Always carving a niche for himself without following any trends and handling diverse themes of films from Khudgarz to his last Koi Mil Gaya; actor turned director Rakesh Roshan is all geared up with his latest offering at the turnstiles. His new film Krrish sees him teaming up once again with his son Hrithik.

While the actor Rakesh Roshan was never a star in the true sense of the term, Hrithik has succeeded in being one. The super hit father son duo’s Krrish is amongst the most eagerly awaited film of 2006. The film is a sequel to Rakesh’s previous blockbuster release Koi Mil Gaya. Venturing into a totally new genre of cinema, Rakesh Roshan is all set to thrill audiences with a never seen before visual treat. Made on a gigantic budget of Rs 490 million, releasing it with close to 800 prints worldwide Roshan is very excited about his new film.

In an exclusive interview to Businessofcinema.com’s Abhijit Mhamunkar, Roshan senior speaks about Krrish…

Tell us what Krrish is all about.

The story of Krrish begins where that of Koi Mil Gaya ends. Krishna is the son of Rohit and Nisha. They die in an accident leaving Krishna behind with his grandmother played by Rekha. But having inherited the extra-terrestrial powers from his father, Krishna does several rescue acts.

His dare-devilry becomes the talk of the town, and a TV correspondent (Priyanka Chopra) comes probing. Later, the story shifts, taking Krishna to Singapore, where a scientist (Naseeruddin Shah) is in the process of devising his own designs to usurp supreme powers. Krishna‘s mission then, is to save the universe. Krishna thus transforms into Krrish, an universal entity.

How different is Krrish as a superhero?

Firstly, I would like to make it clear that Krrish is not a superhero film. It is about the birth of a superhero.

So will the audience be treated to a mega action fest?

Krrish doesn’t boast of major nonstop action. I have focused on a new kind of choreographed visuals. There are moments of thrills and they are unique in their very own way.

How different is Hrithik in this film from your previous ones with him?

I am presenting him in his most dynamic role till date. If you compare it to his role in Koi Mil Gaya, then you will see his character totally in contrast to his character Rohit.

Will we see Jadoo once again in Krrish?

Jadoo has gone back to where he came from. You will not see Jadoo again in Krissh. But by seeing what Hrithik is doing in the film, the audience definitely won’t miss Jadoo.

The music of Krrish doesn’t seem to have become a rage yet. Comment.

The music is growing on its listeners day by day and is climbing the popularity charts. Everyday when I walk on the beach there is this flute player who sells his flutes playing the latest Bollywood tunes ruling the music charts. Nowadays I have observed that he is playing all tunes of Krrish. The music is catching up well even in its Tamil and Telugu versions.

Your brother Rajesh Roshan is not giving the background score for Krrish. Why Salim Suleiman?

After completing Krrish, we decided to dub it in Tamil and Telugu as well. Rajesh got busy in recording the songs in these languages and time was running out. That’s the reason why Salim Suleiman came in for the background score. They have succeeded in doing an excellent job.

Any plans to dub it in more languages? Especially foreign languages like your previous few films?

Firstly, I am looking forward to its response in the Indian languages and then later on maybe after the release of the film and the feedback it generates, I may dub it in various foreign languages.

Was it a deliberate decision to hire a foreign crew for the stunts and special effects for the film?

For the daredevil stunts in Krrish, I have hired Tony Ching Siu from Hong Kong. I wanted someone who has significant international experience. The film has many scenes where my hero jumps from trees to buildings. These kinds of scenes require a lot of expertise or else they end up looking unreal. It’s not that our stunt directors are not good at it, but it’s a fact that in the west their stunt directors have been doing it for years now.

The same applies for the special effects. We, in India now, have all the equipments and expertise that they have in the West, but what our specialists here lack is experience. There are a lot of special effects in Krrish. My special effects team, comprising Mark Kolbe and Craig Mumma, is from Los Angeles. They suggested that I shouldn’t use any computer graphics or a body double where Hrithik’s stunts were involved. Hrithik has done all his stunts himself and has undergone great mental and physical stress and strain. His thrills in the film are unparalleled.

Why did you plan to shoot the film in Singapore instead of any Indian city?

The film is based on the life of a boy who comes from a village, so the first half is shot entirely in India in Kulu Manali. But in the second half, the story moves ahead to a city. At the same time, I also wanted a concrete jungle in the second half of Krrish and Singapore fitted my bill perfectly.

A lot of scenes were required to be shot on the roads and I thank the Singapore Government and its Tourism Board for making available a lot of their facilities to me. They blocked roads and traffic for my shooting and also gave me their prime locations to shoot.

Films of this genre in the west are always associated with its merchandise. Are we going to see any merchandise for Krrish?

Yes, we have tied up with Pantaloons for Krrish’s merchandise. A lot of products are going to be in the offing. There are going to be Krrish dolls in three sizes, bed sheets, pillow covers, stationery for children, dartboards and watches. We are also coming up with special Krrish masks and cape apart from laser beams with Krrish coming out of
it.

What next after Krrish? Are you planning more sequels to it?

What I am looking at is establishing a character. As I said earlier, Krrish is about the birth of a superhero. If it does well then I may come up with more sequels on the same. I have purposely given a gradual process so that the audience gets ready for more to come ahead.