Source: Indiatimes
Date: May 22, 2006
By: Dominic Ferrao
‘Krrish’ is one of the most looked forward to films of late. What’s the budget of the film like?
“The budget of Krrish is quite big. It’s one and a half times more than Koi Mil Gaya.”
With so much riding on the film, are you nervous about the audience’s reaction to it?
“No I am not nervous but I’m anxious to know how they will react to what we are giving them. We have not compromised on a single shot. I planned the movie so well that I actually went to Singapore five times before I finally shot there, and I went to Kulu Manali five times before we shot there too because I wanted to see the environment in all seasons. I saw all the locations, took all the permissions. From our side we have done whatever we could do.”
We hear you hired Hollywood stunt directors for the action sequences?
“The action director is Tony Ching. He has worked on such films as The Hero which has done more than 500 million dollars business in the US. Then he’s made The House of Flying Daggers which did well too. He’s worked with John Woo in Kill Bill, and done Shaolin Soccer. He’s a big name and a very well crafted technician. His style of action is different from any other Hollywood director’s. His action is actually like choreography – you see beauty in action. It’s literally a piece of art when you see it on screen. His visuals, his shot-taking and the way he executes the scenes – I was absolutely taken aback when we started shooting on the very first day. The amount of pain and effort put in is tremendous.”
Tell us a little about Tony Ching’s work?
“The entire storyboard of all the action sequences was first prepared. I don’t have more than one-minute of fist fights in the film. It’s all thrills. What I had visualized while writing the script – how Hrithik would jump, and perform superhuman actions - Tony Ching has only enhanced that vision. If I knew how Tony would enhance those moves, I would have put some more action sequences in the film, but when I was writing the script, I thought it would be very difficult to do. And once the script was ready, I didn’t want to change it.”
The promos show some great SFX. Who’s done those?
“The special effects have been done by Mark Kolbe and Craig Mumma. Though they are based in the US, they are working in Chennai with the EFX people. They were present during all the action sequences or during SFX sequences, supervising the scenes, telling me what to do and how to do it. About 180 people have worked on the SFX part of the film.”
Besides the regular audience, we’re sure the kids, who are fans of ‘Koi Mil Gaya’, are quite excited about ‘Krrish’. What should they expect?
“There is a lot of excitement in the film so they will love it. It’s much more than Koi Mil Gaya. We have put in our best and I would like the audience to come and see the film because I am trying to upgrade the Indian film industry. I am trying to take it to some other level so that films are made with that benchmark. If I succeed in this, I think future films, whoever makes them, will also be upgraded.”