While Hrithik Roshan fans grouse over Super 30’s postponement, trade feels otherwise

By Fenil Seta -

January 17, 2019 - 1:15 PM IST

There was inkling since a few months that the much awaited Hrithik Roshan-starrer Super 30 won’t be able to make it on its schedule release date of Republic Day 2019. Two more films – the Kangana Ranaut-starrer Manikarnika – The Queen Of Jhansi and the biopic Thackeray, based on Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, were also to come on the same day. One of the producers, Reliance Entertainment, had made it clear sometime back that Super 30 is indeed being pushed ahead. But no indication was given as to the exact release. Hence, speculations were going around that Super 30 might make it in March or April.

While Hrithik Roshan fans grouse over Super 30’s postponement, trade feels otherwise

But over the weekend, all speculations were laid to rest. The makers announced that Super 30 would be out only on July 26, 2019! In other words, Super 30 got pushed by six months from its original release date. This dealt a huge blow to countless Hrithik Roshan fans that have been waiting for his film since a long time. After all, his last release Kaabil had released on Republic Day 2017. So, Super 30 would be his first film in 2 ½ years!

That’s a huge gap between 2 releases for a superstar. Even Aamir Khan hasn’t taken such a gap. The superstar perfectionist famously stayed away from films for four years from August 2001, when his friendship drama Dil Chahta Hai hit theatres, to August 2005, when he unveiled his period action film Mangal Pandey – The Rising. After that, he has always had a release at least after a two-year gap. Between 3 Idiots in December 2009 and Talaash in November 2012, he again took a gap but in between he was seen in a supporting role in Dhobi Ghat in January 2011 and a special appearance in Delhi Belly in July 2011.

Hrithik Roshan meanwhile hasn’t done any such cameos in any Hindi film. He did appear in designer Vikram Phadnis’s directorial debut and a Marathi film Hrudayantar in July 2017 but it was forgettable and not seen by most of his fans. Also, this isn’t the first time he has been away from cinemas for considerable time. After debuting in January 2000 with the blockbuster Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, he did quite a many films back to back films. Till June 2004, he had already done as many as 11 films. Then came his first hiatus. After acting in Lakshya, he was directly seen two years later in the superhero saga Krrish in June 2006. Six months later, he treated fans with Dhoom 2. In 2007, he again had no release and in February 2008, his much talked about Jodhaa Akbar came out.

This was followed by a 2 year 3 months gap and then came the international flick Kites in May 2010. From November 2010 to January 2012, he had three releases – Guzaarish, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara and Agneepath. A huge gap then followed and in November 2013, he unveiled Krrish 3. In less than a year, he was back in October 2014 with Bang Bang. As expected, he then went on his break-spree once again and his historic drama Mohenjo Daro released in August 2016. This was followed by Kaabil 5 ½ months later.

Hence, as one can see, the actor has had many such gaps between his film releases. In all, he has done 22 films till now and 11 of them released in just 4 ½ years! And the remaining 11 films released in a span of 13 years!

So is this kind of strategy justified? Is it fair to deprive fans of your films for such a long time? Trade experts however don’t blame Hrithik for this situation. Both trade analyst Taran Adarsh and Girish Johar, film trade and business analyst, opine that in case of Super 30, the circumstances were not in his control. Taran Adarsh says, “With this postponement, the gap between his last release Kaabil and Super 30 have gone a bit too far. But then, certain things are not in your control. Ideally, an actor should do one film a year or two films a year, the latter especially if you are a superstar. And Hrithik belongs to the A-list of actors and ideally, he can do two films in a year. One can’t blame him and as an actor, he has delivered in terms of number, performance, fan following etc. Hence, it’s unfair to pinpoint him and put him down.”

Girish Johar echoes similar views, “There are many factors to be considered when you select a film. Firstly, the right team and script have to come together and it has to be shot well and whatever that you have envisaged have to be portrayed well on screen. Apart from that, these are professional hazards. Also, he has been busy with the ill-health of his father, Rakesh Roshan. And to me, Hrithik Roshan is a megastar and as a fan, I’d be keen to watch his film eagerly. Of course I’d like him to come often on screen and deliver more films. But to each his own. Just to come on screen for the heck of it and end up doing some bad films does not make sense.”

Taran Adarsh also reminds that it takes time for an actor to complete a film, then take it out of his system, move to the next film, start its prep, shoot it and complete its post-production. And if it’s a difficult genre, the process can get prolonged. This also depends from actor to actor and those who totally delve into a character usually take time. Girish Johar adds, “Stars like Hrithik Roshan, Aamir Khan and even actors like Ranveer Singh give too much to a film. Recently, Ranveer Singh went into a detox to get Khilji out of his mind and soul post Padmaavat. Same with Hrithik – he gives a lot in terms of physique, characterization, mannerisms etc. of his character. At the end of the day, an actor does get exhausted, as a result.”

Thankfully for Hrithik Roshan fans, after Super 30, they won’t have to wait for too long for his next film. His other release, co-starring Tiger Shroff, will be out on October 2, 2019, that is, in less than 2 ½ months after Super 30! In other words, after making his admirers wait endlessly, it’ll be back-to-back Hrithik dhamaka this year and needless to say, bring it on!

Also Read : Hrithik Roshan starrer Super 30 to release on July 26, 2019