Hrithik Roshan on Dhoom 2

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Thursday, November 23, 2006
You saw him rock in Krrish and now be ready to watch him set the screen on fire once again in this year's most exciting film Dhoom 2. Hrithik Roshan talks about his experiences on working on the most awaited film of the year.

Did you watch Dhoom and what did you think about the film?
Of course I have watched Dhoom and the success of Dhoom creates a very good platform that obviously motivates a sequel, but what really propelled me into doing the film, was the inherent script of Dhoom 2itself. So that really was my calling card. It was exactly what I was looking for at that time and space. Because I was actually quite bored and stuck at that one end of the spectrum where I was doing this blatant good boy, good son, good brother, good lover kind of role. Though of course they are also quite enjoyable but it was time to take the big leap towards the other end of the spectrum. And what was waiting for me there was Mr A ... Aryan, so I am really glad that I got the opportunity.

Did the negative shade to your role excite you?
I don't really see Aryan as negative, I see him on the wrong side of the law, but as subtext which is of course in my head and my producers and director's mind, don't take this too well. But Aryan seems to be a guy who has this secret mission of ridding the world of all objects of desire that instill feelings of greed, create politics and feed the ego, all these pieces of high desirable objects, like diamonds and jewellery, just displayed to the world that you can just sit and covet. According to him, these are the things that create greed and need and comes in the way of true caring and being true to the people around you. It makes you lose yourself in wanting more and getting these objects for yourself. One really does not know what he does with all the things he robs in the film. So in my head, he does it because he can and because he thinks these objects of desire are something that are the cause of most of our egoistic battles and his mission is to rid the world. So I don't really see him as a villain. And his modus operandi is very unique because he does it with such a flair that really makes him out to be someone you want to be.

Everyone's been talking about your many disguises in the film, without giving anything away, how did it feel to get into so many disguises to con people?
The makeup experts that they brought in from London were truly people with a magic wand. They completely transformed me into other human beings and I cannot express how much fun and how exciting it was to live and be and project another completely different human being that particular day, or days of those shoots. I had the time of my life.

You are stepping into John Abraham's character, which was extremely popular. Is that a challenge?
I think every film is a challenge, though Aryan's character does fit the space of the villain that John's role was in Dhoom, but its got nothing to do with it whatsoever, it's a completely different world and I would say that if we've gone a notch higher with Dhoom 2, its not satisfying enough, it needs to be 10 notches higher for it to actually make a mark, and that's what I am hoping for.

What are the kinds of stunts you have done in the film, and how did you prepare for it?
I have done everything in this film that anyone can aspire to do in an action film, be it sand boarding, snow boarding, sky diving, train walking, jumping off a cliff, bikes, cars, everything that you can think of. So I don't think there's anything left, I think Dhoom 2 has got it all.

I had no idea what was waiting for me once I was preparing to get into Dhoom 2 and what I realized was that what I had done for Krrish was nothing in comparison. It was asking a lot more of me, so yes of course there was 3 months of roller blading training which I think is the most difficult sport to pick up, and the most dangerous, cause if you fall, you most definitely break a bone. I have never given 3 months of my time, to any training, 3 months just for one sequence, then of course there was snow boarding for which I flew to Dubai and trained myself there in an indoor snow mountain that they have created very fantastically. Then there was walking on the train doing stunts, on and off the train, sand boarding, behind the train, I was actually hooked on to a rope that I was holding onto with my bare palm, with a train at a speed of 60 kms per hour and I was on a sand boarding just skimming behind it on this sand and a little falter here and there and what I would land on was the tracks and at that speed to land on and graze the tracks would spell nothing less than ... yes, I have taken a few tumbles and scraped through near death experiences, but came out feeling most exhilarated and alive ever. So it's been a great experience.

What was it like working with Aishwarya and Bipasha for the first time?
It was a pleasure to work with Aishwarya because she is one of the actresses who thinks about the entirety of the film and not concerned with just her close up or make up or what she is doing in isolation. So its great to work with actors like that. Her talent is definitely much beyond her looks and her beauty. So it's been inspiring, engrossing, exciting and its been a whole lot of fun. Bipasha is just so casual to be with, you know she is just herself and she's got no airs and is really easy to be with though I've got no scenes with her in the film. There was a schedule for over a month in Brazil, Rio (I think every film you know has this one particular schedule which becomes memorable because that's the one in which you all bond) where we wall bonded very well. Because of a bit of problems, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Bipasha, Uday and I had a lot of time together, so it was great, just walking on the beach, swimming in the ocean. Imagine Abhishek, Aishwarya, Bipasha, Uday and myself in our costumes swimming in the seas of Rio with not a care in the world because nobody knew us there, was absolutely, phenomenally exhilarating, it was a whole load of fun.