<p>Space Scientist Dr. Sanjay Mehra has created a from which he sends variations of the syllable into space, hoping to attract . When he receives a response, his colleagues ridicules him. While driving to home, an alien spacecraft appears overhead soon after responding to his signals on his computer. Distracted, he gets into a car accident that kills him in car explosion and injures his pregnant wife, Sonia and their son, Rohit, is born with a . Sonia learns that surgery is the only cure, for Rohit’s disability, but it could paralyze or kill him. Not wanting to lose her son, she raises him in . Years later, a now grown up Rohit is still a schoolboy, due to his disability and has found friends in six children. A young woman, Nisha, arrives and is initially insensitive to Rohit, because of his childish against her and also due to her being unaware about his mental condition. Her friend Raj, who also happens to be Rohit’s former classmate and his gang attack Rohit and break his ; Sonia chides them for assaulting Rohit, saying that he did not intentionally make fun of her and reveals about Rohit’s condition to Nisha. Realizing her mistakes, Nisha gifts Rohit a bicycle and introduces him to her parents, who are sympathetic to him. Rohit and Nisha (now friends) find Sanjay’s old computer, and Rohit inadvertently summons the aliens. The aliens leave hastily, accidentally leaving a group member behind. Rohit, Nisha, his group, and Sonia befriend the alien, naming him Jadoo and discovers his abilities. Raj resents Nisha’s closeness to Rohit, bullying him and spreading a rumour that Raj and Nisha are getting married. The rumour upsets Nisha and Rohit, who is hurt because he thought Nisha was his girlfriend. Jadoo discovers that Rohit is disabled and uses his powers, derived from sunlight, to enhance Rohit’s and . The next morning, Rohit has clear vision; a seventh-standard student, he later solves a tenth-standard mathematics problem orally (surprising his mathematics teacher and his school principal) and also answers his computer teacher who always chided him for his disability and accidentally beats up Raj’s gang too. Rohit’s physical abilities increase to levels. Raj’s gang challenge Rohit and group to a basketball game. Rohit scores several baskets but Raj’s gang begin to cheat; when the sun comes out, Jadoo helps Rohit’s group win the game. Rohit confesses his love to Nisha and she reciprocates. Raj’s gang confront Rohit’s group about the basketball game. While fleeing the group accidentally drops Jadoo. Constable Chelaram Sukhwani sees Jadoo in a bag and calls for backup. Led by Inspector Khurshid Khan, they capture the bag; however, Rohit rescues Jadoo. Confronted by Raj’s gang, an angry Rohit overpowers them and the policemen arrive. Jadoo is not in the bag; he had escaped when Chelaram was calling the other police officers. Khurshid, suspicious of Rohit, confronts him at his house with other officers. The police seize Jadoo and knock Rohit out. When he regains consciousness, Rohit catches up to the police vans in time to save Jadoo from being sent to the United States. The which he had summoned with his father’s computer returns, and Rohit bids a sad farewell to Jadoo. When Jadoo leaves, Rohit reverts to his old self; this saves him from prosecution by the , who congratulate him for his actions. Raj’s gang later harass Rohit once again and insults Nisha too, challenging him to kick a ball to them. Rohit angrily kicks the ball into Raj’s face and realises that Jadoo has permanently returned his superpowers. Rohit and Nisha thank Jadoo, and get married. The cast is listed below: Following the success of the romantic thriller (2000), the director Rakesh Roshan wanted to collaborate again with his son, Hrithik Roshan, who starred in the film alongside the debutante . The director wanted his next project to be a child-centric film, not just a romance, which Rakesh Roshan had done many times in his career both as a director and actor. He told that he was motivated to make a film that was not ” ” but “an out-of-the-box yet entertaining, mainstream film”, after attending the premiere of in June 2001 during the . He announced it subsequently at the ceremony while he was receiving the award for . The idea to make a film on extraterrestrial life came up when he saw his five-year-old granddaughter watching a series about it on a cartoon network. He later informed Hrithik Roshan of the project when the latter was shooting the 2001 release in ; Hrithik Roshan accepted the role immediately. Rakesh Roshan used a “K” as the film’s initial, his favourite letter he used in all of his directorial ventures. The film was originally titled ( ), ( ), and ( ), before ( )—which sounded more romantic to him than any of the previous titles—was finally chosen. He wrote the screenplay with , , and . This took between two and three weeks before its first draft was done in . Unfamiliar with the topic, Rakesh Roshan confessed he was initially reluctant and doubtful of the project, but Hrithik Roshan convinced him. According to Rakesh Roshan, the screenwriters were “contributing new ideas since the premise itself was so new”. He described it as “a very emotional, thematic film” and “the greatest challenge” of his life, saying that science fiction was not the main theme of the film. Though many have commented on the film’s similarities to (1982), Rakesh Roshan denied being inspired by it. finished the dialogue. was produced by Rakesh Roshan under Filmkraft Productions, which he established in 1980, and distributed by . When was announced, Rakesh Roshan said that his son Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta would play the lead roles in the film; it marked the actors’ second collaboration after (2000). Playing against , Roshan was cast as the developmentally disabled man Rohit. He admitted the role had reminded him of his childhood, saying he could eat as many chocolates as he wanted and “became a baby and everybody was so caring towards me”. Hrithik Roshan called it the “most challenging role” of his career, but revealed he had accepted the part after his father first offered it to him, confessing that his excitement made the role feel much easier. In a retrospective interview with , he explained that he “revisited that earlier passion I had felt when I did my first film”. To provide an accurate portrayal, Hrithik Roshan lost 8 kilograms (18 lb), changed his hairstyle, and wore loose clothes to cover his well-built body. Zinta was given the role of Rohit’s friend and then-wife, Nisha, after Rakesh Roshan saw her 20-minute performance in ‘s 1998 thriller and was impressed by it. It was originally to be played by or ; however, he saw that Rai Bachchan would not be a suitable co-actor as she was older than Hrithik Roshan, while Kapoor opted out because she had collaborated with the actor on many projects. Zinta, who enjoyed her part as Nisha and called a special film for her, described the role as an attempt to change her “conventional heroine” image, telling that: “If I only did the glam-and-pout act, I would have stuck out like a sore thumb and destroyed the film’s timeless texture.” The part proved to be a new challenge for her, and she found it to be her career’s “toughest” role as it was “a very-controlled character”. Hrithik Roshan spoke positively of his rapport with her, and said he would “have been only half effective” if she was not his co-star. In July 2001, Rekha joined the cast and portrays Rohit’s mother Sonia, a part that was specifically written by Rakesh Roshan for her. Rakesh Roshan recommended she play the character as soon as he had finished writing the film’s screenplay. “I didn’t even have a back-up artiste in mind for her role. If she had turned me down, I wonder what I would’ve done”, he told . Discussing the film and its casting with the press, Hrithik Roshan said that she was the best on-screen mother and called her “marvellous”. Rekha saw that her part was “not too big”, but believed that the role’s motherhood aspect made it “worthwhile”. The film was her second project with Zinta following in 2002; it also reunited her with Rakesh Roshan after both had worked together on several films such as (1980) and (1989). After , , and rejected the role, Rakesh Roshan decided to play the small role of Rohit’s father and Sonia’s husband, the scientist Sanjay. The film marked his comeback to acting following the 1999 comedy-drama . Indravadan J. Purohit got the part as the alien Jadoo. According to him, Rakesh Roshan had offered the role to 30 or 40 people before he gave it to him without any . To prepare, Purohit lost several kilograms of weight, joined a , and followed a strict diet. Four months before the beginning of shooting, he went to Australia to model his 15 kilogram (33 lb.), three foot (nearly one metre) mask, which was created by the Australian artists James Colmer and Lara Denman from Bimini Special Effects Studios. They were both emotional when Rakesh Roshan narrates the film’s screenplay, and they later showed a number of sketches for the mask that took a half-hour each to draw. The mask took nearly a year to build. and cost (US$1.2 million). Because the mask was heavy, Purohit needed oxygen after shooting every one of his scenes to avoid suffocating. Having starred in more than 300 films (all of which feature him in comic roles), he thought with he got “a role of a lifetime” and considered the film to be a career boost. for began on 12 November 2001, in , during the celebration. The total budget ranged from (US$3.0 million) to (US$4.1 million), making it the most expensive film Rakesh Roshan had made at the time. and Sameer Arya were the cinematographers, while was the production designer. and designed the costumes for the rest of the cast. , Raju Khan, and served as the choreographers, and and did the action direction. A mall replica was built in the film complex for the film’s 14-day shooting schedule. A schedule in Canada was completed after three days. In September 2002, the entertainment portal Bollywood Hungama reported that the film was 40 percent completed. Chandran used shadows and smoke to make the film’s sets look dark for the scenes that feature aliens, as he faced difficulties shooting those scenes in bright light. The spaceship, in which Jadoo visited in the film, was designed by Colmer and Denman and built in a year. During filming, Hrithik Roshan was also shooting three other projects— (2002), (2002), and (2003). took place in , , , Kasauli, , and New Zealand. In 2018, Rakesh Roshan revealed its climax sequences were shot in two different versions: in the first one, Rohit lost all of his powers after Jadoo left Earth, while in the second, Rohit did not lose them. After hearing opinions from many directors (such as , , , and , he decided to use the second ending, presuming the audience would be satisfied by it. Shooting ended in March 2003, and was edited by Sanjay Verma. With help from the -based company Compudyne Winfosys, the American artists Marc Klobe and Craig Mumma, who previously collaborated on the science fiction films (1996) and (1998), were involved in the special effects. They were enthusiastic about their first Bollywood project, and Rakesh Roshan asked them to be thrifty; they spent (US$470,000). Nonetheless, the director confessed that the film’s total cost was still excessive for him and attributed this problem to the special effects and making Jadoo’s costumes. composed the soundtrack and background score for . , , and Dev Kohli wrote the lyrics, while , , , , , , Baby Sneha, , and Preeti Uttam Singh performed the vocals. The album was sold for (US$590,000) to who released it on 31 May 2003. was one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2003, owing to its science fiction genre, one rarely used by any Indian films before, and the character Jadoo. Promoted with the tagline, “You Are Not Alone…”, the film was targeted at children and parents. The TV spots, created by Prime Focus company, were aired on television for a week. As a part of the promotion, managed a special show for the film, titled (containing interviews of the cast and crew) which aired between 10 and 14 August. After seeing its promotional trailers, , the editor of the trade magazine , reported: “This has been my gut feeling ever since I heard the narration of the film concept. But the magic of the film comes across even through the promos.” said that the film’s themes would successfully attract an audience, giving “adults … a chance to relive their childhood”. Sharing the same sentiments, the critic and film trade observer added that “the combination of Hrithik, Rakesh and Rajesh Roshan” would make its opening “bumper”. A special screening was held for Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister along with their families on 2 August 2003 in Mumbai. After watching the film, Vajpayee told Rakesh Roshan that he had made “a very good film”. The film was released theatrically six days later and clashed with ‘s and ‘s . According to Rediff.com’s Syed Firdaus Ashraf, who attended its premiere in , he saw that children would continuously shout, “Jadoo! Jadoo!”. He also reported that the film’s tickets were being sold illegally by at a higher price. It was screened at the 2nd International Special Film Festival (organised by ) on 14–20 March 2003 and the 15th on 11 April. The finished the censorship review of the film on 25 July and gave it a “U” (suitable for all age groups) certification. garnered high expectations from trade analysts as well, which left Hrithik Roshan restless. A -dubbed version was released under the title of ( ) in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland during of 2005. Distributed by Yash Raj Films, it was released on on 15 September 2003 in a single-disc pack. It is also available on and distributed by and , respectively. According to an estimate by in June 2004, the DVD version had sold around 15,000 units, while for the VCD version sold 150,000 units; the film thus grossed (US$470,000). Eros International released its triple-disc CD version in the widescreen format as well. The television rights to were sold to in February 2004, and the worldwide premiere occurred on 24 October. The film has been streaming on and since 30 November 2016. was successful at the box office, due to the audience’s sympathy for Hrithik Roshan’s character as a man with developmental disability. Trade analysts speculated the film would be an “acid test” for the actor. The film was released on 450 screens across India and grossed (US$270,000) on its opening day, the year’s second-highest first-day earnings. It grossed (US$760,000) by the end of its opening weekend, and (US$1.5 million) after its first week. earned (US$8.6 million) in India, becoming the highest-grossing Indian film of 2003. Abroad, the film did not attract much of an audience. As reported by Rediff.com, it debuted in 29th place in North America, where it was released on 55 screens, and grossed less than $300,000 after a three-day run. Following its first weekend, the film had collected (US$380,000). It earned (US$1.2 million) after finishing its overseas theatrical run, becoming the fifth-highest-grossing Indian film of the year. Summarizing the film’s total gross in India and overseas, the film-trade website Box Office India estimated grossed (US$9.7 million), making it 2003’s second-highest-grossing Indian film. On the website , 80% of 10 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.4/10. opened to a positive critical reception, with most critics applauding the cast’s performances (especially that of Hrithik Roshan). Rekha and Zinta’s performances were panned; several critics found them to be “utterly wasted” serving only as the film’s “decorative piece[s]”. In spite of that, Rekha’s performance was better received critically. Udita Jhunjhunwala of observed, “You walk into expecting to find a mysterious alien, what you end up discovering is a child inside you.” She praised Roshan for his performance in “his bravest role”. Bollywood Hungama noted, “Hrithik Roshan dominates the show and packs in a power-packed performance. The role of a mentally challenged person is no cakewalk, but the actor takes to it like a fish takes to water. He manages to pull off the zero-to-hero routine exceptionally well. As an actor, he scales dizzier heights with this splendid performance.” Rediff.com’s R. Swaminathan called the actor “the turbojet that propels the film to the realm of the extraordinary”, and believed that the film’s screenplay and dialogues gave his character “flesh and blood”. However, he felt Jadoo’s design was “a big letdown”, saying that it was “plasticky” and “does not exude life”. Writing for , described as “a great demo of the Bollywood style of filmmaking”, but criticised its scientific inaccuracy. Manjulaa S. Negi of the was not satisfied by the special effects and compared them to (1996). editor appreciated Hrithik Roshan’s performance, finding it to be “very sincere” and “brave”; she also took note of the film’s “refreshing” subject. Sharing a similar view, felt Hrithik Roshan had delivered “a cherish-worthy performance”. Both critics added the child actors, who accompanying Hrithik Roshan’s character throughout the film, contributed positively to his performance. was sure Rekha was underdeveloped and Lata Khubchandani, in her review for , questioned why she was cast for the role; , who gave the film four stars, presumed that Rekha’s role made her “restrained”—an opinion shared by Nahta. Of Zinta’s performance, Nahta opined: “Preity Zinta does not have a very significant role in terms of the value she adds although she has a running role. She looks pretty and acts well.” Vijay Venkataramanan of Planet Bollywood appreciated Rekha’s strong chemistry with Hrithik Roshan. Chitra Mahesh from commended Hrithik Roshan and the cast of the children, while referring to the character Jadoo as “amateurish”. In his five-star review published by , Parag Chandrabala Maniar lauded the efforts of Rakesh Roshan “to provide pure and clean entertainment” and Kolbe’s and Mumma’s special effects. He said of Hrithik Roshan, “[He] proves his versatility as an actor. At times he moves you and at others he makes you laugh. Here’s is ( ) definitely an actor to reckon with. The number of flops notwithstanding, Hrithik Roshan is here to stay.” Meenakshi Rao of complimented his acting style, considering him to be “endearing, as endearing as a child of his mental age”. Omar Qureshi elaborated, “Hrithik blows away all doubts, theories, criticisms and disbelief with an extraordinarily touching performance of a mentally challenged boy in a rough man’s world. He surprises you with his reserves of pathos, his gamut of emotion and his transition from weak boy to strong man. Here is a sterling act, worthy of all awards this year—thus far. He is simply incredible, even in his voice modulations, his sloppy walk and his lopsided smile.” An critic wrote that the pairing of Hrithik Roshan and Preity Zinta took “the couple conventions of Hindi cinema far beyond the escapades of typical Hindi cinema”. Overseas critics focused their attention on Hrithik Roshan’s performance and the film’s themes, while also pointing out its many similarities to American SF films (most notably ). Ed Halter of predicted that the film’s elements, including its “nonstop plagiarism from classics like , , and “, might be embraced by foreign nerds. of commented that the film was an “embarrassment of riches”, summarising, “… it’s mockable, it’s silly, it’s cloaked in a cloying miasma of cute, but its off-handed facility with pop-cinema conventions, spiced up with some jarring stylistic disconnects, delivers the most mind-bending entertainment experience of the season. This is commercial moviemaking taken to its logical, mondo mercantilist conclusion.” expressed approval of the entire cast, especially Hrithik Roshan, whom he regarded as the film’s “oddest aspect”. Calling it “bright, loud and relentless fun”, gave the film three-and-a-half-out-of-five stars and reviewed its comedic, romantic, science-fictional, musical, action, and melodramatic elements positively. magazine hailed it as the “most novel Bollywood movie of the year”. The ‘s Manish Gajjar described Hrithik Roshan’s role as a “mentally-retarded-child-[turned]-superman-hero”. praised him for avoiding his typecasting as a romantic hero, while David Parkinson of thought that the film served as “slick, sentimental entertainment”. Writing for , Maitland McDonagh singled out Jadoo’s expression in the scene where he is lost in a forest for praise. won three awards at the , including tied with ‘s crime film . At the , the film was nominated for eleven categories including (Zinta), (Rekha), (Johnny Lever), and (Rajesh Roshan). It went on to win five trophies including , for Rakesh Roshan, and and for Hrithik Roshan. At the sixth , Hrithik Roshan received and , while Rekha was acknowledged as the year’s . The film won five of eleven nominations at the fifth , including Best Director (Rakesh Roshan) and (Hrithik Roshan). It also earned five , five , four , and two . , often abbreviated as , has been widely regarded as the first Indian science fiction film with alien characters in it, although this was disputed by several film experts. In (2014), professors Jessica Langer and Dominic Alessio wrote that the -language film (1963) should be given the title. Writing for , the critic and author stated that was ” ‘s first major science fiction film.” The BBC reported that the film “is certainly a milestone in the reformation of commercial Indian cinema as a whole”, and the American graphic artist , in his 2014 book called it the most popular Bollywood science fiction film. In 2016, featured on its lists of “Children’s Day: 10 Memorable Bollywood Films” and “Ten Bollywood films Dealing with Disability”. After making his debut in (2000), Hrithik Roshan starred in a series of romantic films, most of which under performed financially including (2001), (2002), and (2002). Trade analysts believed that his career was ended by these failures. The release of , which Hrithik Roshan wanted to revive his career, changed analysts’ perspectives of the actor and suggested that the film resurrected his position in the industry. While attending its premiere, Nahta told Rediff.com that it was “very important for him. Hrithik is not ‘out’ of the industry but his position is shaky. So, if the audience likes the film, it is good for him.” In 2010, magazine included his performance on their list of “80 Iconic Performances” of Hindi cinema, writing, “It’s incredible how the actor manages to diminish his size, unstylise his look, wear bug-eyed glasses and talk funny … Watch him laugh, cry or bond with his remote controlled alien friend and note his nuanced turn.” He and Zinta collaborated again in the war drama (2004), which failed at the box office although he received positive feedback. In 2005, Zinta chose as one of her favourite films. The film was remade into a soap opera in Indonesia under the title (2003–2007) and in Telugu as (2005). Following the film’s success, Jadoo became popular with children. aired a spin-off television series based on the character, titled , in 2004. In 2020, after the published of an unidentified flying object, relating to the film went viral; most of them use the scene where Rohit summons aliens by his father’s computer. is the first installment in the . In November 2004, in an interview with Subhash K. Jha of Rediff.com, Hrithik Roshan announced that his father, Rakesh Roshan, had begun the production of a sequel to , based on a screenplay which was written in eight or nine months. A superhero film titled , Hrithik Roshan would play a dual role, reprising his part as Rohit from the original film and playing the character’s son. While Rekha also reprised her role in the sequel, Zinta’s position as the female lead was given to . Produced on a budget of (US$5.9 million), principal photography started in March 2005 and finished in January 2006. opened on 23 June 2006 to mixed reviews, with critics were disappointed by the replacement of Zinta. However, the film was a commercial success and became the second-highest-grossing Indian film that year, earning more than (US$12 million). A second superhero sequel, , was announced in December 2006. Hrithik Roshan and Chopra reprise their roles, while and play the antagonists. The film was originally scheduled to be released as a , but the idea was scrapped. Although Rakesh Roshan never officially confirmed its budget, reports from the media estimated it to be above (US$12 million). Filming took place between December 2011 and June 2012. premiered on 4 November 2013 and was declared a commercial success, emerging as the fourth-highest-grossing Indian film of the year. Critics panned its lack of originality, although Hrithik Roshan’s performance garnered praise. As of July 2021 , the fourth successor was to be released at Christmas 2020 but was postponed because of the .</p>