Hrithik Roshan, who turned 50 on January 10, completes 24 years in the industry today. His debut film, Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, was released on this very day, January 14, 2000. It went on to become that year’s biggest hit, collecting Rs. 44.27 crores. Hrithik’s popularity and dashing looks attracted the audience into cinemas in hordes but what also worked was that the film had a great story to tell and was aided by chartbuster songs. The cruise track was entertaining and shoot-wise, the layman might not have considered it a challenge. However, executing this track was a herculean task and director Rakesh Roshan pulled it off due to a tremendous amount of planning in advance. The blockbuster filmmaker spoke about this in detail in an interview to Komal Nahta’s Film Information magazine dated December 5, 1998.
24 Years of Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai: Rakesh Roshan talks about the challenge of shooting the cruise scenes; reveals how he calmed down irate passengers: “Our dancers put up a wonderful show; I even told the captain to serve them liquor on my account”
Rakesh Roshan revealed in this interview that he opted for the Star Clipper cruise as it seemed ideal for his shoot and didn’t look like a 5-star hotel in the sea. The plan was to shoot for 22 days, which included 9 days on the ship in the middle of the ocean with a unit of 85 people. He said, “Given the logistics involved, only an insane person would embark on such a shooting without due planning. Hence, I spent months working out the nitty gritties of the shooting schedule and only when I was certain that nothing could go wrong did I finally begin shooting.”
Rakesh Roshan also added in the beginning that he just didn’t arrange the requirements for the shooting but also kept in mind any trouble that might crop up during the shoot and how to counter it. After his request, Star Clipper had a stopover in Mumbai, on October 29. Rakesh took the shots of people boarding the ship and also loaded the equipment. This is when he realized that while his equipment needed a 220-volt power supply, the power fixtures fitted on the ship were designed for an electrical supply of 110 volts, which is standard in the USA. The stopover in Mumbai helped him address this issue. He got a custom-made generator set and also loaded it on the ship.
Rakesh Roshan then revealed, “On November 6, my entire unit and I flew to Colombo and boarded Star Clipper from there. The entire contingent of 82 people, including 35 dancers, could cause quite a commotion, especially if they are shooting. The passengers on the ship began to get a little irritable and understandably so, as they were there on holiday and our activity was robbing some of their pleasure. I had envisaged that something like this might occur and hence had told my dancers to be ready to bail us out if need be. So, on day 2, I asked the ship’s captain to announce a special entertainment programme for the passengers. Our dancers and artists put up such a wonderful show that our fellow passengers just couldn’t help having a great time. I even told the captain to serve them liquor on my account. In my own small way, I was asking them to bear with us for a few days and most of the passengers appreciated the gesture. They loved Indian music and dance so much that they requested us for repeat performances on subsequent nights. We obliged and soon found most of the passengers beginning to get really excited about our shooting. They became so co-operative that when it rained a couple of days later and we were forced to shoot indoors in the bar area (one of the most popular spots on the ship), everyone cleared the place for us without even a grumble.”
Once the on-board issues were solved, Rakesh Roshan successfully overcame other challenges too. He had to shoot aerial shots of the ship while it was in the middle of the sea. These were the days when there was no drone and the director had to shoot it from a helicopter. The nearest centre that offered a helicopter on hire was Bangkok, five hours away.
Rakesh Roshan stated, “On my trip to Bangkok prior to the shooting, I had worked out the problem by locating the small island of Maiton which was situated nearer to Bangkok. I also surveyed the island and found a suitable place where a helicopter could land in the absence of a helipad. Having done this much, all that remained to be done was to inform the helicopter crew about the exact time Star Clipper would sail past Maiton, so they could make all preparations for the aerial shooting. I found out from the captain that our ship would pass Maiton at 6 am on November 13. Accordingly, I instructed the helicopter crew to reach Maiton by the 12th evening and start preparing. On the other hand, since I was to be in the helicopter during the shooting, I left detailed instructions for the shots with choreographer Farah Khan who would be handling things during my temporary absence. Come 13th morning and we all had our fingers crossed. With no other communication with the helicopter crew since issuing instructions, we just prayed that everything would go as planned. And sure enough, we spotted our helicopter at the precise hour. Just as Star Clipper neared Maiton, Kabir Laal (cameraman) and I got onto a speed boat and left for the island. When he reached ashore, we found the helicopter crew waiting in all readiness. We quickly got into the helicopter and took off. After gaining the required height, I signalled to Farah Khan that we were ready to take the shot. She positioned everyone as per my prior instructions. One by one, we canned all the required shots in quick succession and landed back on Maiton. Now, we had to get back aboard Star Clipper which had sailed quite a distance past Maiton. We got onto the speed boat again and raced after the ship. It took us nearly four hours to locate Star Clipper and finally, we boarded it again. We reached Phuket the next day.”
Rakesh Roshan also credited the captain of the ship in this interview, “He extended all possible help to us during the shooting. At the very outset, he had told me, ‘Rakkkesh, do what you want, just don’t sink the ship!’” In the film’s beginning slides, Miss Anjie McFarlane, Captain Jurgan and Captain Shamim have been duly thanked.
The sequence where Hrithik Roshan and Ameesha Patel’s characters are marooned where shot at Krabi Island near Phuket, Thailand. Rakesh Roshan also shot for the underwater scene here, which was presumably the one where Rohit (Hrithik Roshan) is killed in an accident.
On this, Rakesh Roshan said, “The underwater shots were very tricky in the sense that Hrithik had to remain 30 ft. under the sea for nearly 45 minutes. Before the shots, a trained diving instructor explained the basics of diving to Hrithik — things like how to use the oxygen mask and so on. Fortunately, Hrithik had undergone a scuba diving course in Miami, USA, just for a lark a few months ago. So, he caught on pretty fast. Yet, at the end of the entire underwater sequence, I felt proud of Hrithik. Remaining underwater for so long required a great deal of guts more than anything else as anything could have gone wrong at any time.”
Rakesh Roshan signed off by exulting, “Unlike some of our other directors, who claimed to have spent 15 crores on their film, even 50% of which didn’t show in it, in KNPH, you will be able to see every single penny I have spent on the film. There is absolutely no wastage in my film.”
More Pages: Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai Box Office Collection
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