There is this beautiful sense of irony that the most beautiful man in all of Bollywood and perhaps in all of India, one described as the Greek God, came to visit the streets and bylanes of India’s holiest city- Benares.
Imagine the beautiful construct of the sentence- a man with God-given looks comes visiting the city where gods and saints and priests in India’s beautiful Benares. It sits well with the conscience of all those, whether lovers of travel, spiritual sojourn and admirers of the film-world. Doesn’t it?
But in Hrithik Roshan’s world, a real sense of exploration seems a befitting constant, truth be told. He’s played the mentally challenged, on three occasions. He’s even played a paraplegic reduced to a motionless wheelchair-bound state. He’s been the most desirable thief- of arts and hearts, of course. And above than that- he’s also essayed the giant amongst the Moghuls, Akbar. What’s more? He even time-travelled back into the past and became one amongst thousands in Mohenjo Daro.
Now, it was only about time that he returned to the roots and played a common man, isn’t it? So Hrithik Roshan dully complied with the expectations one had of him and got ready to play a part in Super 30, the extraordinary tale of an ordinary man, Anand Kumar.
For those who didn’t know, Anand Kumar is the leading force behind training hundreds and hundreds of students at his legendary but humble Bihar-bound academy, Super 30, a Mecca for those preparing for engineering. At a time where the focus of much of the country rests either with the Prime Minister, toward the sporting world where a Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma shatter records or duly attuned to mega weddings hosted by business tycoons- there are some who silently stay content in giving students the direction of their lives.
Anand Kumar, it ought to be said, is a true manifestation of what it means to live one’s dreams through the flight of others’. Since he lacked the necessary financial bandwidth to take the flight of his engineering dreams- this devoted mathematician- dedicated his life toward helping students embark on their career-endeavours. And who better than Hrithik Roshan to have essayed the role of one of India’s true unsung heroes?
In order to get true preparation of his role, the moviemakers decided to shoot in the spiritual by-lanes of Benares, undoubtedly, India’s holiest city. And there went Hrithik Roshan to explore a one of a kind city. Just imagine the kind of history that the city commands. The legend Tulsidas spent most of his life here in Benares. Kabir, the greatest, was born here. Benares is home to the most iconic spiritual landmarks such as the Kashi Vishwanath temple, the legendary Sankat Mochan dedicated to the pious lord Hanuman and perhaps is the only city that celebrates the birth and death, almost at the same instance at the myriad “Ghats” bound by the holiest river of them all- the Ganga.
Hrithik Roshan has been here in Benares for a few days now and has been shooting at some of the most scenic and pristine beautiful locations along with film-maker Vikas Behl. So when the Varanasi schedule of the Anand Kumar biopic was wrapped up recently, Hrithik Roshan shot at a truly historic educational landmark of India- the BHU(Benares Hindu University). There were elaborate conversations between students, star-struck fans, the movie makers and the actor- Hrithik Roshan himself.
Besides the aforementioned, a number of popular residential areas of Benares have been captured in the film, such as Vyas Mandir, Ramnagar Killa, Kunwar Awaas and Balua Ghat amongst others. One wonders when will the much-awaited film hit the screens. After all, it’s not always that one gets to see a beautiful blend of a man possessing God-given looks having shot at a city where the Gods have resided.