Superboy Bokya, a local blend of Potter and Dennis

10-year-old Aryan Narvekar will play the lead role in Dilip Prabhavalkar's Bokya Satbande; he has extraordinary powers like Harry Potter and is as mischievous as Dennis

Noted actor Dilip Prabhavalkar's five-book series Bokya Satbande has been a big hit with children over the years. Now, his film of the same name and based on the books, is slated to release on April 17.

Bokya, the protagonist, can best be described as a Marathi avatar of Harry Potter and Dennis the Menace. Aryan Narvekar, who's just 10, is making his debut in the main role.

Prabhavalkar, who is also acting in the film, revealed that Bokya shares many similarities with Dennis, the brainchild of cartoonist Hank Ketcham. And like J K Rowling's Potter, he has extraordinary powers. In the climax, Bokya jumps into a bus and prevents a major accident.

Aryan is the son of noted actor Sanjay Narvekar, and is currently appearing for his Std IV examinations at Hiranandani Foundation School in Mumbai's Powai area. He was thrilled about his debut performance.

"I enjoyed working in the film with Dilip kaka and others. Now I understand how difficult acting is and appreciate my dad's popularity more," he said while talking to MiD DAY. He is waiting for his summer vacation to start, so that he gets the time to read the Bokya Satbande series.

Aryan's mother Asita Narvekar said, "Initially we were reluctant to let Aryan enter films at this young age. But he was keen to do the film. I hope that people will like him in a role that is totally different from that of other child artistes."

Shubhangi Gokhhale, who plays Bokya's mother, said she had great fun working in the film with Aryan. Kanchan Satpute, producer of the film, believes that Bokya represents the innocence of a carefree childhood. "If the film clicks, we may think of Bokya II," she said.

Written by Prabhavalkar and directed by Raj Pandurkar, Bokya Satbande stars Prabhavalkar, Gokhhale, Chitra Navathe, Vijay Kenkare, Jyoti Subhash and Aalok Rajwade. The music has been scored by Jeetendra Joshi. Bokya Satbandeu00a0 is presented by the city-based company, Nishad Audio Visuals.