Hrithik Roshan needs Kaabil to reinvent his sagging career
With Hrithik Roshan's questionable choice of movies, his ever-deepening personal crisis, a public brawl with Kangana Ranaut and his fallout with wife Sussanne Roshan, one would write him off as a superstar that was.
And, just when the fall from grace taints the Greek God's perfect image, something that he holds very dear, the Kaabil father-son duo play the disability card to pull the man from the ashes, like a phoenix.
The Kaabil trailer brings hope in his otherwise dismal career and daddy Rakesh Roshan has come to his rescue just when his work choices have been extremely disturbing, be it playing a peasant in Mohenjo Daro donning gold streaks and a bronzed body, delivering dialogues in theatrical style, doing shoddy commercials or trying his luck in music videos with Yo Yo Honey Singh.
A dismal failure, all. So much so, that our unforgiving social media immortalised him in hilarious memes. A star who once drew 30,000 marriage proposals in the year 2000 soon after Kaho Na Pyaar Hai, now has more memes doing the rounds, making a mockery of the man and his achievements.
When his personal life hit the pit, his professional life drowned along. The divorce with Sussanne, no matter how devastating personally, was seen more as a failure of his public image. So much so that a public statement was issued reassuring his fans of his belief in the institution of marriage and commitment.
In a country that idol worships filmstars and takes every bit of the reel life sincerely, the man's broken marriage tainted his image and blasted the myth of perfection. Fatal, to say the least.
His innocence in Kaho Na Pyaar Hai or claim to fame with Koi Mil Gaya (a Greek God playing a bespectacled autistic boy stirred endless emotions and struck a chord with his audience) was soon forgotten. The power-packed performance in Agneepath became a thing of the past.
Think Hrithik now and you think of the women in his life, his ex-wife to his love-hate interests, the damage is huge. His fans delved into his personal space when the obsessively image-conscious actor decided to hit back at a woman slapping charges for being called a "silly ex".
Right or wrong is another aspect, but challenging a woman's modesty was tagged as "ungentlemanly" and only entangled him in deeper controversy that he could have easily evaded. Ugly PR strategy and nasty personal decisions rolled into one. The man became fodder for gossip and his relationships grabbed the limelight.
Once again, the hush hush dalliances/denials with Barbara Mori, Kareena Kapoor and Kangana Ranaut came alive. In such a time, Kaabil was desperately needed to revive the actors failing image and correct his dipping career graph. Here's what the film can do for him:
1) Focus on body of work: His fans applauded his acting skills when they saw a man as goodlooking as him play an autistic child effortlessly. Kaabil, once again brings the focus back on the actor's body of work, his commitment to social issues and his constant belief in being a man on a mission - to live the best life possible, come what may. Something that his Twitter bio boldly states.
2) The disability card: The actor plays a disabled man in Kaabil, a man whose disability is no reason to impede him in leading the life he desires, or falling in love, a man who makes "disability" totally normal. Hrithik underplayed his physical traits and became one with Ethan Mascarenhas in Guzaarish; evoking the struggles of people seeking euthanasia, he not only won critical acclaim but also accolades from many around the world. Kaabil, hence could be a turning point in the actor's life.
3) Absolve him of his "alleged" sins: In a recent show with Neha Dhupia, Kangana said if there was one man who is nothing without his father, it is Hrithik Roshan. And with all the public sympathy that the actress has managed to garner with respect to her alleged affair with him, only a Kaabil could bring out the actor in the man, something that would make his body of work a talking point. It could take the public focus away from frivolous secrets.
4) In harmony with his own personal struggles: Hrithik has been vocal about his childhood speech disability and how stammering is indeed a social stigma. He also suffered scoliosis and his early shying away from his two thumbs. With Kaabil and the focus on finding one's own abilities in physical disability, Hrithik, as we see through the trailer, emerges a winner. The movie, just going by the trailer, could make his fans sympathetic to his battles.
5) Faith in imperfect people, imperfect relationships: Despite his constant updates on Twitter playing a perfect father, the memory of a failed marriage has tarnished the man's image no end. And, Kaabil's trailer bringing two imperfect people together, seeking happiness in adversity, fighting the odds and making imperfections normal makes Hrithik's character appealing, realistic and honest. Something that, unfortunately, his "real" life hasn't been able to achieve.
Kaabil becomes one of the most awaited Hrithik Roshan movies. Also, his daddy's remedy to correct the fault in his stars!