Actor Hrithik Roshan is set to don the director’s hat for the first time with Krrish 4, the next installment in the superhero franchise fronted by him, the makers announced on Friday.
Production house Yash Raj Films will collaborate with Hrithik’s father and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan’s Filmkraft Productions to back the project. It is scheduled to go on floors early next year.
Till now, the franchise, which began with the 2003 film Koi… Mil Gaya and was followed by Krrish (2006) and Krrish (2013), was helmed by Rakesh Roshan. “I'm passing the baton of the director of Krrish 4 to my son, Hrithik Roshan, who has lived, breathed and dreamt about this franchise since its inception with me! Hrithik has a clear and a very ambitious vision of taking Krrish's journey forward with the audience for the next decades. I couldn't be more prouder to see him wear the director's hat for a film that means the world to us as a family,” the 75-year-old filmmaker said in a statement.
"Krrish has entertained audiences the world over and Hrithik will now reveal the next chapters of this superhero saga and take the vision I created so many years ago to greater heights,” he added.
Roshan also welcomed Yash Raj Films’ head Aditya Chopra to the franchise.
"It was he who convinced Hrithik to sit in the director's chair. Adi and Yash Raj Films have the knowledge, understanding and technological might to produce this film and add great value to this project,” he said.
"Hrithik and Adi coming together as a producer-director pair with me behind them is a rare and deliciously creative combination! I'm sure they will turn Krrish 4 into a theatrical experience that has never been made in India. The dream is to make India proud globally with a larger than life experience like Krrish 4," he added.
Roshan also took to Instagram to share a picture of himself and Hrithik and gave his blessings to his son as he embarks on this new journey. “Duggu 25yrs back I launched you as an actor, and today again after 25 years you are being launched as a director by two filmmakers Aditya Chopra & myself to take forward our most ambitious film #Krrish4. Wish you all the success in this new avatar with good wishes and blessings!” he captioned the post.
The Krrish franchise began with Koi... Mil Gaya, which followed Rohit Mehra (Hrithik), a young man with cognitive disabilities who gains superhuman intelligence and strength after befriending an alien named Jadoo. The film also starred Preity Zinta and Rekha and was a major success. It laid the foundation for India's first superhero universe that began with its follow-up Krrish in 2006. It followed Rohit's son, Krishna Mehra, who inherits superhuman abilities and takes on the superhero identity of Krrish. The film also starred Priyanka Chopra. The third chapter, Krrish 3 was released in 2013 and added Kangana Ranaut and Vivek Oberoi to the cast.