The Roshans review: A valuable addition to films about Hindi film industry

Even the most knowledgeable film buff may find something new, especially in the first chapter which is focussed on patriarch Roshan Lal Nagrath and his arrival in Bombay from Gujranwala, Pakistan, in 1948. Bhosle recalls, with a chuckle, how he got her to sing a song in English while branching off as a music director under producer-director Kidar Sharma with the 1950 musical hit ‘Baawre Nain’. Even today, people hum ‘Tum kisi aur ko chahogi toh mushkil hogi’, featuring a dapper Raj Kapoor and demure Nutan.

 

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Roshan’s sons, Rajesh and Rakesh, had different trajectories, but managed to find a toe-hold in the industry which they grew by fits and starts. Rajesh acknowledges Mehmood’s part in his success, with the 1974 ‘Kunwara Baap’. The 1975 ‘Julie’ became a national sensation, with its ‘bold’ theme of pre-marital sex: many love-lorn Romeos went ‘Juuuuulieeee’ hoping that the Juliet in question would respond with ‘Julie loves you’. And oh those sublime songs from the 1966 Asit Sen-directed tearjerker ‘Mamta’, starring Ashok Kumar, Suchitra Sen and Dharmendra. Who can forget the soulful ‘chhupa lo dil mein?

Rakesh’s career as an actor could best be described as middling: he was fair and handsome and light-eyed, just like his son Hrithik, and he was a good actor, but never did attain the superstar status. He played both villain and hero, and didn’t shy away from supporting parts: remember the 1980 ‘Khubsoorat’, in which Rekha is firmly in the lead, buoyed by Rakesh’s amiable presence?

Rakesh aka Guddu came into his own with producing and directing. The parts where Shah Rukh Khan reminisces about the making of the 1995 blockbuster ‘Karan Arjun’ is quite a hoot, in which he confesses to ‘troubling’ the director, raising doubts about the theme of ‘punarjanam’, learning the importance of trusting the vision of the director.

And then, of course, there is Hrithik aka Duggu, whom Zoya extols for his Greek god looks: everyone speaks, admiringly, of his fluid moves, and that famous hook step in his 2020 debut feature, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai’ which took the nation by storm. He speaks of early struggles — a curved spine and stutter which he worked on — as well as his films, most of the big hits directed by his father. It’s hard to remember another actor whose very first film turned into such a massive hit, making Hrithik, and his co-star Amisha Patel, overnight stars.

Twenty five years later, Hrithik is still around, still a superstar, still acting, talking of how he wants his children shown in a scene playing the guitar, to find their own destiny.

As this is like an authorised biography, you will find only fulsome praise. You wonder what the show — brimming with talking heads and snippets — would have been like if other points of view were included, but even so, this is a valuable addition to films about the Hindi film industry.

The Roshans cast: Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, Rajesh Roshan
The Roshans director: Shashi Ranjan
The Roshans rating: 3.5 stars