One of my heavyweight debates with non-Hrithik Roshan lovers was whether he is a good dancer/actor. As admirers, we’ve defended him; as observers, we’ve questioned him. Hrithik Roshan has always invited both responses from the audience. With Krrish 4, the actor is all set to acquire the director’s chair—and there’s no need to pretend it’s a safe move, it’s a one-of-a-kind, trembling thrill. But there is a big room to believe that someone who has listened so closely to his own craft might have something worth saying.
Hrithik Roshan pushed a full-fledged shift with his debut in Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai—his dance moves alone sent thrills through the industry. Ever since, arguments about his talent have reliably tangoed from his footwork to a nod of respect. In the years that followed, every character he embodied, we saw the intent he soiled himself in—he did the roles that propelled him to pluck up the courage and stretch beyond, consequently, he tackled each one with a kind of chameleonic conviction.
I am not a Krrish franchise loyalist. I have never revisited the films with the kind of devotion his other admirers have. As a viewer, I remained more of an observer of the franchise than a believer. However, what can’t be dismissed is how it stabilised certain templates and gave the country a superhero of its own.
Krrish—The Superhero
The film took its root in Koi… Mil Gaya. The first story was tender—about Rohit Mehra, whose life changed after an encounter with an alien, whom he names ‘Jadoo.’ The film’s crux is grounded in vulnerability rather than heroism. There have been debates on the first story as well, and comparisons were drawn with other international ‘alien movies.’ But the ‘Jadoo’ craze was undeniable.
The ‘it’s magic’ happened all from there.
Then Krrish arrived, and it expanded that emotional inheritance into something more recognisably heroic. The mask became a trend. The slip into this ‘superheroism’ for Indians got organic with Krrish’s arrival. The story was about Krishna Mehra, Rohit’s son, who carried forward his father’s magical abilities. With extraordinary genes, he flew off with his global ambition. The film reframed power as responsibility, placing the protagonist between the two worlds.
By the time Krrish 3 swung in, we realised that it had fully embraced its identity as a superhero saga. The threats grew larger, the villains more theatrical, and the actions became full-blown. Rohit Mehra returned as a scientist, while Krishna (Krrish) faced enemies (mutants) and an evil genius (Kaal), who had unchecked ambition and misuse of knowledge.
Together, Krrish therefore feels more generational than a conventional narrative. It therefore grew in public, carrying its emotional roots forward.
Krrish 4 in making—it is complex
“A director must be a policeman, a midwife, a psychoanalyst, a sycophant, and a bastard,” a famous quote by Billy Wilder. Filmmaking is a different craft, Stanley Kubrick said, “A film is—or should be—more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what’s behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.” Also, when he said, “Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and make a movie of any kind at all.”—what we should nonchalantly forget is that Hrithik Roshan here will not only perform the role of the director but also the lead actor. So, we are a bit tense about whether the actor, with an undoubtedly rich, profound background in films, shall be able to put the two heavy crafts on the table of justice, together.
Why the scepticism? Earlier, we saw Aamir Khan and Ajay Devgn directing their films; simultaneously, they also starred in them—both films did not do comparatively well. Apparently, both crafts are intense and require the artists’ full presence. Given that Hrithik Roshan is set to portray a ‘superhero’ character in the film, it shall require hardcore stunts, with precision and more. Along with that, he is also set to put on the director’s hat—tedious, definitely tedious.
But the conundrum could just be a mere possibility check, for we have also seen actors turned directors successfully leading films, and eventually they triumphed at the box office too. For example, Rishabh Shetty, Ben Affleck, Jon Favreau, Bradley Cooper and others.
Inheriting the cape
At some point, you see that every long-running story has to decide who carries it forward. For Krrish, the time has come, as it seems. Nobody knows Krrish more than Hrithik Roshan. So, now that he is set to acquire the director’s chair, it almost feels like he has been rehearsing this moment for years now. Having played the roles of Rohit Mehra and Krishna Mehra, he now steps outside the frame to decide how and where the breathing of frames should be placed.
So while it begins with a ‘leap of faith,’ all we want to say is that it is a ‘turn’—a turn taken after a long walk—it marks a Moment of introspection for all of us—for as an actor who has spent decades perfecting movement, now pauses to shape meaning—and we can’t wait for this one!
