Krrish: a hot favourite in film circles?

New Delhi, Mar 31: The long period of hibernation after Farhan Akhtar's 'Lakshya' seems to be finally paying off for Hrithik Roshan.

Even before it has hit the theatres, there is a tremendous buzz around Hrithik's next film 'Krrish', the sequel to his sci-fi thriller 'Koi Mil Gaya'.

The brilliant promos of the film, coupled with trade reports of the film having extensive use of 'Hollywoodesque' special effects promising to put India on the world map as a country which can match the best of Hollywood, seems to have added to the curiosity level for the film in the industry as well as abroad.

Though the 'teasers' of the film, currently shown in theatres, do not give much idea about the storyline, they have neverthless resulted in generating a huge curiosity about the film and leaving the audiences asking for more.

No wonder then, the film's satellite as well as distribution rights for various markets have either been sold or are in the process of being acquired at 'astronomical' prices.

Such is the buzz around 'Krrish' that even an otherwise unflappable filmmaker like Aditya Chopra, after watching the stunt sequences in the promos of 'Krrish', is said to have hired the services of an action director from Hollywood for his forthcoming film 'Dhoom 2' in a bid to ensure that the action sequences of his film are able to match up to those in 'Krrish', whose stunts have been directed by Tony Ching from Hong Kong, trade sources said.

In addition, the special effects have been done by international experts Mark Kolbe and Craig Mumma from the United States, who had also done the effects for 'Koi Mil Gaya'.

''Like all previous films by Filmcraft (the film production banner of filmmaker Rakesh Roshan), 'Kkrish' will be a landmark of sorts in that for the first time Indian audiences will get to see in an Indian film the kind of special effects usually seen in Hollywood films,'' Shahshank Jare, the CEO of Filmcraft recently told UNI.

''The film has a distinct Hollywoodesque feel to it in that it contains several breathtaking action sequences featuring Hrithik,'' Jare said.

'Kkrish' stars Hrithik in the role of a ''superhuman who can fly in the air, climb huge buildings or perform several breathtaking stunts similar to those done by, say, a Spiderman, Superman or Batman. The extensive use of special effects has, however, cost a fortune to the filmmakers.

''The use of the latest special effects has meant that the total cost of making 'Kkrish' has come to more than Rs 50 crore, making it the costliest film of the Filmcraft banner till date,'' Jare said. However, the producers are confident that the film will be able to easily recover the amount.

''The standing of the Filmcraft banner, coupled with the amazing special effects and the charm of Hrithik Roshan will, I am sure, contribute to making 'Kkrish' a big hit,'' Jare said.

With the first trailers and promos of 'Krrish' already becoming a rage among cinegoers, it seems the confidence and optimist of the filmmakers is paying off.

The entire post-production work on the film will be completed by next month and the film will be released in the theatres in June.

The film has actress Priyanka Chopra as the female lead. The rest of the cast includes Manini De, Kiran Juneja, Archana Puran Singh, Puneet Issar and Naseeruddin Shah.

x x x Small screen stars to enthrall viewers in STAR Parivaar Awards New Delhi, Mar 31 (UNI) After the stars of the big screen mesmerized audiences at various film awards functions in the last two months, it is the turn of their small screen counterparts to ''sweep TV viewers off their feet with their charm''.

A galaxy of television's most popular stars, who have become a part of everyday lives of viewers through serials like 'Kahani Ghar Ghar Ki', 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi bahu Thi', 'Kum Kum' and 'Ba Bahu Aur Baby' will enthrall TV audiences at the 4th STAR Parivaar Awards this weekend.
To be telecast on Star Plus on Sunday at 1900 hrs, this year's edition of the Star Parivaar Awards will see the popular television stars of the various serials on Star Plus come together in all their camaraderie to cheer, share, celebrate and reward all the adulation received by them and their co-stars, in return for the hard work which they put in each day of the week, day after day, all through the year.

The only awards show in the world which lauds the character and not just the actor, the Star Parivaar Awards this year will have some more categories, in addition to the earlier ones, including that of 'Favourite Dada', 'Favourite Saas', 'Favourite Naya Sadasya'.

Like every year, this year's edition of the awards will also have performances by some of the popular stars of the Star Plus serials.

For example, the show will see Vikas Sethi (Swayam in 'Kahiin To Hoga'), Chaitanya Chaoudhury (Akshat in 'Kahiin To Hoga') and Manoj Bohra (Prem in 'Kasautti Zindagii Kay') perform to the popular number 'Vatrakunda Mahakalya' from 'Rang De Basanti'.

It will also witness performances by Leela, Pravina , Meenaxi, and Gattu from the popular comic saga- 'Baa, Bahoo Aur Baby' who will dance to the tunes of 'Aao Twist Karen', 'Chunari - Chunari' and 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi'.

Also showcasing their performances at the event will be popular TV stars Parmeet Sethi (who will regale audiences with his various avatars as 'Don'), Sangeeta Ghosh (Pammi of 'Des Mein Nikla Hoga Chand'), Juhi Parmar('Kumkum'), Barkha Bisht, Indraneil Sengupta , Eijaz Khan, Surveen Chawla. and the popular Hussain (Sumeet in 'Kumkum').

As many as 1.8 crores voted this year to chose their favourites in various categories at the Star Parivar awards, where the winners are chosen and voted for in different categories through email, telephone and SMS.

While, the much-loved soaps and the K-series of the channel like- 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi', 'Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii', 'Kasauti Zindagi Kay', 'Kahin Toh Hoga', 'Kavyaanjali' and 'Kum Kum' bagged numbers across categories, coming close this time as the new entrant and for the first time ever on STAR Parivaar is the channel's 10.00 pm weekend soap -'Baa Bahoo Aur Baby'.

The show will also witness the conferring of a special award to the acclaimed Gujarati theatre stalwart and Savita of 'Kyunki' -- Apara Mehta.

UNI