Is Hrithik Roshan turning director?

There was some buzz a while back about how Hrithik Roshan had pulled his new laptop ad off air and brought it back to the editing table to give it a final cut before re-releasing it for viewing. Another ad that he did with a luxury watch brand also met with the same fate.

His constant strive to achieve perfection in terms of his film and ad deals have prompted many to believe that all this is a run-up to the actor finally wielding the megaphone. Move over Aamir Khan, the industry has an all-new Mr Perfectionist!

Not a smooth ride?
A source says, "Hrithik is the new perfectionist in Bollywood and gets involved in every aspect of filmmaking. He is also more in news for his involvement in the ad films that he does. For every product that he endorses, the actor wants to get involved right from the script to the editing. While it has worked fabulously well for him, it sometimes hampers his image in the ad industry, as they are constantly working on short deadlines and even shorter time frames for their product launches."

Ads vs films
Ad-man Prahlad Kakkar says, "Hrithik does everything extremely professionally and believes that if the ad turns out well, it will only do him good. Obviously money is important but he is very particular about the way the final product looks. However, when it comes to his films, once he gives the green signal for a project, there is no backing out."

Kakkar adds, "While Aamir and Shah Rukh Khan too are finicky about the final result, Hrithik outdoes them. Although he does not sit on the editing table, he does check them and even suggests changes if he is not happy."

Meanwhile, the director of Agneepath, Karan Malhotra says, "Once Hrithik said yes to the script, his whole world revolved around his character and he didn't step out of his zone. He followed what I said. But obviously, he had his point of view as well about his character."

Director's cut?
While sources close to the actor say that all this could be a run-up to the actor's dream of turning director. A friend of the star says, "If you watch him on the sets, you will never see him sitting and chatting with anyone. He will always be doing his lines and remain aloof from everyone else. No surprises if he plans to soon get behind the cameras."

Another source points out, "As far as his ad films are concerned, he is known to only give a go-ahead once he is happy with it. It even led to calling back an electronic gadget ad while a watch brand suffered a delay in its launch. Although he always does it for the better, ad makers take it into consideration before approaching him for a brand."

Shailendra Singh, joint MD of an image management agency that has worked several times with the star says, "I think being a perfectionist can actually limit boundaries. In Hrithik's case, he starts wearing multiple hats -- that of the scriptwriter, set designer and others."

Singh adds that given the actor's star status, fingers are not pointed at his alleged idiosyncrasies. "There are a lot of compromises made too. However on the other side, when you allow this to happen you are rewarded by the unconditional involvement from the actor. But in the end, an actor cannot substitute for a director and vice versa."

All eggs in one basket?
While Hrithik has been working on Krrish 3 since two years now, after its release he has no other film in the pipeline. And post Agneepath hitting the marquee in January 2012, he has not had any other film release. Though the star has given his nod for Siddarth Anand's next and Shekhar Kapur's Paani, those films are yet to take off, naturally prompting questions about his strategic planning. u00a0