Rekha who was stunningly credible as Hrithik Roshan’s mother in Koi?Mil Gaya returns in the sequel as Hrithik’s grandmother. “She’s the only link between the two films, the only character from Koi?Mil Gaya who reappears in Krrish,” explains the soft-spoken Rakesh Roshan. “Audiences will love her in Krrish.”

Though Rekha plays the grand-mom there’s no overt ageing involved. “No, no, Rekha has just greyed her hair slightly, that’s it. No more ageing was required. After all, Rekha played a young mother in Koi?Mil Gaya. So she’s a young grandmother in Krrish.”

Is it a bird, or is it a plane? No, it isn’t Superman. It’s Krrish. “Superman, Spiderman, Hanuman?they have their own distinct identities,” says the confident producer-director. “Krrish is like none of the above. There’s no special effect for his stunts. You’ll see Hrithik doing all the stunts on his own. We haven’t used any effects to show Hrithik’s character’s special powers. This film would be one of its kind where the hero with super-powers doesn’t resemble any of the comic-book heroes.”

Krrish carries forward the story from Koi?Mil Gaya. “My incentive to do Krrish came after I saw Lord Of The Rings. If they could do an elaborate fantasy-trilogy why couldn’t I do a film that continues the story in Koi?Mil Gaya?” In Krrish, Hrithik plays the son of the character he played in Koi?Mil Gaya. “That’s right. I was told sequels don’t do well in India. It’s not like that. Any well-made film runs. How does it matter to the audience if a film is related to something else?”

Made at an approximate budget of Rs 45-50 crore, producer-director Rakesh Roshan has much at stake. The film is going to be released either on June 23 or June 30. “I’ll take a call in a week. I’m waiting for all my special effects to come. I don’t want to announce the release until the SFX is completely done. I want the effects in Krrish to be just right. I don’t think audiences have seen anything like this in Hindi films.”

So far Indian cinema has lagged behind Hollywood in terms of spectacle. “That’s because we never have budgets of $100 and $200 million like King Kong and Superman. We can’t play around with our visuals as much as them. But given the financial constraints, we’ve achieved quite a lot in Krrish. If you liked the visual effects in Koi?Mil Gaya you’ll find them far better in Krrish. I wish I had the budget to do more. I tailored my vision according to my budget.”

Speaking of the whopping Rs 45-50 crore budget the filmmaker says, “Whatever I’ve spent is visible on screen. I have’t edited anything. I don’t believe in overshooting or bad planning. I make only one film every two or three years and I plan every detail in advance. Every location and its requirement is decided in advance. When I actually shoot I’m relaxed.”

So how trendy is Krrish? “If you don’t have a good story to tell all these visual effects will go for a toss. In that sense my formula hasn’t changed. A solid storyline and strong emotions are always a film’s backbone. But, of course, we have to upgrade the technique. That’s the main difference between my Koyla and Krrish.”

But he isn’t nervous. Rakesh has recently moved into a sprawling new office complex spreading itself 35,000 square feet. He knows he’s on to a novel concept in Krrish. “Let’s see if audiences like what we’ve done.” Rakesh hasn’t seen failure in a long time. “Our last supposedly unsuccessful film was Koyla and that made as much money as hit films do today.”

Would he consider falling into the current remake trend? “Not me! Some filmmakers want to go back instead of moving ahead. Maybe they are short of ideas. I certainly see a dearth of good scriptwriters. That’s why I sit with my team of writers personally. They include veterans and youngsters. It’s very important for every filmmaker to keep up with the trends. I wouldn’t say my old formula is outdated. But when I see my old films I find them outdated in terms of technique. And if I’m forced to remake one of my films it will have to be my first directorial venture, Khudgarz. The story of two friends who fall out has a universal quality.”

He gives a thump on the back of his son Hrithik. “He’s getting better with every film. Hrithik has a knack of getting into the skin of his characters. He’s also of tremendous support on the sets. We work hand-in-hand during the shooting. An outside hero cannot provide the same inputs because his contribution will then be seen as interference. I do accept Hrithik’s suggestions. But we don’t argue on the sets at all. When I place my camera he knows exactly what his father is doing.” Rakesh Roshan sees Hrithik’s journey into direction as inevitable. “It’ll certainly happen. He’s helping me with the post-production of Krrish.”

Speaking on the rest of the cast the filmmaker is all praise for his leading lady. “Priyanka Chopra is very disciplined. And that’s a blessing. I’ve tried to change her look from her earlier films, taken her away from her skin-showing image. Still she looks very sexy. An actress can look sensuous in a sari. And I’ve worked with Naseeruddin Shah for the first time, too. He plays a scientist and an inventor. It was wonderful. I had heard certain things about Naseer. But he was a delight. He came on the sets on time, sat in a corner reading?and when he gave his shot, it was a revelation. We never had any difference of opinion. He did want some changes in the script when I narrated it to him. But since those changes were within the parameters of my vision I didn’t mind making the changes.”

Sixty per cent of Krrish was shot in Singapore. “I needed a concrete jungle. And the Singapore tourism board was eager to have us shoot there. They provided all the permission to shoot outdoors including the blocking of roads, which would be impossible in Mumbai. In Singapore they blocked all the main roads for us at heavy rush hour.”

He is not too happy with the films that have been released recently. “I’ve been impressed only with two recent films ? Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Black and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra’s Rang De Basanti. These two films tried new genres. There were other films with good content, but not as well made as these two films.”

And finally the controversy: Salim-Sulaiman have done the background music for Krrish when Rakesh Roshan’s resident composer, Rajesh Roshan, has done the songs. Rakesh laughs off the unnecessary controversy. “When I finished shooting in December and the special effect shots were in by April, at that time a thought occurred to me. Why are we so sold on tapping the overseas territory only? The South territory is also huge. A Rajnikant film generates up to Rs 70-80 crore. So I decided to release Krrish in Tamil and Telugu. I took the decision in February. And I needed the background music right away for all three versions. Rajesh couldn’t handle both the songs and background.”

The three versions will have exactly the same vocal tunes and background music. “Rajesh got busy doing the six songs in three languages sung by the same voices. Rajesh wondered how he’d handle both. I suggested I bring in Salim-Sulaiman for the background score.”

Hrithik’s voice will be dubbed in Tamil and Telugu by the same voice. Says Rakesh Roshan, “This is the first time that a Hindi film is being released simultaneously in two other Indian languages. Earlier, I had released my Karan-Arjun in South Indian languages but not simultaneously.”

Rakesh Roshan will be releasing above 800 prints of Krrish. “We shot from March 2005 to December 2006. But it took me another two years to organise everything. I had to hunt for an action director who could match my vision of the spectacle required in Krrish. We zeroed in on Tony Ching from China who had done The Hero and House Of Flying Daggers and Kill Bill. Tony was amazing. This is my biggest film to date.”

So, will the next Rakesh Roshan film star Hrithik’s son? “No, no. Hrithik will star in my films. He will make a film for his son. I’ll be too old to make films for my grandson?I want to spend more time with my grandson. But the post-production of Krrish is keeping me busy at work.”