Bollywood Actor Hrithik Roshan pledged to donate his eyes on the occasion of his 43rd birthday after being inspired by his latest film Kaabil.
According to a report filed by The Times Of India, Rakesh Roshan was approached by Ophthalmologist’s Dr S. Natarajan from Aditya Jyot Eye Hospital in Mumbai after seeing the trailer of Kaabil. The doctor had called him to ask whether his son Hrithik would be interested in promoting a campaign for eye donation. However, he was informed that Hrithik already was planing to donate his eyes. “I saw the trailer of Kaabil in the last week of December, 2016. I contacted Rakesh Roshan on January 6 to ask him if Hrithik would agree to promote eye donation. I was pleasantly surprised when Rakeshji told me that Hrithik was already planning to pledge his eyes. When I spoke to Hrithik, he told me that he would like to celebrate his birthday by pledging his eyes” said the doctor.
The close association with the visually challenged while filming Kaabil prompted the actor to donate his eyes. However, the desire was kept under cover till date by Dr S. Natarajan on being asked by Rakesh Roshan so as the decision doesn’t come across or be projected as a promotional step. “Hrithik invited me over on his birthday but requested us to not talk about it as he didn’t want this to be used to promote Kaabil. Now that Kaabil has released and is a great success we would like people to know of Hrithik’s act and encourage the public to pledge their eyes and share the light, and follow his example” told the doctor.
The report states that after being informed about the expected rise in the number of unilateral corneal blindness case by 2020 in India, the 43-year old actor was not only deeply affected but was also keen on becoming a part of the of a campaign that aims at encouraging people to donate their eyes.