Rakesh Roshan recalls Hrithik's traumatic battle with stammering

Khaleej Times

19-03-2025

Hrithik Roshan has carved a niche for himself as an actor in Bollywood. However, he fought many odds to reach this level, and his father, director-actor Rakesh Roshan, opened up about his battle against stammering.
He recalled: "I used to feel bad. He wants to say so many things. He is so well-educated and very intelligent. But he used to hold himself back because of his stuttering. Once, I remember that he was in Dubai, and he wanted to just say thank you, Dubai. And he used to get stuck on the word D..."
"He has locked himself inside the bathroom. To learn those two sentences by heart, to say thank you, Dubai. So I used to feel bad, that he is such a progressive man, but something is holding him back."
Hrithik himself has spoken about his stammering problem in previous interviews, where he shared how challenging it was as a child to deal with it during his school days.
Rakesh recalled how Hrithik worked hard to get rid of the problem: "He worked so hard on it. He would wake up in the morning and read the newspaper for an hour in English, Hindi, and Urdu. And now he doesn't stutter. For the last 10, 12, 14 years."
He also made a film, Koi... Mil Gaya, which focuses on Rohit (Hrithik Roshan), an intellectually disabled boy coming in contact with an alien and doing wonders in the scientific field.
It stars Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta in lead roles, with Rekha in a supporting role.
He added, "I made Koi... Mil Gaya to show how good he(Hrithik) is as an actor. And that was the biggest challenge for me. And then the same boy, I made him into a superhero."
After, the science fiction film Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), Roshan made the superhero Krrish series.
The acclaimed director spoke about Hrithik's journey as an actor, saying, "I made Kaabil where he is blind. As an actor, if he does something different, he gets an inspiration. For me, as a filmmaker, I also try to take on new subjects for me. So that gives me sleepless nights. That gives me insecurity. Whether this will work or not. So that gives me some more power to make such kind of films, to convince the people that this is what was my conviction and this is what I am trying to convince you all."
Rakesh won the Outstanding Achievement Award at IIFA 2025. He has acted in films like Khubsoorat (1980) and Kaamchor (1982). He made his directorial debut with Khudgarz (1987).
Recently, the docu-series The Roshans, featuring Hrithik Roshan, Rakesh Roshan, and Rajesh Roshan, was released on Netflix.
The series focuses on the late Roshan Lal Nagrath, a respected music director; his son Rajesh Roshan, a noted composer; filmmaker Rakesh Roshan; and actor Hrithik Roshan. It provides an intimate look into their personal and professional lives, spanning three generations in the film industry.