If Hollywood has Batman, Bollywood has its own leather-clad, masked crusader/action superhero in Krishna Mehra a.k.a. ‘Krrish’, the popular character essayed by Hrithik Roshan in the sci-fi movie of the same name, directed by his father Rakesh Roshan. Even as Krrish 3 is set to be released during Diwali this year, we’ll get to see Krrish in a new avatar. Cartoon Network, Rakesh Roshan’s Film Kraft Productions and Thiruvananthapuram-based Toonz Animation India have joined hands to create four animated movie sequels based on Krrish .
“We’re ecstatic to be part of this venture, especially because Krrish is so popular with kids across the country. India needs a superhero like Krrish. We at Toonz were looking to develop a superhero story and we thought it would be great to adapt Krrish. We first approached Cartoon Network and together we talked to Rakesh Roshan. The veteran filmmaker was very excited about it and agreed immediately,” says P. Jayakumar, chief executive officer, Toonz Animation, over the phone from Mumbai on April 2, after a joint press conference with Roshan and Siddharth Jain, managing director, South Asia, Turner International India that owns Cartoon Network.
The four sequels, directed by Toonz’ Renju Ramesh, follow the adventures of 11-year-old Krishna who discovers that he has the power to help people and save the world thanks to the special powers given to him by Jadoo, the friendly alien from the movie Koi Mil Gaya , the first in the Krrish franchise. But in order to protect his identity and that of his loved ones , Krishna must don the mask of superhero Krrish.
“Each movie in the series is 66-minutes-long. Although Krrish will resemble Hrithik, the decision has not yet been made on who will voice the character. Music for the four films is by Ahmedabad-based tabla guru Pandit Divyang Vakil,” says Jayakumar.
The first of the series titled Kid Krrish , will air on Cartoon Network on July 14, to coincide with a live event on Krrish 3 that is being planned by Roshan. “We hope to release at least two of the four movies before Krrish 3 is released,” adds Jayakumar.
