Hrithik Roshan says Koi…Mil Gaya’s Rohit was extension of his ‘real self’: Scene where bullies break his scooty was real | Bollywood

The year was 2003, and alien films were, well, an alien concept to the Indian film industry. And Koi… Mil Gaya changed that forever. Not only was it a smash hit number wise upon it’s release, it cemented Hrithik Roshan’s acting chops with his portrayal of a specially-abled man, whose entire life changes when an extra-terrestrial creature is left behind on earth.

Talking to us on the film’s 20th anniversary today, Hrithik gets nostalgic. “I had a deeper connection with my inner-child while shooting the film. That’s something that I miss. Then I miss Jaadoo, there is an emotional connect that I have with him. Being a part of Koi…Mil Gaya wasn’t a conscious decision to enhance my career. It was a decision taken solely from my heart. How I would play Rohit, what I would do.. all that hadn’t even crossed my mind when I agreed to do the film. I remember being stimulated just hearing the idea for the very first time. When I started shooting, it was a journey full of exploration. I learnt what all drove me as an actor, became more clear on the kind of films I wanted to be a part of in the future,” he tells us.

Telling us some behind-the-scenes of his favourite film stills, here’s the man himself, who is bombarded with questions about Krrish 4 every now and then:

THE CYCLE SCENE

Rohit as a character was an extension of my real self. It is from a lesser known time of my life, my school days. I used to stutter since childhood and just like in the film, not all people would be sensitive to my speech limitation and that would lead to instances where I was bullied. Infact the scene where the bullies break Rohit’s scooty in Koi…Mil Gaya, had happened to me in real life. Some senior boys had broken my BMX cycle, which was my most treasured possesion as a child. I was heartbroken, it made me angry. Just like Rohit, there were a lot of bottled up emotions within me. I derived the nuances for Rohit’s character from my own childhood. I believe the honesty and reality of the situation is what was seen onscreen.

THE MAGIC OF IT’S MAGIC!

Rohit’s dance moves had to be similar to his body language throughout the film. Rohit walked a little differently, moved in a certain way, tilted his head at a certain angle, expressed a lot through his eyes, and he had a certain ‘I can do it all!’ attitude, with a lot of perseverance. I had to imbibe all these peculiarities of Rohit into his dance too. The song was choreographed by Ganesh Hegde after observing me in the role of Rohit. The credit goes to Ganesh for understanding the finer details. It’s Magic is the song that I had the most fun while shooting. I just completely set myself free and danced as if no one was watching.

‘JAADOO WAS OPERATED USING A REMOTE’

The first time I saw Jaadoo was in a sketch. Australian artists James and Lara had shared a sketch basis the brief given to them by my father, Mr. Rakesh Roshan. It was their first draft, and the moment we looked at it.. we knew that this is Jaadoo. From then, the journey to it actually becoming a tangible reality was a long wait. Jaadoo was an animatronic character, it was completely wired inside and operated using a remote, so it took months to be made. During shoot we would often take about 4 to 6 hours to shoot a single scene with Jaadoo as the eyes and hands had to be manually synced, to bounce back the emotions that were being exhibited in the scene. So it was a tedious task, retakes after retakes, but Papa ensured that by the end of each day we had a shot that perfectly synced.

REKHA MA’AM ACTUALLY SLAPPED ME…

Rekha ma’am is a force of talent, it was a sheer joy to share screen space with her. She has been a family friend for decades, she is someone we all deeply respect and love. While she has worked with my father as a co-star and been a part of his directorial ‘Khoon Bhari Maang’, this was the first time that I shared screen space with her. I remember shooting for the scene where Rekha Ma’am slaps me. Right before filming it, she had told me that she would slap me in real life to portray the impact. When we shot for the scene, she really went in character and slapped me really hard. It sure got the emotions flowing within me and that translates onscreen, but that one was one memorable slap!

THE TRANSFORMATION OF ROHIT

I started shooting for Koi…Mil Gaya soon after wrapping up another film. So at that time, I was pretty muscular. As much as I’d have liked to gain and loose weight for Rohit’s character arc in the film, I was on a deadline. I merely had a couple of weeks to showcase a transformation that physically would take months to undergo. Sticking to the deadline, I opted to wear baggy t-shirts and shirts that covered my biceps to play Rohit in the first half of the film. We brainstormed and landed on a hairstyle that made my face look slightly round and fuller. For the second half of the film, I simply had to undo my construct and look a lot like my offscreen self at that time.