Ahead of War 2 release date, Hrithik Roshan pays tribute to ‘inspiration' Rajinikanth, ‘One of my first teachers'

Mint

a day ago

Ahead of the War 2 vs Coolie box office battle, Hrithik Roshan has paid tribute to Superstar Rajinikanth, with whom he had his acting debut.
'Took my first steps as an actor at your side. You were one of my first teachers, Rajinikanth sir, and continue to be an inspiration and a standard. Congratulations on completing 50 years of on-screen magic!' the War 2 star wrote on social media.
Hrithik appeared on screen with Rajinikanth early in his career as a child actor in the 1986 film Bhagwaan Dada. He played the adopted son of Rajinikanth's character. It was long before his lead role debut in 2000 with Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai.
Hrithik Roshan's comment comes as War 2 and Rajinikanth's Coolie are all set to clash at the box office on August 14. During the Independence Day weekend, Ayan Mukerji's directorial will battle it out against Lokesh Kanagaraj's revenge drama, also starring Nagarjuna, Shruti Haasan and Aamir Khan. War 2, on the other hand, marks Jr NTR's Bollywood debut.
Coolie leads advance bookings with nearly ₹ 30 crore in India, according to Sacnilk. War 2 is way behind with ₹ 12.5 crore collection so far for Day 1 box office.
Hrithik Roshan's social media post about Superstar Rajinikanth won hearts. One social media user called him the "most humble person in Bollywood'.
'What a class tweet. Hrithik is such a nice person, always appreciates, supports and wishes well for others and wins hearts, have never seen him being insecure. Best wishes for War 2,' came from another user.
This was not the first time Hrithik Roshan spoke about Superstar Rajinikanth. In January, he shared his experience with his fans as a picture of him with the legend flashed behind him.
'This is a photograph of a very ignorant little foolish boy who had no idea that he was standing with the greatest legend of all time. For me, he was Rajni uncle,' Hrithik Roshan said during a fan interaction.
'If I get a chance to work with him, I will be very different. I will realise the burden and the weight of the moment that I am sharing screen space with him,' he said.
It was J. Om Prakash, Hrithik Roshan's maternal grandfather, who directed Bhagwaan Dada.
'Whenever I messed up a shot, my grandfather used to cut the shot. And Rajni sir used to take the blame. 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 I, that child, would not get conscious,' Hrithik said while speaking about his experience.