Alien goes home

Hrithik Roshan, the Bollywood hunk with alien powers in sci-fi movie Krrish, has finished filming the movie in Singapore, reports HAZEL YONG. 

BOLLYWOOD director Rakesh Roshan should sleep better now that he has wrapped up 60 days of filming in Singapore for Indian sci-fi movie Krrish more than a week ago. 

The sequel to the 2003 blockbuster Koi Mil Gaya (I Found Someone) stars his son, heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, who plays a man gifted with superpowers by an alien. 

Hrithik making sure his hair is in place before the camera rolls.

Krrish (short for the superhero’s name, Krishna) is the first mega Indian movie shot in the city-state under the Singapore Tourism Board’s (STB) S$10mil (RM22mil) Film in Singapore! scheme, which was launched in May last year.  

The STB says eight other films have been approved under the scheme and they will be filmed in Singapore over the next few years. 

Of Krrish, which also stars Bollywood It girl Priyanka Chopra, the director said on Nov 10: “I had restless nights before coming here (Singapore) as we were on a tight schedule and had difficult action shoots planned here.” 

Father and son met the press during a night shoot at Clifford Pier the day before. 

Rakesh added that previously, he and his cast and crew would just shoot songs or scenes whenever they filmed abroad. 

“But here we are shooting in the heart of the city, doing road closures and putting cranes up,” he said. 

Sixty per cent of the film was shot in 30 locations there, including the Singapore Zoo, the Esplanade, Boat Quay and Suntec City. 

Three cranes were used for the action scenes, including one where Hrithik, 31, leapt from the bottom of the Suntec City fountain to its top rim. 

Prior to filming there in September, he was trained in Shanghai by Hong Kong director Tony Ching Siu Tung of New Dragon Inn fame in martial arts and wirework skills. 

Still, not everything went smoothly. At Lau Pa Sat on Oct 20, the actor fell from the clock tower when the safety cable broke. A safety canopy broke his fall and he escaped with light injuries to his arms. 

His father said: “We don’t go on the set as father and son, but I was scared when the stunt went wrong. After all, at the back of my mind, he’s my son.” 

That was not the only hiccup. The film set caused a massive morning jam with the closure of three of the five lanes from Raffles Quay to Boon Tat Street, prompting angry readers to write to The Straits Times’ Forum Page. 

The STB declined to reveal how much it is funding Krrish, but mentioned that the Film in Singapore! scheme can subsidise up to 50% of expenses incurred there. An article on Indiafm.com said Krrish’s budget is around 450 million rupees (S$16.7mil or RM36.7mil). 

The Singaporean media watched the crew in action on Nov 9 as it shot one of its last scenes. 

Hrithik Roshan and co-star Priyanka Chopra filming a scene for Krrish in Singapore recently.

Dressed in a black leather trenchcoat and black bat-like mask with black eye make-up for a fight scene with four villains on Honda motorbikes, Hrithik had to rehearse and redo a seemingly simple one-punch scene seven times. The scene took more than 40 minutes to shoot. 

Hrithik said the action scenes were hard to do, but he had fun working in Singapore, despite clocking 12-hour shoots which started as early as 7am every day. 

He said he did not have much free time so he shopped only during his first week there, for mostly electronics and clothes from Diesel and Energie. 

“I was never into seafood, but after going to restaurants, including those at East Coast and Chijmes, I started to love lobster and crab,” he added. 

The star did not go unnoticed by local fans as some 10 women were seen hanging around the set, even at 10pm that day. 

They included marketing executive Anthea Lee, 28, who became an avid fan of Hrithik after watching Koi Mil Gaya on VCD in December last year. 

“I really like his shows and he dances well,” said the mother of a one-year-old girl. She had been following the crew on weekends, for five hours each time, since Sept 15. 

“It’s just too bad that he didn’t have much time to take pictures with us, but I am looking forward to watching the movie next year.” 

The cast and crew flew home to Mumbai for further filming. The movie is slated to open in June or July next year. – The Straits Times, Singapore/Asia News Network