Actor Hrithik’s ₹11 lakh gamble and the film that nearly cost Vidhu Vinod Chopra his home

In the winter of 2000, Bollywood stood at a dramatic crossroads. Hrithik Roshan, the nation’s new obsession after Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, had become a phenomenon overnight. But even as “Hrithik-mania” swept through cinema halls, his third film, Mission Kashmir, was a high-stakes gamble that could have changed the course of several careers — and almost cost its director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, his home.

For Chopra, Mission Kashmir wasn’t just a film; it was personal. It was a homecoming — a tribute to the valley he had left behind, and a plea for peace in a region torn by violence. But beneath that poetic intent lay a producer’s nightmare: ballooning costs, risky casting choices, and a looming box-office clash with Shah Rukh Khan’s Mohabbatein.

The gamble: An untested star and a collapsing budget

When Chopra first conceived the film, he dreamed of pairing Shah Rukh Khan with Amitabh Bachchan. But fate intervened. SRK’s fee of ₹30 lakh was beyond the film’s modest budget, and Bachchan’s schedule filled up with Mohabbatein. Chopra instead turned to Sanjay Dutt and a then-unknown Hrithik Roshan — a decision that “cut the market value of the film in half,” according to composer Shankar Mahadevan.

Hrithik’s contract was humble, even by the standards of that era: ₹11 lakh if the film broke even, and just ₹1 lakh if it flopped. Only if it became a hit would he earn an additional ₹10 lakh bonus. Dutt’s terms were similar — ₹25 lakh only if the film succeeded.

At the time, Hrithik had yet to prove himself. So much so that while shooting in Kashmir, local cops twice mistook him for an intruder and shooed him off the set. “They said, ‘Get back!’ and I had to tell them, ‘Let him come in — he’s the hero!’” Chopra recalled with a laugh years later.

Stakes as high as the Himalayas

Chopra, however, wasn’t laughing then. His previous film, Kareeb, had flopped miserably, leaving him ₹1 crore in debt. “If this film fails, my house will be put up for sale,” he reportedly told writer Suketu Mehta.

Determined to make Mission Kashmir a visual and emotional epic, Chopra poured everything into it. The iconic “Bhumbro” song sequence alone cost over ₹1 crore to shoot — as much as Hrithik’s entire fee — while the music rights were sold for ₹3 crore even before filming began.

He also paid heavily to insure every crew member for the risky Kashmir shoot — “except for the main stars,” he quipped.

From underdog to star clash

By the time Mission Kashmir neared release, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai had turned Hrithik into an icon. The film that began with an unproven actor now found itself at the center of a superstar showdown: Hrithik Roshan versus Shah Rukh Khan, Mission Kashmir versus Mohabbatein.

Vinod Vinod Chopra refused to bend to commercial pressure. He rejected the idea of rewriting scenes to glorify Hrithik’s stardom. “He doesn’t come in reel one and start doing his jig,” Chopra said. “He has done nothing in the film that will make you feel he is Hrithik Roshan.”

Still, public frenzy followed. In Raipur, advance bookings for the film led to a lathi charge. To meet fan demand, Chopra turned the originally background track “Bhumbro” into a lavish full-fledged music video — one that would go on to define Bollywood’s visual memory of Kashmir.

A risky bet that paid off

Though Mohabbatein eventually outgrossed Mission Kashmir — earning ₹77 crore globally to its ₹37 crore — Chopra’s film emerged as the biggest success of his career up to that point.

In a gesture of gratitude, he reportedly doubled the payments for the entire cast and crew after the film’s success.

Twenty-five years later

Viewed through today’s lens, Mission Kashmir is imperfect — politically dated, occasionally naive. But its making remains a testament to a director’s conviction, a young star’s early risk, and Bollywood’s rare moment of cinematic courage.

It wasn’t just a film about conflict and loss — it was about betting everything, from reputation to real estate, on the belief that art could still move mountains.