Hrithik and Barbara promote "Kites"

If you watch Karan Johar’s "My Name is Khan", audiences worldwide will also be treated to the first look of Rakesh Roshan’s love saga "Kites". The film, directed by Anurag Basu, has the most-awaited contemporary screen pair — Bollywood’s Hrithik Roshan wooing Mexican beauty Barbara Mori. But it is a film that Hrithik almost never made. Years of strenuous dancing and doing breath-taking action for films like Krrish, Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa Akbar, that got the superstar every award worth its metal, also left Hrithik with excruciating knee pain. And just before he was to start work on his home production, the actor found himself on crutches!


Hrithik Roshan - HQ - Kites 8 pack




Rumours about the Hrithik-Barbara affair have been the talk of the industry for over two months now. The couple apparently got really close during the last shooting spell in Mumbai. Hrithik has also become extremely fond of her family, including her mother and her brother. Hrithik even made a trip to Amby Valley near Lonavala with the actresses’ family, minus his wife. I’m told “The couple hasn’t been making public appearances together for months, including at awards functions (except at fashion week and they seemed fine) I’m now told this was to allay talk of trouble in paradise they made an appearance together at Amrita Arora’s wedding, but their body language spoke volumes.





Major Knee Problems during Shooting of Kites

Two weeks before shooting began for Kites, Hrithik went to Santa Fe. He couldn’t even bend his knee because the cartilage was so badly damaged. I was broken, because I’m an athlete, a superhero, and to think of using duplicates just broke my spirit,’’ continues Hrithik.

Then a miracle happened. On the first day of the shoot, Hrithik’s pain came down by 50 per cent; after the first week it was down to 10 per cent. Then it was gone. “I thought all the things I did to heal my knee had converged together. Or my prayers had been answered,’’ he says. “That’s when I heard that Santa Fe is surrounded by magnetic mountains and people from over the world come there to get healed. It was destiny that we chose Santa Fe to begin Kites.’’



I used to just pick up a five pound dumbbell and do arm curves for 45 minutes. That became my cardio workout. I used to try and keep my heart rate up as much as I could. At times I used to just spin my hands like a windmill for half hour. Ab workouts were not a problem. And there was my diet. Living on egg whites, almonds and peanuts worked.’’

Relieved that he could get the actor he most wanted in Kites, Rakesh Roshan says, “I kept giving Hrithik confidence and I was sure things would work out for the better. During Krrish, Hrithik’s knee had given problems but he came out of it. I was praying for that miracle this time, too. But, honestly, I was mentally prepared to just pack up the entire schedule and return home if things didn’t work out...”




Indian Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan poses with Latin American actress Barbara Mori during a portrait session to promote the movie "Kites"