Rakesh Roshan's 'KRRISH' has a Nail Biting Mechanism II

  • IndiaGlitz, [Thursday,April 27 2006]

The relevance of this anecdote is, had Rakesh Roshan along with Tony Ching Siu not discussed the requirement of hardware during shooting, in advance, it would have entailed loss of time, dates, and money, of course. One must keep a stand-by for possible lacunae, that’s beyond your control, rationalizes Roshan.

There were mishaps too, during the shoot of KRRISH.But nothing really serious, Rakesh Roshan would have you believe, in a casual demeanour. Actually, there were no mishaps during the actual takes, but only during the rehearsals. Tony is a stickler to perfection and he blends with my scheme of things correctly. He’d rather not unnecessarily waste raw stock on re-takes, and hence insists of rehearsals. There are several risky shots in KRRISH. And Hrithik did get bruised on several occasions. But he’s a tough nut to crack. He would bounce back, as rapidly. He too realizes the value of time and deadlines. But there were no compromises or corner-cutting, whatsoever.

There was one particular incident at Robinson Road in Singapore, where Hrithik was to perform one of the many thrills, with a child. The entire area was cordoned off to avoid any possible mishap. Aside from that, there were sequences that involved comprehensive mental and physical alertness bungee jumping, trapezing, somersaulting, hopping over slippery rocks on fast-flowing rivulets, and plunging into raging infernos, etc.

Rakesh Roshan avers that all thrilling scenes involving Hrithik were performed without use of duplicates, stuntmen, or computer graphic aids.Tony Ching Siu stuck to his faith and confidence in Hrithik that he could pull off the death-defying stunts himself, and he did.

With a theme that is essentially Indian, the fusion of content and technique is an innovative experiment in KRRISH. Rakesh Roshan knows he is on safe grounds, but he does not display any emotion. He is too seasoned to react prematurely. He knows he has completed his job, successfully and satisfactorily. Unabashedly, he is his own merciless critic he’d not rest till he is entirely satisfied. This was facilitated by the presence of his technical team, including Mark Kolbe and Craig Mumma the Hollywood special effects wizards- during the entire tenure of the shooting.

The thrills of KRRISH has a very unusual metallic, spitfire finish, that sets them on par with the best of Hollywood, and ushering in a new genre in Bollywood. The promos of the film have begun, and as viewers get a peep into the film in instalments for the first time, Rakesh Roshan is preoccupied with his release plans. KRRISH is slated to light up the cinema aisles, tentatively in June, all over. Surely, the biggest ever blockbuster is on its way!