It’s not a secret that Hrithik Roshan used to badly stutter as a kid. Though back in 2000, no one knew that he had something that made his life miserable. We do remember Hrithik speaking about this problem in his first appearance on ‘Rendez-vous with Simi Garewal’ show, where he called his stuttering phase the biggest challenge of his life. The reason we are sharing this, even though it’s all news is not to show how Hrithik suffered a lot as a kid, but to help other kids, who are struggling with stammering or stuttering. It’s not easy, but like Hrithik’s journey stammering or stuttering can be overcome. It is a handicap that can be overcome, it’s not a permanent handicap. As long as you have it in you to overcome it, it will happen.
Hrithik on Stuttering
Everything seems normal until you start talking, you get stuck and you don’t know why? Right from your toes to the ends of your hair strands, you are in complete shock. Your heart palpitates, you don’t understand and you are aware of people looking at you. You can compare it to hell.
Hrithik on what age he started stuttering
Six to 35. I am 35.
Hrithik on whether he was bullied at school because of his stuttering
Of course. Unfortunately it is one of those handicaps that is made fun of. Especially kids, you can’t blame them but they end up being mean because it looks funny! So the childhood of a person suffering from a problem like this is pure hell. From the time you wake up in the morning to night you almost dread some days … to wake up! Because you have to go through an entire day when you have to use your speech and have to go through all those little moments of hell.
Hrithik on what he used to do to avoid going to school because of his stuttering
For oral tests at school, I used to bunk school, I used to fall sick, I used to break my hand, I used to get a sprain.
Hrithik on stuttering on stage when he went to pick up his first award
I was getting the Best Debut Actor for my first movie in Dubai and I wanted to say, I love you Dubai’ in my speech at the award function. But I couldn’t say Dubai’. I wanted to practice saying Dubai’ but for that I had to scream Dubai loudly. I couldn’t do that in my hotel room because my voice was being heard outside. I went to the bathroom and yelled Dubai’ but even then, it could be heard by people outside. Thankfully there was a big cupboard in the room. I locked myself up in the cupboard and practiced say Dubai’. Finally, at the awards function, I was able to say that with a flow.
How Hrithik overcame his stammering problem
When Hrithik decided that he had to overcome his stammering, he joined speech therapy classes. With determined perseverance and will power, Hrithik could overcome his speech disorder. He used to repeat all the alphabets in different manners so as to have a strong grip on pronunciation thereby boosting his confidence levels. He used to practice in front of a mirror alone in a room for long hours to improve his speech skills. He used to practice and still does for long hours. He is also quite open about his speech disorder and this openness without a feeling of shame or guilt has in turn made him more confident in front of people. Hrithik still practices speech therapy everyday for an hour or so as to prevent relapsing into speech disorder again.
Hrithik on going for treatment for his stammering problem
All the memories of my past difficulties came spilling out at Nanavati. When I met my doctor who treated me at age 14 for stammering, I could barely control my emotions. It’s not easy to be a special child. I got over it, so will you. I think it is very important for me to convey this message far and wide and I want to do it more often.