Hrithik Roshan recalls fatal attack on Rakesh Roshan’s dad: ‘He was shot…’

Last update:January 18, 2025, 11:23 am EST

Rakesh Roshan was shot dead a week after the release of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai.

Veteran director Rakesh Roshan with his superstar son Hrithik Roshan. (Photo: rakesh_roshan9/Instagram)

In 2000, Rakesh Roshan was shot dead 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 by two bullets, Rakesh Roshan himself was admitted to hospital. The attack was believed to be related to the underworld. In the new docu-series The Roshans, Hrithik Roshan recalls the attack on his father.

Hrithik Roshan said, “God, it was obviously a difficult time. But I still don’t remember being afraid for my dad. He was Superman. Even when he was in the hospital, I remember seeing a glimpse of the blood-red sheets and for a second it scared me. But the next moment my dad was talking and laughing and he seemed to be able to handle it.”

“Just a month later, my mother told me what had happened the night before, when my father had woken up screaming for help, thinking he had been shot at. It was then that I realized the weakness behind Superman. He had such a strong façade that he simply never revealed his soft side,” he recalled.

The docuseries also includes footage of Hrithik referring to an incident that took place in 2000. He said: “As you all know, my family has been through a lot over the last few weeks. My father, who always believed in good work, was recently attacked by unknown perpetrators. I was losing faith in people, in goodness, in the world.

“I didn’t see the point in all the hard work we humans put in. Basically nothing made sense. I just wanted to leave before it all started for me… I’m here tonight to let people know that no matter how much some people try to bring us down, we will rise up. We believe in one thought that the show must go on,” Hrithik mentioned.

It was a shocking time for the Roshan family as on one hand Hrithik Roshan was catapulted to stardom and on the other hand Rakesh Roshan was shot at.