His Launch And What Followed...

What followed were acting classes to polish up an inherent histrionic ability, and a rigorous fitness regimen to cultivate that well-toned physique that's today left many a woman gasping in shock. As Hrithik puts it, "The minute I was confident, Dad was ready to launch me." Like a perfected jigsaw with all pieces well in place, Rakesh Roshan, who had until then been working on the scripting of a love story, was ready to cast for the same. He'd decided on working with a debutante lead pair. Strangely convenient as it may seem, he found one half of it in his backyard. Hrithik was ready for launch. The jigsaw looked complete.

As it has turned out, 'Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai', which was released early in January 2003, turned a spectral flash of light that left Bollywood completely awestruck in the new millennium. Having already broken box-office records set by the last-heralded blockbuster 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai', 'Kaho Naa ...' gave music countdowns newer music to play in the number one slot. Besides it also conferred on debutante heroine, Amisha Patel, the 'Amisha ji' tag, (for the uninitiated, the 'ji' suffix works as linguistic evidence of an actor having attained stardom in Bollywood.) In fact, so dominant was Hrithik's power and pull right after his debut superduper hit, that father-in-law Sanjay Khan worked with the young star himself on creating an official "Hrithik" web site. What's more, some trade pundits went a little overboard, and even predicted the waning of Khan power in Bollywood! With women of all ages swooning over this new hazel-eyed prince, it indeed seemed like India had just welcomed its newest superstar.