The Myth, The Man, The Moment
Greek God comparisons are no exaggeration for this superstar. Yet, it is in imperfection that he has found his authentic self. Hrithik Roshan reflects on his journey for Esquire India
We're in a nondescript banquet hall on a beach in grimy Versova, but looking at him, we could just as easily be on an island worthy of Apollo—untouched, almost mythical. The water outside, calm on the surface yet restless beneath, finds its mirror in his eyes—mesmerising, carrying depths you’ll never quite reach.
Hrithik Roshan is a beautiful man. Tousled hair, a chiselled jawline, an aquiline nose—effortless, almost unfair. The kind of presence that doesn’t try, doesn’t need to.
It lingers. Long after the credits roll, long after the moment has passed—etched into memory like a perfectly framed shot.
Does it ever get tiring, being compared to a Greek god? Or has it simply become part of him now—worn like the perfectly cut long jacket he poses in, immaculate for the cameras but never quite the full story?
He laughs at the allusion as we take our seats for the interview between shots. “I think I’ve mastered the skill of presenting myself on camera, perhaps to the level of genius. And I say that because if you saw me in my everyday life, it would be a comedy.”
I shake my head. “I refuse to believe that,” I say.
He grins. “You can. Because right now, sitting in front of you, this is still part of my profession. But in my personal life? That’s a whole different story.”
Over time, he has made peace with the duality. “I know my light, my angles—I’ve spent so much time studying them that I’ve mastered the craft,” says the actor, who knows exactly how high a chair should be to frame him just right in a photo. He’s fine with the world believing that’s who he is—now that he knows the difference.
“In my head, I made a clear distinction between my professional and personal life a long time ago. There was impostor syndrome once, a struggle to reconcile the two. But now I’ve realised—I don’t have to. That’s the professional me. This is the personal me. And that’s how it is.”
Roshan's 'Greek God' moniker, we recently heard, originated with actress Ameesha Patel, who was stunned by his transformation from a lanky, introverted teen to her impossibly sculpted co-star in their debut film.
Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai (2000) didn’t just introduce a new actor; it unleashed a phenomenon—Hrithik Roshan, who danced his way into the nation’s heart in that now-iconic black, see-through tee. From 30,000 marriage proposals to his Ek Pal Ka Jeena moves becoming a cultural reset—one even Virat Kohli admits to being swept up in—his impact was undeniable.
At the time, I remember feeling like an outsider, maybe even a bit of a loser. Everyone around me had seen the film, utterly smitten by this light-eyed, impossibly gorgeous man—except me.
Twenty-five years later, I’m sitting across from him, talking about life, passion and everything that’s changed since he first set the screen on fire.
“It’s just a number,” he says of the milestone, his eyes still burning with the same intensity that launched an era. “I have a long, long way to go.”
After a beat, he says, “It does feel like I’ve gotten off to a good start.”
A remarkably modest take from someone who swept every Best Debut award that year and has since built a career on blockbusters and record-breaking openers.
“When I started out, I refused to compromise. Despite my scoliosis and stutter, I committed to mastering every aspect of the craft—acting, dancing, action and physical transformation. I knew film was a visual medium, and I embraced that. You have to look good, sound good and perform at your best,” says the actor, whose influences are just as layered. Peter Weir’s Dead Poets Society brought him to tears, while Amitabh Bachchan, Raj Kapoor, Sylvester Stallone, Jerry Lewis, Steve Martin and Clint Eastwood each left their mark in ways that shaped the artist he would become.
“Many actors excel in one area but hesitate to step into another,” he muses. “Some are brilliant performers but shy away from the physicality of action. Others are in peak shape but don’t invest in their craft. But why limit yourself? The best actors embrace both art and commerce, constantly evolving across the spectrum.”
At 51, Roshan has earned the luxury of choice—and he wields it with precision, both in life and on screen. There’s no coasting on past glories. The days of signing films just to stay relevant? Long gone. Now, he follows instinct over industry noise, choosing what speaks to him—not just what feels safe.
In recent years, he’s balanced box-office dominance with War (2019) and a nuanced performance in Vikram Vedha (2022). Reflecting on his choices, the superstar reveals, “I learned very early on that if I don’t feel it in my bones when I sign a film, it won’t translate well. I saw that correlation over and over. And since then, I’ve only been choosing films that spark something inside me.”
He leans back, before adding, “I’ve done well professionally, and I have to thank my younger self for the relentless hard work. But there’s still so much to explore, so much to become.”
I've crossed paths with Roshan several times over the years, but one memory stands out—a dance rehearsal for a film awards show over a decade ago. Long after most had wrapped up for the night, he was still on stage, refining every step, every beat, every movement. There was madness to it, but also an unmistakable method. Watching him work, relentless in his pursuit of precision, was a masterclass in discipline. For a young reporter, it was more than just a performance; it was a lesson in the kind of dedication that separates the good from the great.
Perfectionist. It's a word that has followed Roshan throughout his career—and for a reason. Yet, he’s the first to admit he had it all wrong. “Perfection, as I once saw it, was limiting. It was a fixed idea of how something should be. But over time, I realised true artistry lies in allowing the unknown to shape the outcome,” he reveals. “Just like in life, when you trust yourself to adapt and carry forward, the results are often more organic, and real. That’s where the true magic happens, where craft meets spontaneity, and discipline meets surrender.”
It’s a philosophy that calls to mind one of Roshan’s most poignant on-screen moments—the underwater epiphany in Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. As his character Arjun emerges from the ocean, there’s a quiet shift, a crack in the armour of a man conditioned to keep it all together. It’s the kind of scene that lingers, striking a chord with anyone who knows what it means to wear a steely exterior while wrestling with the weight of something deeper.
Pighle neelam sa behta ye sama,
neeli neeli si khamoshiyan,
na kahin hai zameen na kahin aasmaan,
sarsaraati hui tehniyaan pattiyaan,
keh raheen hai bas ek tum ho yahan,
bas main hoon,
meri saansein hain aur meri dhadkanein,
aisi gehraiyaan, aisi tanhaiyaan,
aur main… sirf main.
Apne hone par mujhko yakeen aa gaya.
(The moment seems to flow like a molten sapphire and
there’s deep blue silence,
Neither there is earth below, nor sky above,
The rustling branches, leaves are saying that only you
are here,
Only me, my breath and my heartbeat,
Such deepness, such loneliness and me…only me,
It all makes me believe in my existence.)
A Greek God is the embodiment of perfection, yet mythology reminds us that even they had flaws cracks in their armour that made them more human. For Hrithik Roshan, confronting his own vulnerabilities and redefining what truly matters has been a journey of self-discovery.
In 2014, the same year as Bang Bang!—then his biggest film opener—his marriage of 13 years came to an end. Susanne Khan, his ex-wife and the mother of their sons, has remained a steadfast co-parent and supporter, but at the time, it couldn’t have been easy for a man who once chased perfection.
“From 1992 to about 2015, all I did was work. I only had a professional me. And that’s the only thing I really built,” he reflects. “Then came the slow, gradual awareness—of how every award failed to fill me up, how even the biggest hits left me chasing a feeling that never quite came. And I realised, what success was filling up was something I didn’t even need. What I needed was to feel good about who I really am.”
In the past, Roshan has openly reflected on the importance of confronting his fears and embracing his vulnerabilities. Exactly a year ago, a pulled muscle prompted Roshan to reflect on social media about a man’s idea of strength. He wrote, “Strength is not always about being Rambo against all odds with a machine gun…the more coveted one is strength when there is no one to fight on the outside. It’s the quiet fight on the inside between you and the ‘image’ of you. If you come out of that one feeling like wanting to do a slow dance by yourself, then you’re my hero.”
This is how the screen god became a man—not by clinging to the myth, but by doing the work. By striving not for perfection, but for authenticity. In this pursuit, Roshan leaned into the parts of himself that felt real—not the larger-than-life persona shaped by expectation, but the man he truly is, the one he calls his “personal me.”
That guy is cool being papped in a simple tee and joggers, a hat pulled low over his face, unfazed by his dad’s advice to “dress like a star.” He gets it, of course. “I think it’s fair to approach certain aspects of your life as a professional and aspire to push them to the highest standard. You could say, as a public figure, I want to always present my best self, maintain my equity and meet the expectations people have of me. And that’s great, if you want to do that. It’s just that… I don’t know how. I’m not good at it.”
He pauses for a moment before continuing. “I am, however, extremely good at becoming a character. When I’m playing a role, I know exactly how to dress, how to style my hair, how to inhabit that persona. But in my everyday life? It just feels like too much work. Sometimes I make an effort, but I’ve realised I don’t have the skill—or the patience—to bring that level of meticulousness into my personal space.”
Lately, though, he’s been making more room for life beyond the frame. For a little over three years, Roshan has been in a relationship with actor-singer Saba Azad. The two have made it Instagram-official, with their companionship unfolding in snapshots—film event date nights, jazz bar soirées, Van Gogh immersions and hand-in-hand strolls through the streets of Buenos Aires. He tells me that after Fighter, his last release, he made a conscious decision to prioritise his personal life.
“I structured my work hours—seven hours a day, by the clock— and I found a lot of joy in that discipline. Whether this balance is the ultimate formula for fulfilment, I can’t say for sure,” says the actor, who has starred in 25 films over his quarter-century career.
He reflects, “This is the first time I’ve deliberately dialled things down, yet within this phase, I’ve also taken on the biggest film of my career in terms of scale and budget, War 2. So, let’s see how that journey shapes up. Maybe that will tell me, in retrospect, whether this was truly my best phase.”
Growth is about pushing boundaries, he tells me. Sometimes, you let the needle swing to the extreme, experience what that feels like, and then recalibrate.
For Hrithik, that recalibration has been a revelation. “I still consider myself a perfectionist, but my definition of perfection has changed. Earlier, it was about controlling every detail. Now, it’s about embracing imperfections and letting them flow naturally. There’s a certain magic in making a mistake on camera and continuing seamlessly—staying in the moment while still achieving the objective. That, to me, is perfection now.”
Just as his idea of perfection has evolved, so has his definition of success. “It’s no longer ‘work hard, get famous, get rich, marry, have two kids.’ That’s a flawed, broken idea—one that’s been proven wrong. I’m grateful I remained aware of what was happening inside me, that I caught it in time and recalibrated. Now, success isn’t just the ‘professional me’—it’s a blend between the professional and the personal.”
It’s a balance he hopes his children will emulate. “The only thing I want for my kids is to experience love in everything they do—to fall in love with the process, not the result,” he says, his voice steady, sincere. “My generation was driven by fear. But I want them to break free from that… to do everything with joy, not as a means to prove something to the world.”
If his past was about embodying an Olympian ideal, this phase is about something deeper. Would he say this is him at his best?
Roshan pauses for a moment before answering. “Life is a complicated journey. A lot of things are within my control now, but I’ve realised that what we perceive as our worst phases often shape us in ways we can’t anticipate. It’s in those moments of struggle that something powerful emerges. So, what really defines a ‘good phase’ or a ‘bad phase’?”
He’s spent the last year on his own terms—choosing when to shoot, taking breaks when he needs them, prioritising his personal life over relentless professional commitments.
“Has that made it my best year? I don’t know yet. I think only hindsight can answer that.
“If this is the best phase of my life, I’ll only know five years from now. You can’t connect the dots while you’re still in the moment.”
Perfection isn’t the goal anymore—it never was. The pursuit, the process, the sheer joy of showing up and letting life unfold… that’s where the magic is.”
Chief Assistant Stylist: Mehak Khanna
Fashion & Styling Coordinator: Richa Mehta
Grooming: Aalim Hakim (Hair) and Vijay Palande (Make-Up)
Management Team: Collective Artists Network and Jaya Saha
Artist Reputation Management: Priyanka Khedekar and Vanita M
Production: IKP