Hrithik Roshan on 25 years of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai: ‘I am afraid that…’

As Hrithik Roshan looked back on his journey, he couldn’t help but reminisce about the making of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai. The actor recalled a particular incident during the shoot of the song “Pyar ki Kashti Mein,” where he was given a guitar to play just a day before the shoot. “I remember this guitar was given to me one day before (the shoot), and I was told that I’m supposed to play it. And when you give something like this to someone like me, you can expect me to go crazy because I didn’t play the guitar,” he said.

Hrithik revealed that he spent the entire night before the shoot trying to master the guitar, but his efforts were in vain. “I couldn’t sleep that night. The whole night I kept trying to make a physical action with my fingers matching the sound of the instrument in the song. My fingers were matching the tune of the song. I went absolutely nuts. And then, (I thought) I nailed it, that I got it absolutely right,” he said, chuckling at his own foolishness.

However, Hrithik’s sons, who are now learning to play the guitar, have a different take on their father’s guitar skills. “Today my sons play the guitar and they look at that (Pyar ki Kashti Mein song) and say, ‘Dad you just couldn’t do it’ because I obviously was play-acting it. But at that time, at least my fingers are moving with the sound. But they were all the wrong notes. So yeah, apparently, I did not nail it.”

As Hrithik Roshan looked back on his journey, he also remembered the time he spent with legendary actor Rajinikanth on the sets of the 1986 film Bhagwan Dada, which also starred Sridevi. Hrithik played the young boy Govinda Dada in the movie produced by Rakesh Roshan.

Hrithik shared, “I was a very ignorant, foolish boy who had no idea that he was standing with the greatest legend of all time. For me, he was Rajni uncle. I used to talk to him like, ‘Yeah, no. Yes, yes. No.’ I had my way with him. Today, if I get a chance to work with him, I will be very different. I will realize the burden and the weight of the moment that I am sharing screen space with him. My God. But, yeah, he was so, so gentle and so giving,” Hrithik said, his voice filled with admiration and respect for Rajinikanth.

Hrithik also recalled how Rajinikanth would take the blame whenever he made a mistake during a shot. “Whenever I messed up in a shot, my father used to say, ‘Cut,’ and Rajni sir used to take the blame. He would say, ‘Sorry, sorry, sorry, my fault.’ But it was my fault. But every single time I made a mistake, Rajni sir took the blame so that the child would not get conscious. So it was incredible,” he said.

As Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai gears up for its theatrical re-release tomorrow, Hrithik Roshan admitted that he is filled with a mix of emotions – nostalgia, gratitude, and a hint of nervousness.