Hrithik Roshan Calls Lakshya A ‘Turning Point’ In His Career: Karan Shergill Was Me

Hrithik Roshan played the lead role in the 2005 movie Lakshya. As the film clocks 20 years of release, the actor spoke about starring in the movie and his character. Directed by Farhan Akhtar, the movie also featured Preity Zinta. Speaking at the celebratory event, Roshan hailed the film as a ‘turning point’ in his career. 

Hrithik Roshan on his character in Lakshya being similar to him  

Marking the 20th anniversary of Lakshya, actor Hrithik Roshan on Tuesday said that filmmaker Farhan Akhtar cast him in the movie at a time when he was in search of his own identity, something he channelled through its protagonist Karan Shergill. Lakshya, which won critical acclaim for both Hrithik and Farhan, was released in theatres on June 18, 2004. It also emerged as a hit at the box office. Set against the backdrop of the 1999 Kargil War, the Hindi film revolves around an aimless young man Karan Shergill (Hrithik), who joins the Indian Army and matures into a battlefield hero.

At that time, Hrithik - now 50 - said that he was the perfect human, not the actor, to be cast in Lakshya. The actor shared, “I had been through all those experiences in very similar ways. Karan Shergill was me. I didn’t need to do much. The naivety, spontaneity, anger, being on the cusp of maturity, learning the ways, being completely confused and dumbfounded as to what I was going to do in my life, not having any hopeful avenues - I went through that crossroad so greatly and intensely in my life that it just came naturally to me.”

Hrithik Roshan praises director Farhan Akhtar 

The actor credited Farhan for guiding him throughout the making of the film, which was a difficult shoot with a major portion shot in the mountainous terrain of Ladakh in extremely low temperatures. "Lakshya has been a turning point in my career as an actor because here I was working with a director for the first time in my life who told me to ignore the camera," he added.

Hrithik described Farhan as a "hard taskmaster" on set who would be his usual jovial, fun self when not on set. "I truly think it's a film that was destined to be. It has gone a long way in changing people's lives, and livelihoods as well. I'm just full of gratitude that this film happened in my life and that I got a chance to grow via this film and via these people that I worked with," he said. Boman Irani, Anjula Bedi, Lillete Dubey, M K Raina, Kushal Punjabi and Om Puri also rounded out the cast. As the film completes 20 years in cinema, makers announced that it will be re-released on June 21. 
(With inputs from PTI)