Rakesh Roshan on inspiration for The Roshans, why he never quit Bollywood despite failures: 'Main padha-likha..'

Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan joins DNA India, sharing reactions to the docu-series on his family- The Roshans, and the incident that inspired him to come out from his private life and led this 4-part series. The Roshans narrates the chronicle of the Nagrath family, starting with music director Roshan Nagrath, followed by Rajesh Roshan, Rakesh and Hrithik. The show further discusses how the future generations of the family adopt the surname Roshan and take it to new heights.

In the conversation, Rakesh, with his vibrant smile discusses the messages he's receiving after the release of the series, and says, "I'm very happy to revive my father's music today: his composition, his contribution to the world. People are stunned. I got so many messages saying 'We have heard this song, but didn't know it was composed by your father'." The director of Karan Arjun further reveals what triggered him to make the docu-series. He says, "Many years back, there was a transistor with 5000-10000 songs, sung by famous singers, composed by popular composers, and it had the names of the actors, and filmmakers. I used to listen to these songs. One day I decided to listen to my father's song, but my father's song was not there, and I couldn't find his name in the list as well. I felt very bad about it." 

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Rakesh further adds, "My father did such good work. Gave such beautiful compositions, and there's no mention of it? Unka naam nahi hai, baki sab ka naam hai. Then I met Shashi Ranjan one day. We had this discussion in our farmhouse. Shashi was singing my father's songs, and he's a fan of his work, So I discussed my dilemma with him, and he gave an idea 'Why don't you make a documentary on him?' And that's where I got the inspiration." 

The third episode is dedicated to Rakesh's journey from a failed actor to a blockbuster director. Ask him if he was advised to leave films after several failed attempts as actor and then producer, Rakesh reveals, "Main kabhi kissi ke kehne pe aata nahi hoon. Kaha bhi hoga toh maine suna nahi hoga. Mujhe andar se pata tha ki main kuch aur kar bhi nahi sakta hoon. Mujhe kuch aata hi nahi tha. Main padha-likha nahi tha, toh mujhe koi naukari bhi nahi milti (I never come at anyone's behest. Even if they would have said something, I would not have heard it. I knew deep inside that I would not be able to do anything else. I did not know anything. I was not educated, so I would not have got any job)." Directed by Shashi Ranjan, The Roshans is currently streaming on Netflix. 

Also read: Meet actor who had 16 flops, was insulted by producer, then he become superstar, has net worth of Rs 2700 crore