An Open Letter To Hrithik Roshan

Dear Hrithik,

You must be a brave man. Calling a brain surgery a minor affair! I love your positivity. An attitude like that means half the battle is won.

News of your surgery did come as a shock. It was out of the blue. I'm sure your family, friends, well-wishers and even fans are equally distraught. But with news of the successful operation, everyone is heaving a sigh of relief. I can imagine the worry your family must be going through right now even as you are on the road to recovery.

Uppermost on their mind will be their worry about you wanting to be a hero!

Now don't get me wrong here. According to reports, you were injured while rehearsing for a stunt for your upcoming film, BANG BANG.

While it's best to do your own stunts, provided they are in the ambit of being termed as 'safe', why do stunts that require special skills? I mean it's OK to be a hero on screen. And we all know that heroes are heroes and they do all the stunts on screen even though it's a duplicate hanging out there 30 feet from a chopper! That's the real world.

So why risk your life and limb doing what you are not equipped to do? Stunts like you were attempting in Phuket require a special skill set and astute alertness of mind and body. The mind and body has to work in sync and the limbs have to be ready to move at the sound of 'action'. Being a stuntman is different from being a hero. A stuntman cannot be a hero. Neither can a hero be a stuntman. Unless of course, you are a martial arts exponent like Vidyut Jamwal who has trained his body to go through fire.

You are one among the rare breed of actors who got a roaring start at the box office. Of late, you have deliberately gone slow and that is a wise choice. It's pointless doing films you are not comfortable with. It's better to put your all into a film that you believe in. But putting your all does not necessarily mean risking life and limb.

You have a family to come back home to. You are an actor first. And a bloody good one at that.

In future, I hope you do not attempt to do things, which commonsense says you should not. Respect life, do things you are comfortable doing. Do not attempt to risk everything just for a fleeting moment of adrenaline rush. At the age of 18 to 24, it is understandable. At 39???

Praying for your speedy recovery and that you are back to doing what you love doing... being in front of the camera.

Not hanging on a rope mid-air!

God Bless You.

Sincerely
Martin D'Souza

Everyone can write nice letters to if you give people the time of day. 😳