Hrithik Roshan, whose new film Fighter is running in theatres, suffered a muscle injury recently. The actor shared a picture of himself in which he can be seen clicking a mirror selfie while he stands with the support of a pair of crutches. After the injury, Hrithik Roshan wrote a reflective piece on the notion of strength. He also addressed the popular perception "Men are strong" in his note. Hrithik began his note with an anecdote about his grandfather who refused to sit in a wheelchair at the airport as it would blemish his mental image of being "strong".
Hrithik wrote, "Good afternoon. How many of you out there ever needed to be on crutches or a wheelchair and how did that make you feel?" I remember my grandfather refusing to sit in a wheelchair at the airport because it wouldn't align with his own mental image of himself as "strong". I remember saying "But Deda, its just an injury and nothing to do with how old you are! It will help heal the injury and not damage it further!" It made me so sad to see how strong he needed to be just to hide the fear and embarrassment on the inside. I couldn't make sense of it. Made me feel helpless. I argued that the age factor is not applicable because he needs the wheelchair for an injury and not his old age. He refused and kept the strong image on display for strangers (who literally didn't care). It worsened his pain and delayed the healing." He added, "There definitely is merit in that kind of conditioning, its a virtue. It's the mentality of a soldier. My dad comes from the same conditioning. MEN are strong."
Hrithik Roshan continued, "But if you say soldiers never need crutches And even when they medically do, they must refuse, just for the sake of keeping the illusion of strong intact, Then I just think that the virtue has been stretched so far that it borders on plain stupidity. I believe true strength is being relaxed, composed and fully aware that nothing, not crutches, not a wheelchair, not any inability or vulnerability - and certainly not any sitting position can lessen or alter the image of that GIANT that you are on the inside."
Hrithik Roshan's note specified that strength is not always external but it's internal at times. He wrote, "Strength is not always being Rambo against all odds with a machine gun saying "f*** em!" That's applicable sure . Sometimes. And it's the kind we all aspire for. Even me. But the more coveted one is strength when there is no one to fight on the outside. It's that quiet fight on the inside between you and the "image" of you. If you come out of that one feeling like wanting to do a slow dance by yourself, then you're my hero."
Hrithik concluded his long note mentioning how he suffered the injury. He wrote, "Anyways, pulled a muscle yesterday woke up wanting to reach out about this notion of strength. This is of course a bigger conversation, the crutches is just a metaphor. If you get it, you get it."
Hrithik Roshan's motivational note received love from his family members. Hrithik's father Rakesh Roshan wrote, "More strength to you." Hrithik's cousin Pashmina Roshan wrote, "Love you so much." Saba Azad wrote, "My love. you a giant if I ever seen one." Hrithik's colleagues from the fraternity also sent him get well soon messages. Varun Dhawan wrote, "Heal up." Hrithik's War co-star Tiger Shroff wrote, "Get well soon." Neil Nitin Mukesh wrote, "Get well soon. God Bless." Take a look:
Hrithik Roshan's Fighter has been doing moderately well at the box office. After the film's release, Hrithik wrote a gratitude note for his fans. He wrote, "To Everyone who has watched and enjoyed Fighter, Thank you for all the love and support." Take a look:
Apart from Hrithik, the film featured Deepika Padukone, Anil Kapoor, Karan Singh Grover and Akshay Oberoi.