The best of Rakesh Roshan
5. Koi... Mil Gaya (2003)
By the new millennium, Rakesh Roshan had considerably honed his talent as a filmmaker, displayed a gift for visuals, an ear for music and a knack for pace. Now all he needed was an off-beat theme. He found it in Koi Mil Gaya.
Rakesh Roshan had cottoned on to the fact that 'going Innovative' was the new mantra for jaded contemporary audiences. Thus the hitherto conventional Rakesh chose to experiment with a sci-fi film, complete with some snazzy special effects. And the pay-off was the grand success of the film.
In this ET-meets-Forrest Gump film, a child-like adult played by Hrithik befriends a cute alien, Jadoo, who transforms the hero and acts as a catalyst for the boy-man to discover his inner self. Rakesh has the knack of pressing the right emotional buttons and he fully exploits the audience's desire to root for the underdog, setting Hrithik up in several situations in which he outwits the jocks.
Koi Mila Gaya rejuvenated Hrithik's flagging career. Father and son were not scared to imperil his heart-throb image for the part (with childish, side-parted hair and glasses) but more importantly, they got the central performance right -- whether it was in the bounding gait, the voice inflexions or the heartfelt expressions.
The movie established the fact that Hrithik works best when it is daddy who is at the helm.