The actor, who acquired the heartthrob status overnight with his debut-hit 'Kaho Na Pyaar Hain', revealed that the defect surfaced when he was around six years old.

"Everything seems normal till you start talking. The minute 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 said.

Recalling his school days on director Farah Khan's celebrity chat show 'Tere Mere Beach Mein', to be broadcast this Saturday on Star Plus, the 35-year-old said his childhood turned hell after his classmates began teasing him.

"Unfortunately, it's 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... you have to go through all those little moments of hell," the actor said.

Attending oral examinations was the most dreaded one for the heartthrob, who played a superhero in the 2006 blockbuster 'Krrish'.

"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."

When asked how long the speech defect has bothered him, Hrithik said, "Six to 35. I am 35 (years old)."

The actor, however, said that things improved for him gradually, after he started practicing speech therapies on a daily basis.

Last seen in the epic 'Jodhaa Akbar', the Hrithik has won four Filmfare awards for the best actor after debuting in the industry eight years ago. His next film 'Kites' is expected to release by the end of this year.