Welcome back, filmy readers. Today I will share a school-time memory of filmy hysteria. So let's jump in.

In was the year 2000. I was in class IX, entering the most exciting period of age. Life was slow at those times. People have time to spend on the theatre. Movies used to run for six months to a year. It was the era of land phones. In every corner of town, you would have found a phone booth. 

Cinema was the most favourite medium of entertainment. In the year 2K, the movie “Koho Na Payaar He” hit the silver screen. With this movie, Mr. Hrithik Roshan was launched opposite Amisha Patel. 

Hrithik became an overnight sensation. He was a national crush. The songs of the movies were on the playlists of every occasion. The hysteria was unimaginable. I have never witnessed such frenzy over any movie there after.

Every handsome boy was addressed as Hrithik. The star became synonymous with handsomeness and a good look. 

It took me some time to understand the whole thing. Girls of my class used to keep postcard-size photos of Hrithik within books. 

There was a boy in our school who seemed older than us and had a built-up body with a sharp nose and Hrithik-like hair cut. Girls were crazy about him. Me, a shy boy with oily hair and a timid appearance, used to envy the ladies man.

Every wedding ceremony to birthday party, songs of “Koho Na Payaar He” were a must. I do not have the opportunity to see the movie at that time. I only watched the songs on television. I was mesmerised by the dance steps of Hrithik and swooned by the innocence of the leading lady.

On the occasion of Holi, boys of my locality danced with the song “Ek pal ka jina." I watched the euphoria from the roof of my house. 

I also want to have my hair cut like Hrithik. But the local barber used to treat me as a kid and apply army cuts to my hair. When the girls of my class used to giggle seeing my awkward hair cut, I only helped myself by cursing the barber.

The hysteria lasted for three to four years. When the early films of Hrithik failed at box office, our young physics teacher termed the success of “Koho Na Payaar He” as a fluke; girls angrily protested. I finally watched the movie on television years after the frenzy subdued. The film remains my favourite because it reminds me of good old days. 

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