Birthday love: Hrithik Roshan’s top 5 breakthrough roles

Hrithik Roshan, who is celebrating his birthday today, is Bollywood’s most loved actors – and not just by the ladies. Throughout his career, he has experimented with different roles from quite early on. However, no matter what film he’s been a part of, his popularity has seemingly increased through the years. BizAsia is taking a look at the five films in Roshan’s career where’s he’s pushed the boundaries in a particularly memorable fashion.

‘Koi… Mil Gaya’ (2003)

It is arguably one of his most special performances and the sci-fi aspect makes it all the more entertaining. When Roshan played Rohit Mehra of ��Koi Mil Gaya�۪, his whole appearance almost changed. He played an adult of the mental age of a child. This would have been a particularly challenging role for any actor but the way Roshan makes the transiition to adulthood in this film is definitely worthy of praise. His continuity on the two sequels is also to be noted.

‘Dhoom 2’ (2006)

In the heist that was the second instalment of the Dhoom franchise, Roshan played the main character. As Aryan, more popularly known as ��A�۪, Roshan dodges the police and officials to get through highly secured locations and steal higly protected items. In this film, he is seen as a negatively shaded character for one of the first times in his career. However, the audiences simply fall in love with his style, his good looks and the persona that is created by the actor on the screen.

‘Guzaarish’ (2010)

As arguably one of Roshan’s most celebrated performances and for a film that was surrounded with controversy, he was seen in a brand new avatar in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Guzaarish’. Playing a quadriplegic former magician, Roshan was to emote and act mostly through his face. Although many reviews deemed the film as having flaws that went against it, it can be said that Roshan’s attempt at such a character is definitely notable and, for many, the film’s saviour.

‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ (2011)

Some might wonder what was so breakthrough about Roshan’s rendition as Arjun in Zoya Akhtar’s ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’ that it’s a part of our list. However, it will only take a revisit of the film to understand that his character was one of the least likeable he has portrayed on the big screen. As a workaholic who is so obsessed with making money, he becomes one of the most unapproachable friends to have. Audiences wouldn’t have been quite used to seeing Roshan play such a character but he made them love him with the way his life turns around thanks to a certain Laila.

‘Agneepath’ (2012)

To step into the shoes of Bollywood superstar in a remake of his film ��Agneepath�۪ is quite something. It become an even bigger deal with in the contemporary version Roshan managed to become his own Vijay Dinanath Chauhan and, in many ways, make it so that the audiences don�۪t compare him to the original. Roshan�۪s performance can be commended for the fresh, relatable and anger-fuelled character that he played. It was a film that saw him in an iconic role where the most of the audiences knew the story and yet he still excelled, even though it differed from the kinds of character�۪s he�۪s played previously.

On his 41st birthday, BizAsia wish Hrithik Roshan a very happy birthday. We look forward to seeing his forthcoming films including Ashutosh Gowariker’s ‘Mohenjo Daro’.