20 years of ‘Koi… Mil Gaya’: Hrithik, Preity's film was predicted to flop at the box office

Rakesh Roshan and the filmstar recall criticism surrounding their 2003 blockbuster

Koi… Mil Gaya, the sci-fi musical film, which brought together Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta to the silver screen, celebrates 20 years of release today, August 8.

Back in 2003, the film was the recipient of immense commercial success and also earned critical acclaim. Directed by the veteran filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, Koi… Mil Gaya is still rendered a cult classic that Bollywood fans enjoy even today. That said, prior to its release two decades ago, there was chatter among the entertainment fraternity that the film would be a flop and is made only for children, by the nature of its storyline.

Rakesh and Hrithik recently sat for an exclusive interview with Pinkvilla and reflected on this preconceived notion. The father-son duo also revealed that the reason for such talk was because of Hrithik’s role as a mentally challenged character. Rakesh and Hrithik reminisced about their blockbuster film and shared some stories from the sets.

When asked about the comments on the target audience of the film being limited to children, Rakesh said that the crux of the issue was Hrithik playing a mentally challenged character. “Most of them were saying that after introducing Hrithik in the way that Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai did, now you are making him play a mentally challenged character. They didn’t have a problem with the concept of an alien, they had a problem that a film like that was being made with Hrithik,” he commented.

In a similar manner, Hrithik said, “I remember everyone saying that Hrithik is an action hero, his three films have flopped consecutively and now you want to make him a mentally challenged guy. It will be over, his life will be over, that’ll be the last nail in the coffin of his professional life.”

The director added that he was not too concerned by such comments and beliefs because he knew that the film would be a hit after seeing Hrithik act the way he did.

Rakesh said, “I did not get scared because when I used to watch Hrithik during shooting, I felt that the film would surely work because of the way he was portraying that role. If I would have felt doubtful then, I would have shelved the film. But the very first day, the very first shot when Hrithik came, I got the inner feeling that we are making a very successful film.” To commemorate 20 years of Koi… Mil Gaya, the filmmakers have re-released it in cinemas across India.

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