‘I will be on the road': Rakesh Roshan's daughter recalls how the family's fate was tied to his directorial debut, says, ‘Hrithik and I just looked at each other'

Indian Express

03-05-2025

Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan has previously opened up about the time when he mortgaged many of his assets while making his directorial debut Khudgarz. At the time, Rakesh was already an actor and a producer but was not finding the success he dreamed of, so, he decided to direct. In a new interview, Rakesh's daughter Sunaina shared that since he had mortgaged a lot of assets for Khudgarz, there was a big chance that the family could have lost everything.
In a chat with Pinkvilla, Sunaina said that while the family was driving to the premiere of Khudgarz, her mother asked Rakesh what would happen if the film flopped. 'And Dad was like, 'I will be on the road'. So me and my brother just looked at each other and we were like… We didn't still understand what that meant but we were like, we will be on the road,' she recalled.
Sunaina said that things worked out for them, but a few years later, he was ready to bet it all again for Hrithik Roshan 's debut film, Kaho Naa Pyar Hai. 'For Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, he mortgaged everything, he is a risk taker so he mortgaged everything and luckily, it did well,' she said. Sunaina said that since she was a teenager during Khudgarz, she didn't know much about the business, but she learnt that during Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, all of Rakesh's assets were on the line.
'During Kaho Naa Pyar Hai, I know he mortgaged his house, his office, his cars, everything. It must have been very hard on my mother and my father, and not letting the children know,' she said. Kaho Naa Pyar Hai was an instant success and turned Hrithik into a star. A week after the film's release, Rakesh Roshan was shot on the street but he survived the attack. In an earlier chat with Bollywood Hungama, Rakesh had claimed the underworld had orchestrated this attack because they wanted Hrithik to work in a film financed by them. 'I never gave any indication that Hrithik could do a film for them,' he said.
Sunaina said that Rakesh always taught them to live below their means so even if they encounter tough times, they can get through. 'He always taught me and my brother to live below our means. (He said) Tomorrow, if you don't have the luxuries in life, I don't want you to miss it,' she said.