Never mind his penchant for the letter 'K' (with which his successful film productions invariably begin) - or the two 'R's that make up his initials; it is the letter 'P' that throws up epithets that can be applied to his persona. Prompt, punctual, polite…and a perfectionist too...

Rakesh Roshan is prompt…I discover, as I try to catch him in the midst of his round-the-clock schedule of final mixing and editing for Krrish (his sequel to the immensely popular sci-fi flick, Koi... Mil Gaya). Thanks to the modern marvel of messaging, it doesn't take long to fix the meeting for a Saturday morning at his well-appointed triplex in suburban Mumbai. We reach Ghumman Villa - the relatively new address for the Roshans - a little before the appointed hour. I pat his pet pug on the steps within his apartment and stroll into the living room on the tenth floor (incidentally, the floor below and above are also the family's) admiring the many Ganesha statuettes that dot the spaces and see the 56-year-old director sitting all-ready, sipping a mid-morning cup of hot chai. As our chatathon progresses, leisurely meandering into a photo-shoot, he politely entertains our requests for poses...

Friends, colleagues…and the world say he is not playing to the gallery - this is the quintessential Rakesh Roshan. The actor turned film-maker who over the years, has remained - unusually so in a profession given to public posturing - rather low-key, preferring the private spaces of his personal and professional worlds to the glitz of filmi functions or social dos.

Roshan has a credible body of work behind him (as producer and director, not to mention his earlier oft-forgotten forays on the screen as an actor), yet he brushes aside any notions of eminence in Bollywood's firmament. "For me, every new film is like my first one. I work 30 hours a day and believe that my work should speak for itself. I do not believe in blowing my own trumpet," says Roshan, even as the noon sun glints off his bald pate. "The media never really took me seriously as an actor or even as a film-maker…and I learnt one thing - one should keep on working no matter what people say or think. I still work as much as I did when I was directing my first film."

Talk inevitably gravitates towards his latest offering, Krrish, starring but naturally, his son, Hrithik - a movie that marks the return of the 32-year-old superstar (who turned papa this year) to the silver screen after Lakshya two years ago. A lot is at stake for both father and son - the movie is being talked about for its risk factor, its similarities to other superhero films and, of course, its budget. Shot primarily in Singapore and the Kulu-Manali region - with a reported budget of Rs 40 crores - Krrish is all set to explore new cinematic territory with special visual effects (by Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma) and action sequences (by Tony Ching Siu Tung).

Roshan would be the first to admit that the risk element looms large now - as it did when he filmed Koi... Mil Gaya. "I always make films from my heart and choose subjects that touch my soul. I do not have ready-made ideas and never launch a project till the urge inspires me. I took a bigger risk when I made Hrithik a mentally challenged boy in glasses, loose pants and short hair. Everyone told me that I was making a mistake...."

The mistake went on to create cinematic history, reaping awards galore, even though carping critics said the film-maker had aped ET…just as they are saying today that Krrish is Superman and Batman reincarnate. "When they pass such remarks, it only shows how well-versed they are in movie lore," says the film-maker firmly. "Koi... Mil Gaya was not ET…. My hero was different and no matter how you present him, an alien will remain an alien. Krrish too is not Superman or Batman…he has his own sense of identity that sets him apart. I read the reports and laugh but do not react. Years ago, when I had made Khudgarz, everyone said I was making Kane and Abel. No one realised then that my film paralleled another Hindi movie (Namak Haram) that I was paying tribute to.

His love for the movies is embedded deep even though Generation Next may not be aware of his filmi bloodline. The elder son of the legendary music director of Hindi cinema, Roshan, he "never thought of life beyond the movies," he admits. "I would see all the top stars and directors coming home to meet my father in their big flashy cars and snazzy suits. I wanted to grow up, become an actor and have all that…. But as I grew older, the quality of my attraction changed and deepened. Even so, I was so film-struck that I would bunk school and go for a movie, almost every day. In fact, at Sainik School, Satara, I would break the rules for curfew after the bugle sounded at night, sneak out of the premises and walk for seven miles to catch the night show of the latest film."

Destiny had another role ready for him though…. Young Roshan's boyish dreams received a tragic jolt when his father passed away. "I was just 16, in my first year at Wadia College, Pune," he recalls. "The responsibility of looking after my mother and younger brother, Rajesh, was mine. I quit studies and returned home." To ensure that his father's name would not be forgotten, Rakesh Nagrath became Rakesh Roshan.

The going was tough…. Smiling across at his wife, Pinkie, who has just joined us, Roshan has no qualms in admitting that the gruelling initiation left its mark. "It wasn't easy; before my father expired I was a very spoilt kid. I played truant, took life's luxuries for granted…overnight things changed. I set aside all thoughts of donning the greasepaint, joined the industry as an assistant director and began to learn on the job; I worked as an assistant director for four long years. I used to pick up and polish shoes, lay the table for lunch, carry snacks to the stars…do things that normally ADs are not expected to do. All that helped me as I subconsciously learnt how to be humble."

So, the boy who always longed to be an actor had to wait for his turn before the lens eye. "I did not let the waiting get me down as I knew that my time would come," he says philosophically. "When it finally did with Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani, I was not nervous. I had seen the world from behind the camera so I was not really a 'newcomer' on the scene. I knew a lot more about camera angles and technical details that most actors then - and even now - do not know. I knew that I could do any kind of role, given the chance. Unfortunately, I never got a good break in a good film. I was simply unlucky. I used to climb one step up the ladder of success while other actors in my shoes would have climbed ten. People appreciated my work but I did not make it really big. Often, I had to set aside my ego and beg people for work."

It was a stressful time for Roshan, who by then had got married to industry veteran, J Om Prakash's daughter, Pinkie - a woman who has given him solid support over the years. "I realised that he was going through a tough time, but he never mentioned that he was stressed or frustrated by the lack of recognition…he never brought his work tensions home," she says, even as he adds, "I used to give my family all the basic comforts. Even on bad days, I managed to do that."

The support of his friends from within the industry helped…and the pals are still together, 35 years later. "I have always been close to Jeetendra, Rishi Kapoor, Prem Chopra, Sujit Kumar.... Age never mattered to us," he says. "Our friendship has nothing to do with work or career highs and lows. Even when I was down and out and they were doing better than me I never asked them to get me work - that is why we are still friends and meet regularly every week."

With no fixed plan, Roshan soon realised that he had to turn film-maker to make an impact on an indifferent industry. "I knew it was the director and not the producer who guides a film…. I always had a vision that I would have a banner like Guru Dutt or Raj Kapoor…and that kept me going." So, was born Filmkraft Productions (India) Ltd in 1980. As a film-maker too, the recognition took a long time coming. "I have never taken what the media says seriously," he states. "They always considered me as a just above average director-producer. I do not care for their opinion because my audiences flock to see my movies. They wait for what is coming next. When I announce my films, there is always a queue of distributors outside my office…I am perhaps the only film-maker whose films release at the early 6 am slot in states like Bihar!"

Recognition has come from within and from his legion of fans spanning generations who have lapped up his varied fare - to name a few, Khudgarz, Kishen Kanhaiya, Karan Arjun, Khoon Bhari Maang, Kaho Naa… Pyar Hai and Koi... Mil Gaya. "I know my inner strengths," he says with no trace of immodesty. "The day the audience feels the same way the media has projected me, I will have to wake up and think about what I should do."

Long before tele-producer, Ekta Kapoor, displayed a soft corner for the letter 'K', Roshan had shown his penchant for the same as seen in his successful ventures. "One of my early films, Bhagwan Dada, did not do well. A fan wrote in that I should start my movies with 'K'…to succeed. Even as an actor, Kaamchor had been a big hit so I took the fan's advice seriously. Fortunately, the 'K' factor worked for me and Khudgarz was immensely successful in its time."

The film spawns yet another memory - of how the director got his new look. Both Pinkie and Roshan burst out laughing and she urges him to tell the tale: "I had taken an oath that if Khudgarz did well, I would shave off my hair. A lot hinged on that movie, since by that time my career as an actor had ended. The movie was a hit but I forgot my promise. Then it was time to launch my next venture, Khoon Bhari Maang. The night before its launch, I was very restless…in the morning, I asked Pinkie if she would mind if I sported a bald head. She told me that I would look very handsome...."

Success did not always come easily though even as a director-producer. "I never expected anything to be easy," he states. "I often faced financial hiccups. At one point, I had two songs of Kaamchor to be picturised but had no money to go to Ooty. I did not want to compromise by shooting the songs in Hanging Gardens, Mumbai and passing it off as the hill station. I pawned my Mercedes for Rs 2.5 lakhs, went to Ooty, shot the sequences. As soon as the movie did well, I redeemed my car."

Pinkie too smiles at the distant memory. "There was so much love between us," she says, "that the sacrifices and understanding came automatically. It is easier to cope with everything when you are strong and committed. And that is something he has never lacked."

Years later, Kaho Naa…Pyaar Hai brought with it success and a crisis too. When the film and its newly minted hero, Hrithik, made the box office jingle to its tunes, Roshan was shot at by underworld elements. "We couldn't even enjoy the film's success to the fullest," he remembers. "But the popularity of Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai gave me - and the family - the strength to pull out of the situation."

Like father, like son…. Even though Hrithik was keen on joining films, his father wanted him to finish his education first so that he could have something to fall back on in case he failed. He started off with Roshan as an assistant and did the grind his father had gone through. After Kaho Naa… Pyaar Hai, there was no looking back…till he hit a lean patch. "We knew that this was all part of the game," says Roshan. "It was just a passing phase. Whatever Hrithik does, he gives his best. We are very much alike; I know that if he sets a goal, he will try to reach it, no matter what."

Their thought processes in almost perfect sync, he finds working with Hrithik a joy. "When I am scripting, he listens to my scenes and we immediately thrash out things," the film-maker emphasises. "He still takes my advice…and since there is not that much of an age difference between us, we are like friends. In fact, some of his friends are my friends too." No wonder then the film-maker has kept abreast of the IT generation to get the X factor completely right, on his sets and on screen too.

For the perfectionist that he is, Roshan cannot rest till everything is just right. Although he may not throw tantrums like some other directors of repute, he expects things to roll with oiled efficiency in his unit. "I am a very disciplined person," he says. "I explain to my staff what is required and the first thing is that everyone must be at work on time. If there are shortcomings, I do not lose my temper. I control it; I go very quiet. I become more patient and more humble."

In every director's life, there comes a time, when he has to let go…. That day has come for Roshan, again, when after three long years, his new 'baby' is on public view. "I don't relax at all while we are working," says the self-confessed workaholic, who takes a few months' sabbatical once his movie hits the theatres. "My family goes and sees my movies in the theatres to gauge the reaction of the crowds. I cannot watch them with a mob, even at trial shows. If someone gets up and walks out or if a mobile rings, I get very upset. I wait quietly not for the reviews but for the Friday first-show reactions. And just before that, I get sleepless nights - my prayers become stronger."

This time - like in his previous two films - his prayers are more for Hrithik. "Once the movie is over, our relationship goes back to that of father and son," he says quietly. "In Krrish, Hrithik has worked much harder than I did. He has played with his life in the film. I let him take the risks - which could have turned fatal - only because I wanted Krrish, the character, to have his own identity and ensure that what happens on screen is plausible."

As for Roshan himself, this is just one more end…and another new beginning. If this movie works, he says there could be yet another sequel. "It has been an interesting journey - it's never over. In the industry, it's like a race; all the good horses are running together...."