Rakesh Roshan

Rakesh Roshan (born 6 September 1949) is an Indian film producer, director, screenwriter, and actor who works in Hindi films. He is the son of Indian music director Roshan and Indian Bengali singer Ira Roshan. He had appeared in 84 films throughout the 1970s and 1980s until 1989. As an actor, he was mostly known for his supporting roles in big-budget films starring Sanjeev Kumar and Rajesh Khanna in the lead role. Later, he achieved fame for directing films with titles beginning with the letter "K" since 1987. As a filmmaker, his most notable work includes the drama ''Khudgarz'' (1987), the revenge drama ''Khoon Bhari Maang'' (1988), the comedy-drama ''Kishen Kanhaiya'' (1990), the crime thriller ''Karan Arjun'' (1995), the romance '' Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'' (2000), the science fiction '' Koi... Mil Gaya'' (2003) and the superhero ''Krrish'' film series (20062013). Rakesh won the Filmfare Award for Best Director for directing the films; ''Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'' and ''Koi... Mil Gaya''.

In January 2019, Rakesh was diagnosed with early-stage squamous cell carcinoma of the throat.

Career

1970-1990

After his father's ( Roshan) untimely death, Rakesh started his career as an assistant director to film maker Mohan Kumar in films like Anjaana starring Rajendra Kumar and Babita. Actor Rajendra Kumar referred him to some film makers and thus he was signed by Soodesh Kumar for Man Mandir starring Sanjeev Kumar and Waheeda Rehman. But he made his entry as an actor, making his debut in the 1970 film '' Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani'', in which he got a supporting role. He got very few solo hero films in his career. He got solo hero roles in more women-oriented films where the focus was more on the heroine, such as ''Paraya Dhan'' with Hema Malini, ''Aankh Micholi'' with Bharati, ''Khubsoorat'' with Rekha and ''Kaamchor'' with Jaya Prada. His few successful solo hero films, with the focus equally on both hero and heroine, were ''Aankhon Aankhon Mein'' with Rakhee, ''Nafrat'' with Yogita Bali, ''Ek Kunwari Ek Kunwara'' with Leena Chandavarkar, ''Hamari Bahu Alka'' with Bindiya Goswami and ''Shubh Kaamna'' with Rati Agnihotri. J. Om Prakash produced ''Aankhon Aankhon Mein'' with Rakesh in the lead. Later, J. Om Prakash directed ''Aakraman'', with Sanjeev Kumar in the lead, and had Rakesh in a supporting role, and then produced ''Aakhir Kyun?'', with Rajesh Khanna in the lead and Rakesh in a supporting role. Rakesh played supporting roles in a few successful films such as ''Man Mandir'' with Sanjeev Kumar in the lead, '' Khel Khel Mein'' with Rishi Kapoor in the lead, ''Bullet'' with Dev Anand as the hero, '' Hatyara'' with Vinod Khanna in the lead, '' Dhongee'' with Randhir Kapoor, '' Khandaan'' with Jeetendra and '' Neeyat'' with Shashi Kapoor as the lead hero. He played supporting roles regularly in films with Rajesh Khanna in the lead role and of those, '' Chalta Purza'' was a failure and the other three were blockbusters - '' Dhanwan'', ''Awaaz'' and ''Aakhir Kyon?''. The few multi-star cast films he was part of as the lead hero that were successful between 1977 and 1986 were ''Devata'', '' Shriman Shrimati'' and '' Haathkadi'', all of which had Sanjeev Kumar as the main lead hero and ''Jaag Utha Insan'' and ''Ek Aur Sikander'', which had Mithun Chakraborty in the main lead, and other hits such as ''Dil Aur Deewaar'', ''Khatta Meetha'', ''Unees-Bees'' (1980) and ''Maqaar'' (1986). Most of his other films as second lead hero or solo hero films between 1973 and 1990 were box office flops.

Rakesh set up his own production company, Filmkraft, in 1980 and their first production was ''Aap Ke Deewane'' (1980), which was a box office flop. His next venture was ''Kaamchor'', also produced by him, which became a hit, but the success of this film was attributed to its music and the heroine Jaya Prada. His next solo hero film ''Shubh Kaamna'', directed by K. Vishwanath, was a hit. He tried to re-launch himself as a lead hero with '' Bhagwaan Dada'' (1986), directed by J. Om Prakash and starring Rajinikanth as the main lead and himself in the second lead. But '' Bhagwaan Dada'' was a flop. Between 1984 and 1990 he only got supporting roles, with the exception of '' Bahurani''. The multi-star films where he was the second lead, such as ''Maqaar'' and ''Ek Aur Sikander'' were successful. His last film as a leading hero was '' Bahurani'', which was a woman-oriented film starring Rekha in the lead, which was directed by Manik Chatterjee and released in 1989.

1990–present

He made his directorial debut with ''Khudgarz'' (1987), and went on to direct box office hits such as '' Khoon Bhari Maang '' (1988), ''Kishen Kanhaiya'' (1990), ''Karan Arjun'' (1995), and the Shahrukh Khan starrer ''Koyla'' (1997). However, his other directorial ventures flopped. During this time, from 1990 to 1999 he only acted occasionally in films, making guest appearances, and focused mostly on directing. He launched his son Hrithik's career as an actor with '' Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai'' (2000). Rakesh later revealed that this film was inspired by the storyline of Aradhana, starring Rajesh Khanna. This film, the highest grosser of 2000, entered the Limca Book of Records for the most awards won by a Bollywood film. He directed his son again in the 2003 science fiction film '' Koi... Mil Gaya,'' (fetching him the Filmfare award 2004 for best director), and its sequel, the science fiction superhero film ''Krrish'' (2006), both of which were also very successful at the box office. In 2008, he produced the film ''Krazzy 4''. In 2010, he released a Bollywood meets Hollywood crossover film titled ''Kites''. Another version of this film was released internationally and known as '' Brett Ratner presents Kites: The Remix''. This version was shorter, and mainly toned down the amount of musical numbers. His latest film as producer was ''Kaabil'', which released on 25 Jan 2017. The film stars Hrithik Roshan and Yami Gautam, and it grossed over Rs. 100 Crores at the box office.

2000 assassination attempt

On 21 January 2000, Roshan was shot at by two Budesh gang members near his office on Tilak Road at Santacruz West. The assailants fired two bullets at him, one of which hit him on the left arm, while the other grazed his chest. As the director fell to the ground, the assailants fled the scene. The assailants were later identified as Sunil Vithal Gaikwad and Sachin Kamble. The attack on Rakesh was not undertaken with the intent to kill, but to signal that the Shiv Sena could no longer protect its clients. Rakesh had stonewalled demands from Budesh for a percentage of the profits from the overseas sale of the Hindi all-time blockbuster; '' Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai''.

Honors

* Rakesh was honoured on 3 December 2006 during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Panaji for his contribution to mainstream cinema.
* On 11 December 2006, Rakesh was honoured during the Global Indian Film Awards (GIFA) for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema over the past 35 years.

Filmography

Frequent collaborations

As a director, Rakesh is known for making films with his son Hrithik Roshan and having music directed by his brother Rajesh Roshan. Other actors he has frequently collaborated with include Rekha, Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan, and Amrish Puri. As a director, his every film's name have starting with 'K'.

Awards

References

External links

*

LUX Magazine: Bollywood Bubbling

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roshan, Rakesh
Male actors in Hindi cinema
Indian male voice actors
Film directors from Mumbai
Hindi-language film directors
Living people
20th-century Indian male actors
21st-century Indian male actors
Male actors from Mumbai
Sainik School alumni
1949 births
Film producers from Mumbai
20th-century Indian film directors
21st-century Indian film directors
Producers who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award
Directors who won the Best Film on Other Social Issues National Film Award
Screen Awards winners
Zee Cine Awards winners
International Indian Film Academy Awards winners