Hrithik Roshan: Biography of the Actor, Dancer and Producer

A film family in Bombay

Hrithik Roshan was born Hritik Rakesh Nagrath on 10 January 1974 in Bombay, now Mumbai. Cinema ran through both sides of his family. His paternal grandfather, Roshanlal Nagrath, was the composer known simply as Roshan. His father, Rakesh Roshan, was an actor who became a successful director and producer, and his uncle, Rajesh Roshan, is a well-known music composer. His mother, Pinkie, is the daughter of the producer and director J. Om Prakash.

As a child Hrithik appeared briefly in several 1980s films, but he has often said that he was a shy boy who struggled with a stammer. He has spoken publicly about the speech therapy and daily practice that helped him manage it, and he has supported causes connected to stammering ever since. He studied at Bombay Scottish School and then at Sydenham College, and spent several years as an assistant director on his father's films, learning how a production worked from the inside.

Education, the stammer and a back injury

Roshan was educated at the Bombay Scottish School in Mahim and went on to Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics in Mumbai, graduating in commerce. As a child he had a severe stammer that made school oral tests an ordeal; he has described years of daily speech therapy and reading aloud to overcome it, and later supported speech-therapy initiatives for children.

At around 21 he was diagnosed with scoliosis, a curvature of the spine, and was told by doctors that he might not be able to dance or do action. He has said he worked around it through training. Before his debut he worked as an assistant director on his father's films, including King Uncle, Karan Arjun and Koyla, while training in acting and dance.

Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and overnight fame

Hrithik's first leading role came in his father's romantic thriller Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, released in January 2000. He played a double role opposite another newcomer, Ameesha Patel, and the film became one of the most successful Hindi releases of the year. His dancing, especially in the title song and "Ek Pal Ka Jeena", made him an instant star. The film brought him the Filmfare awards for Best Actor and Best Male Debut in the same year.

That success was followed by the terrorism drama Fiza and Karan Johar's family epic Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... (2001), which confirmed his popularity. Several films that followed did poorly, however, and critics began to ask whether the debut had been a one-off.

Koi... Mil Gaya and Krrish

The answer came with Koi... Mil Gaya (2003), again directed by Rakesh Roshan. Hrithik played Rohit, a young man with a developmental disability whose life changes after he befriends a visitor from another planet. The role was a risk for a romantic hero, and it paid off: the film was a hit and won him both the Filmfare Best Actor award and the critics' award.

The story continued in Krrish (2006), in which Rohit's son becomes a masked superhero. Krrish was one of India's first big-budget superhero films, and it led to Krrish 3 (2013). In 2006 Hrithik also played a charismatic thief in Dhoom 2, a role that brought him a third Filmfare Best Actor award. Between them, these films made him one of the most bankable stars in the industry.

Range: Lakshya to Guzaarish

Hrithik has repeatedly chosen parts that test him. In Farhan Akhtar's Lakshya (2004) he played an aimless young man who finds purpose in the army during the Kargil war. In Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodhaa Akbar (2008) he played the Mughal emperor Akbar opposite Aishwarya Rai, learning sword-fighting, riding and Urdu for the role, and won his fourth Filmfare Best Actor award.

In Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish (2010) he played a quadriplegic former magician campaigning for the right to die, a performance widely praised even though the film was not a commercial success. In Zoya Akhtar's Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara (2011) he was the uptight member of a group of friends on a road trip through Spain, and the film became a cult favourite.

Agneepath and the 2010s

In January 2012 Hrithik starred in Agneepath, Karan Malhotra's remake of the 1990 Amitabh Bachchan film, produced by Dharma Productions. He played Vijay Deenanath Chauhan, a man who spends his life seeking revenge on Kancha Cheena, played by Sanjay Dutt, for the killing of his father. Priyanka Chopra and Rishi Kapoor co-starred. Agneepath set opening-day records and was one of the highest-grossing Hindi films of 2012. Its release also produced a wave of promotional stills and fan wallpapers online, which is how many readers first came to CareerMasti.

Later in the decade he starred in the action comedy Bang Bang! (2014), the period film Mohenjo Daro (2016) and the revenge thriller Kaabil (2017). In 2019 he played the Patna mathematics teacher Anand Kumar in the biopic Super 30, and a rogue agent opposite Tiger Shroff in Siddharth Anand's War, one of the biggest hits of the year. He later reunited with Siddharth Anand for the aerial action film Fighter (2024).

War, Fighter and War 2

Siddharth Anand's War (2019), in which Roshan played the rogue agent Major Kabir Dhaliwal opposite Tiger Shroff, became one of the biggest Hindi hits of the decade and the start of Yash Raj Films' spy universe. He followed it with the Hindi remake Vikram Vedha (2022) and the aerial action film Fighter (2024) with Deepika Padukone. War 2 (2025), in which he returned as Kabir alongside the Telugu star N. T. Rama Rao Jr., opened big but underperformed against expectations.

What's next: Krrish 4 and Storm (as of November 2026)

In 2025 Rakesh Roshan announced that Hrithik would direct Krrish 4, the next film in the family's superhero series, co-produced with Yash Raj Films. In June 2026 Rakesh Roshan dismissed reports of a budget dispute, said the script was nearly final and said the team planned to begin shooting by the end of 2026. No release date had been announced.

Roshan has also turned producer under HRX Films, a division of the family company Filmkraft Productions. Its first project is Storm, a Prime Video thriller series created and directed by Ajitpal Singh about five women caught up in a Mumbai housing scam; filming wrapped in May 2026, and no premiere date had been announced when this page was checked.

Selected filmography

Dance and television

Hrithik is widely regarded as one of the finest dancers in Hindi cinema. In 2011 he made his television debut as a judge on the dance reality show Just Dance, alongside Farah Khan and Vaibhavi Merchant, and was reported to be the highest-paid film star on Indian television at the time. In 2013 he launched HRX, a casual and fitness clothing brand.

Personal life

Hrithik married Sussanne Khan, the daughter of actor Sanjay Khan, on 20 December 2000. They have two sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan. The couple separated in 2013 and divorced in 2014, and both have said they remain on friendly terms and share parenting. He is now in a relationship with the actor and musician Saba Azad.

Hrithik has been open about health setbacks, including a brain surgery in 2013 to remove a blood clot after an injury on set, and about his childhood stammer.

Family: a three-generation film dynasty

Roshan's paternal grandfather was the music composer Roshan (Roshanlal Nagrath), whose name the family adopted; his maternal grandfather was the producer-director J. Om Prakash. His father, Rakesh Roshan, was an actor before becoming the director of Karan Arjun, Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai and the Krrish films, and his uncle Rajesh Roshan is a music composer. His mother is Pinkie Roshan and his elder sister is Sunaina Roshan.

He married Sussanne Khan, an interior designer and the daughter of the actor Sanjay Khan, on 20 December 2000. Their sons, Hrehaan and Hridhaan, were born in 2006 and 2008. The couple separated in 2013 and divorced in 2014, and continue to co-parent; Roshan has been in a public relationship with the actor and musician Saba Azad since 2022.

Net worth and HRX

The M3M Hurun India Rich List 2025 estimated the wealth of Hrithik Roshan and family at ₹2,160 crore, third among Indian film personalities, and credited most of it to HRX, the fitness and athleisure brand he launched in 2013. Like any rich-list number, it is an outside estimate rather than a disclosed figure. He is also among the most sought-after brand ambassadors in Indian advertising, and the family lives in Juhu, Mumbai.

Awards and legacy

Hrithik Roshan has won six Filmfare Awards from eighteen nominations: four for Best Actor (Kaho Naa... Pyaar Hai, Koi... Mil Gaya, Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa Akbar), one Best Actor (Critics) award, and Best Male Debut. He has appeared many times in the Forbes India Celebrity 100 list since 2012.

His career shows how a star from a film family still had to prove himself after early setbacks. The roles that defined him, from Rohit in Koi... Mil Gaya to Akbar and Anand Kumar, were often the ones that seemed least likely to work for a conventional hero.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Wikipedia: Hrithik Roshan (cross-checked dates, films and awards)
2. Filmfare: award winners archive
3. Wikipedia: Agneepath (2012 film)
4. CNBC TV18: Hurun India Rich List 2025, wealthiest film personalities
5. The Week: Rakesh Roshan on Krrish 4 (June 2026)
6. Hollywood Reporter India: Storm and HRX Films
7. Wikipedia: Hrithik Roshan filmography

Facts checked against the sources above by Tulasiram Pemmadi on 8 November 2026 (IST). Where reliable sources disagree, the article says so. Spotted an error? See our corrections page or email contact@nextplayintel.com.

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