In the newly-released documentary series, The Roshans, Hrithik Roshan talked about the assassination attempt on his father Rakesh Roshan and what the family had to go through in the days following the incident. After Hrithik’s debut in 2000 with Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Rakesh was shot at by two assailants, leaving him fatally injured. The filmmaker miraculously drove himself to the hospital and survived. The attack was linked to the underworld, which had a powerful influence on the film industry during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Speaking of the incident in the documentary, Hrithik said, “God, it was a hard time, of course. But I still can’t remember me feeling afraid for my dad. He was Superman. Even when he was in the hospital, I remember seeing a glimpse of blood-red sheets, and it made me scared for a second. But just the next moment, my dad was conversing, laughing, and it seemed like he could handle this.”
He added, “It was only month after that, my mom narrated what had happened the previous night, that my dad had woken up screaming, screaming for help, thinking that he’d been shot at. That was when I realised the vulnerability behind that Superman. He had such a strong facade, he just never let his soft side out.”
Rakesh also briefly spoke of the incident and said, “News would keep flowing in about Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai’s success, about how much money it’s making. It was all so overwhelming, and that was the reason I came out of all this mess."
The Roshans is currently streaming on Netflix.