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EXCLUSIVE: Farhan Akhtar reveals reason behind casting Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya; shares why the movie is still relevant
Farhan Akhtar recently spoke exclusively to Pinkvilla and revealed why his 2004 film Lakshya is still relevant today and nobody but only Hrithik Roshan could have pulled this movie off. Read on.
Farhan Akhtar’s 2004 war drama Lakshya is returning to theatres and no doubt the craze remains the same even after two decades. The filmmaker sat in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla where he revealed the growing connection of audiences with the movie and why Hrithik Roshan was the best man to pull off the character of Karan Shergill.
Farhan Akhtar on his experience of working in Lakshya
Speaking to us candidly, the 50-year-old shared, “It was an incredible journey.” He felt it was impossible to have made Lakshya without the help of the armed forces and their belief in the story gave Farhan’s team a lot of strength and a lot of courage. “To have the cast as you have seen in the film and the crew who were behind the scenes - without their energy and their support, it would have been impossible to have made this film, it was a difficult film to make”, Akhtar said.
Farhan Akhtar shared that the entire team grew up during the making of this movie. “We were different people before this film started and we were different when the film ended. It demanded so much maturity, commitment, discipline, and dedication on another level. All of us grew up and understood what filmmaking is truly about.”
Asked why he thinks that Lakshya is still relevant today, Farhan told us, “The emotions are universal and timeless. Be it the father-son relationship or the lover's relationship, all of it is relatable through time and all of us at some point in life have needed either support, help, or just a pat on our back. That’s something I am sure everybody can relate to even now.”
How did Farhan Akhtar imagine Hrithik Roshan in Lakshya?
Ever since his debut, Hrithik was frequently seen in a soft lover boy role and to break it through with Lakshya was a work of visionary Farhan. Revealing that he knew Hrithik since they were kids, Akhtar continued, “He always wanted to act. We enjoyed the same movies growing up and we would speak about the same films.”
“I remember when I saw the trial show of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, I was absolutely blown away by him and what he had done in the movie. I had made it a little thing in my head that if I am doing another film and it's possible to cast him I would like to work with him,” Farhan revealed.
According to the Dil Chahta Hai director, Hrithik was the right age for this role and no one had tapped into this side of his personality at all. “He was playing characters but he was playing them in a larger-than-life mainstream way. He wasn’t given an opportunity to really be his vulnerable self, to be his insecure self, to be someone who is still wondering what is next and I genuinely believe ‘characters end up finding actors’,” Akhtar asserted.
“We went to him first, I am really glad that he got into it and he said yes but I cannot imagine anybody else having played that part with the kind of nuance, sophistication, and calmness. He has done everything in it and it couldn’t be better,” Farhan signed off.
For the unversed, Lakshya also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Preity Zinta in key roles and over the years attained the status of a cult classic.
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