Why Hrithik Roshan was paid less than Preity Zinta in 'Mission Kashmir'

Director Vidhu Vinod Chopra knew he was taking a risk, but went on to cast Hrithik anyway because 'he came cheap'

Bollywood star Hrithik Roshan made his debut with father Rakesh Roshan's directorial Kaho Naa.. Pyaar Hai in 2000. The film turned out to be a hit and the actor was all set for a fruitful Bollywood career. The same year, he starred in Mission Kashmir with Preity Zinta, directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra. The decision was made mostly because at the time, Hrithik ‘came cheap’.

According to Hindustan Times, the making of the film was documented in Suketu Mehta’s 2004 book Maximum City. The actor recently celebrated his birthday and here's how he became an overnight sensation after the release of his debut film, which resulted in ‘near riots breaking out’ over him.

Rumour has it that not Hrithik but superstar, Shah Rukh Khan was supposed to play the role of Altaaf in the film, while Amitabh Bachchan was cast as Inayat Khan. But when both Shah Rukh and Amitabh dropped out in order to do Mohabbatein together, Vinod cast Hrithik and Sanjay Dutt instead.

“If Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Hrithik’s debut film, flopped when it released, so, in all probability, will Mission Kashmir,” wrote Suketu. But then the film-maker saw the Guzaarish star's work and made the decision to cast him in his film, which released only a few months after Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

And it paid off. “A phenomenon has been observed in theatres where Hrithik’s first film, a love story, has been showing: young women faint when he comes into the frame. They have been fainting all over India and abroad too...” Suketu wrote. “Near riots are breaking out over Hrithik.”

The book noted that Hrithik, who had signed on to Mission Kashmir for ₹11 lakh ( ₹4 lakh less than the film’s female lead, Preity Zinta), ‘is now asking for and getting ₹2 crore per picture from other directors’. “I can’t sleep, I am delirious,” Hrithik was quoted in the book as saying.

The success of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai prompted changes in Mission Kashmir’s script, with Hrithik, who was number three in the star list, was suddenly elevated to number one. Suketu was asked to write a ‘truly heroic climax for Hrithik, in which he, not Sanjay Dutt, took centre stage’.

Onset, Suketu reported, Vinod dressed Hrithik in tank tops. “I want something that shows the most skin. They thought there was skin in Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, we’ll have much more,” the director said.

Suketu, however, didn’t neglect to mention the hardships that Hrithik had to overcome to reach where he had. “The boy slaved for five years as an assistant director, eating bad food, sleeping in tents on location, and then in one week became the biggest star in a country of a billion people,” he wrote.

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