EXCLUSIVE| Koi... Mil Gaya to re release in theatres after 20 years, Rakesh Roshan nostalgic: I see memes on the film

Director Rakesh Roshan talks to us about his sci-fi film Koi... Mil Gaya, which is going to complete 20 years since it’s release, continuing to get love from audiences.

Rohit and Jaadoo are coming back on a big screen near you! Koi... Mil Gaya, which gave India it’s first sci-fi film starring an adorable extra terrestrial creature, is going to complete 20 years of it’s release on August 8. And to mark the occasion, the makers have decided to re release the Hrithik Roshan- Rekha- Preity Zinta starrer again, across 30 cities such as Delhi and Mumbai, on August 4.

Hrithik Roshan and Jaadoo in a still from the film (right) director Rakesh Roshan

Rakesh Roshan, the man responsible for creating it, gets nostalgic as he talks to us about his film re releasing. “At the heart of our film, it was a deeply emotional story of a mentally challenged boy, his journey, his relationship with his mother, friends and Nisha - the only adult-girl who would understand and accept him for who he was. Then there was Jaadoo - the friendly endearing alien who emoted through his eyes. Koi.. Mil Gaya was created with minimal VFX, only for the spaceship, rest everything was groundwork. There was also no DI done for the film,” he tells us.

The impact of the film was such, that memes are even made on it today as well. The 73-year-old filmmaker acknowledges it all, “I keep seeing Jaadoo being spoken about every time there’s a lot of ‘Dhoop’ during Summers or an alleged alien spotting across the world or a mysterious sonic boom heard from the sky. For any film to pass the test of time, it needs to have a strong emotional bond with its audience. I think Koi.. Mil Gaya connected with the kids, who have now grown up, some having children of their own today. Emotions conveyed through memorable dialogues like ‘Mere papa se seekh kar aaya hoon’, ‘Mujhe kuch dikhai nahi de raha hai maa’, ‘Haila Jaadoo’ etc. are etched in the memory and I see them being used in situations even today, especially in memes.”

Hrithik had won rave reviews for his portrayal of a specially-abled man, just three years into his acting career. What Rakesh feels still connects with viewers, two decades down the line, is that too, “I think Hrithik’s performance was one-of-a-kind, he not only played a mentally challenged boy, which is something we’ve seen in cinema world-over, but to play it with kids and be at the same level was a difficult and challenging task. And the music as well.”