What makes Hrithik tick and Madhavan a hit?

``REETHIK ROSAN,'' says the hawker sitting outside Anna Salai Head Post Office, ``nalla pothu'' (goes well). At twenty rupees, Roshan Junior is the fastest moving pin-up property. Before Hrithik, it was only Shah Rukh Khan who had recorded phenomenal poster sales. And yes, we are talking only about the men.

So what makes Hrithik hot property? What is it about the one- flick young starling that makes Coca-Cola hype him (check out the new ad) in the league of established stars, like Aamir? What is it about him that makes him the nation's heart-throb and the darling of the glossies, not just the film mags, but even mags like `India Today' and `The Week' that ran cover stories talking in depth about the ``phenomenon'' that is Hrithik Roshan?

Here is a sample of the most popular answers: ``He's so cute, dances so well and is fantastic in `Kaho Na Pyar Hai''', ``Hrithik has the chocolate-boy look (like Aamir, Shah Rukh) and the macho-image (like Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Salman or Sanjay) rolled into one'', ``a combination of masculinity and vulnerability''.

The bottomline: He's somebody who fits in within the definition of good looks and good body as defined by a majority. The tender- coconut model hero - hard exterior and the soft-at-heart image glowing through his boyish looks.

``It (Hrithik's popularity) has something to do with the world of make-believe, films are known to be. Hrithik, is probably the kind of guy, every teenager dreams of being. The ideal `boyfriend' material for the film obsessed college going romantics. He is aspirational,'' explains a film-student.

So, how different is Chennai's own R. Madhavan who is being crowned `Hrithik Roshan of the South'? Perhaps, the only thing that is common is that one film did the trick for both of them. If it was Papa Roshan's meticulous approach to launch Hrithik that clicked on one side, it was showman Mani Ratnam's effort that ensured Madhavan's box-office mega arrival.

The major difference between Hrithik and Madhavan lies in what they were projected as - Fantasy-tale hero Hrithik and the real- world Romeo Madhavan. While Hrithik is aspirational, Madhavan is the `boy-next-door', more accessible.

He can be found on suburban trains, bikes zooming past, and with his coolers on, he is the guy who makes a conscious effort to look good - a more real person, straight out of life. Unlike the miraculous double Hrithik who lives in fairy land - one dies only to be replaced by the New Zealand hotstepper hunk.

Not real, just a uni-dimensional poster sheet that props up the world of make-believe. Our friend outside Anna Salai Post Office knows it when he says, ``Eervathu Ruba (20 rupees) Reethik Rosan''.

By Sudhish Kamath

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Section  : Entertainment