Rakesh Roshan and Jeetendra highlighted how celebrities are soft targets for scrutiny.
Jeetendra and Rakesh Roshan.
Rakesh Roshan is among the iconic directors in Bollywood who have contributed to Hindi cinema with their exceptional craft. However, his path to success hasn’t always been easy, making him an easy target for scrutiny. Speaking to Fever FM, Rakesh recalled an incident when a drunk man abused him and Jeetendra at a restaurant.
Rakesh Roshan said, “Once Jeetendra and I were sitting at a restaurant. A drunk man was sitting right in front of us. For some reason, he began to abuse us, taking our names. I was furious looking at this.”
While Rakesh Roshan got angry and wanted to speak to the man, veteran actor Jeetendra kept calm and thought it best to avoid the situation. The director recalled, “I said to Jeetendra, ‘Jeetu, I think we should speak to him.’ Jeetu said, ‘Let’s go. Let’s keep quiet. We don’t know him, he knows us. So we are soft targets. So, we walked away from there. That was the lesson I learnt from him.”
This was not the only time that the director came under attack. Although this was a verbal attack, Rakesh Roshan has also been subjected to physical attacks in his career. The veteran director was once shot at soon after launching son Hrithik Roshan’s Bollywood career with Kaho Na Pyaar Hai.
The release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai was a happy time for the Roshan family as Rakesh Roshan had successfully launched his son, Hrithik Roshan, in Bollywood. The film was a massive success and paved the way for Hrithik’s superstardom. However, soon after the film’s release, Rakesh Roshan was shot in a shocking accident, leaving the family traumatised.
For the unversed, in the year 2000, Rakesh Roshan was shot by assailants in broad daylight in Mumbai a week after the release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, Hrithik Roshan’s debut film. After being injured with two bullets, Rakesh Roshan drove himself to the hospital. The attack was believed to be linked to the underworld. It was a shocking time for the Roshan family as on one hand, Hrithik Roshan had been launched into superstardom and on the other hand, Rakesh Roshan had been shot at.
