a hit. And we got to the Friday, and I was going to have a party, but before that dad got shot. He had a bullet in his chest and his arm; I remember he called me up because he was concerned whether I was okay. In his mind he was wondering if there was a simultaneous act (on the family)."

Hrithik said it was a close hit, anything more serious could have cost Rakesh Roshan his life: "I was training in the gym at the time, he called me up and he says, 'where are you?' He sounded scared. He told me not to move, and then he said 'I got shot, I don't know how it happened. Two guys came and shot at me, and now am going to the cops.' I thought he should be going to the hospital. But he was so angry, he didn't want to let those guys get away. So he drove to the police station and those guys took him to the hospital and he collapsed there. The bullet grazed the wall of his heart and stopped right next to his sternum, it got lodged there."

The actor also stated that after the unfortunate incident happened, he did not want to act anymore, he wanted to quit showbiz for good.

"I wanted to withdraw from acting, at that time I was shooting. I had to honour my commitments, so I went ahead with that. There was this dance rehearsal for this song 'Bhumro' from Mission Kashmir, so I was doing that, and I was dancing, and I caught my reflection in the mirror and suddenly I stopped. I thought my father is in the hospital, 'why am I doing this' you know. I am dancing? I just felt very dirty inside...That assassination attempt was somehow related to the success of the film KNPH, somebody got upset you know. It was the movie business. My heart just...I didn't want to do films anymore. I just came home, but then the family spoke to me, and I realised if I quit, they win. It was the easy thing to do, to quit, it was harder to go on, to keep the show going," Hrithik concluded on a somber note.

Reportedly set on a budget of Rs 12 crore, Kaho Naa...Pyaar Hai was a smash hit, minting a whopping Rs 90 crore upon release. The film was lauded for its acting and music, making Hrithik a household name overnight.