As Hrithik Roshan turned 32 Tuesday, his fans braced for a rocking comeback by the actor who has deliberately been out of circulation for more than a year.

Hrithik has just wrapped up his home production "Krrish" which is to release in June or July and is busy with other projects - "Dhoom 2" and "Jodha-Akbar", his secretary Ashok Vashodia told IANS.

His hibernation was a planned move. After delivering several flops, the actor decided to play safe and do one film at a time like his colleague Aamir Khan.

But Aamir's strategy didn't work as was evident from the failure of his last release "Mangal Pandey" where he resurfaced after a gap of four years. Hence, many are wondering if it's advisable for Hrithik to stay away from the limelight, especially when his competitors are moving up speedily.

His contemporary Abhishek Bachchan, who appeared with him as a second fiddle in Sooraj Barjatya's flop flick "Main Prem Ki Diwani Hoon", has grown by leaps and bounds and created a niche for himself by giving hits like "Bunty Aur Babli" and "Bluffmaster".

He has also won critical appreciation for his performance in Ram Gopal Varma's "Sarkar" where he shared screen space with his father Amitabh Bachchan.

Then there is Saif Ali Khan who also co-starred with Hrithik in the box office dud "Na Tum Jaano Na Hum", directed by Arjun Sablok. Saif has scaled new heights in the last year and a half. He got his due after delivering hits like "Hum Tum" and "Salaam Namaste", which established him as one of the most bankable actors. He has also acquired star status in filmdom.

So Hrithik has tough competition ahead.

Hrithik's last film, Farhan Akhtar's "Lakshya" in 2004, bombed in spite of a good script, excellent direction and incredible performances by him, Amitabh Bachchan and Om Puri.

Expectations are very high from "Krrish" where Hrithik plays a role similar to Hollywood characters Superman and Spider-Man and can fly and climb sky-scrapers and much more. The film has some breathtaking stunts. In fact, Hrithik had a narrow escape while shooting for one of the stunt scenes in Bangkok last year.

If "Koi Mil Gaya" left the viewers spellbound with its 'never before' special effects, "Krrish", a sequel to it, is expected to mesmerise with its awesome technical wizardry, which is said to be the USP of the film.

"Krrish" has a distinct Hollywood feel and to make it a world class film Hrithik's dad and director Rakesh Roshan roped in Tony Ching Siu Tung from Hong Kong to direct the action scenes.

Special effects have been supervised by Mark Kolbe and Craig Mumma, owners of The Digital Intermediate Group, LLC, the team behind the mind blowing special effects in "Koi Mil Gaya".

If 2005 was a dry year for his fans, this year promises to be a feast as the actor is going to sport six different looks in "Krrish" besides doing unbelievable stunts. He teams up with actress Priyanka Chopra, who plays a schoolgirl.

Hrithik, who has only two hits - "Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai" and "Koi Mil Gaya" - to his credit, has pinned all his hopes on "Krrish".

The producers have splurged money on the film and the total cost of "Krrish" is estimated to be more than Rs.500 million. With the multiplex culture blooming constantly, the film is expected to be a profitable venture for distributors.

He will also be seen in his first bad guy role with Aishwarya Rai in Sanjay Gadhvi's "Dhoom 2", and as a young Mughal emperor Akbar in Ashutosh Gowariker's "Jodha-Akbar".

A lot is at stake for Hrithik.