At the Fighter press conference, Hrithik Roshan recalled an incident from the film's set and said how Anil Kapoor's dedication and passion towards his work inspired him. Hrithik Roshan complimented Anil Kapoor for a scene and the actor had tears in his eyes after hearing that. This whole incident moved Hrithik and he said that he hopes to God that he can maintain that kind of power in him to be able to give that much of him like he (Anil Kapoor) has. Hrithik Roshan began with these words, "I worked as an assistant while watching you (Anil Kapoor) in many of my dad's films. I have modelled my process of how to get into the film as an actor by seeing you. I spent 3-4 years doing that."
Before narrating the Anil Kapoor incident, Hrithik Roshan recounted how people normally react when they get compliments. "When you tell somebody, when you compliment somebody that he has done well in a scene, the common reaction is "Oh, thank you so much. That's great, I am happy." But when you win a gold medal at the Olympics or when you win the Wimbledons, something that you put your entire life and soul and every cell of you has gone into something, then when you get a compliment, you feel overwhelmed. You have tears in your eyes."
Coming back to the Fighter scene, Hrithik said that he had seen a few scenes featuring Anil Kapoor on that day. Addressing to him, he said, "The scene written on paper was very aggressive. It was full of anger. Then I saw what you did and I told you that you have interpreted the scene in an entirely different emotional way and it takes the film from there to there in one scene. Your eyes are welled up...You have tears in your eyes. And I was just watching you aghast. This man puts so much of himself to that one scene that he is getting tears in his eyes after hearing a compliment - it's after four decades of doing what he does. Still he has that power to give that much into a scene. That day I again turned into an assistant and watched him." Deepika Padukone added, "Every actor of our generation aspires to be like you." When Hrithik recalled the incident in front of media, Anil Kapoor again got teary-eyed.
On Hrithik Roshan's birthday, Anil Kapoor shared a BTS picture from the sets and wrote, "The inspired said to the inspiration - "Are you for real!?"Kaun inspired hai aur kaun inspiration,I'll leave the guesswork to you. Happy Birthday HR. Love you Fighter." Take a look:
Fighter marks Deepika Padukone and Hrithik Roshan's first collaboration. Deepika has previously worked with Siddharth Anand in the 2008 film Bachna Ae Haseeno and the 2023 hit Pathaan, co-starring Shah Rukh Khan and John Abraham. Hrithik Roshan and Siddharth Anand have collaborated on projects like Bang Bang and War.