'Krrish' franchise exists because of 'The Lord of the Rings': Hrithik Roshan

There's a little connection between me and 'The Lord of the Rings' that I don't think anybody knows, Hrithik Roshan said

Bollywood superstar Hrithik Roshan on Thursday revealed popular film franchise The Lord of the Rings had inspired his filmmaker-father Rakesh Roshan to turn Koi... Mil Gaya into a movie series.

During a promotional event for streaming service Prime Video's upcoming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Hrithik said his father had watched Peter Jackson's acclaimed Lord of the Rings film trilogy and was inspired by the progression of the story, based on JRR Tolkien's books.

"There's a little connection between me and The Lord of the Rings that I don't think anybody knows. So, one random day back in 2004, my dad put on The Lord of the Rings.

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"He watched one film after another and he gave me a call. He was just talking about the way they use this one great, incredible idea and then had this progression, which was so incredible. He was like, why can't we do that?" the War star said here.

He said his father had told him about his plan of turning Koi... Mil Gaya into a franchise. Directed by Rakesh Roshan, the 2003 hit featured Hrithik as a developmentally disabled boy, Rohit, who befriends Jadoo, an extraterrestrial being.

"He said, 'Why can't we take Koi... Mil Gaya, which is one of our previous films, and have a progression and build on that?'. And that was the birth of Krrish. So if there was no The Lord of the Rings, there would be no Krrish," he said.

The success of Koi... Mil Gaya spawned a franchise, beginning with Krrish, which was released in 2006, followed by Krrish 3 in 2013. There have been reports that a fourth film in the franchise is in the works.

Asked about his views on the upcoming Amazon Studios series, Hrithik said the show is the perfect marriage of "visual extravaganza" and "great content".

"This is the kind of stuff that I aspire for," he added.

At the event, the superstar was joined by actor Tamannaah Bhatia, who said The Lord of the Rings has a one-of-its-kind cinematic appeal.

"I still go back to it over and over again and it still seems fresh. It is visual storytelling at its best. Every adaptation has been so engrossing and captivating. This is something that I find is the most enchanting," she added.

The The Lord of the Rings series is primarily based on the appendices of The Lord of the Rings, specifically the description of Middle Earth's Second Age, and includes younger versions of some of the key characters from the original trilogy.

Set thousands of years before the events of Tolkien's famed book series, the show follows the forging of the original rings of power during the Second Age that allowed the Dark Lord Sauron to spread evil across Middle Earth.

It features an ensemble cast of Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Owain Arthur, Nazanin Boniadi, Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charles Edwards, Trystan Gravelle, Sir Lenny Henry, Ema Horvath, Markella Kavenagh, Joseph Mawle, Tyroe Muhafidin, Sophia Nomvete, Lloyd Owen, Megan Richards, Dylan Smith, Charlie Vickers, Leon Wadham, Benjamin Walker, Daniel Weyman and Sara Zwangobani.

The Rings of Power will start streaming on Prime Video from September 2. It will be available in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam.