Suhani Singh
Mumbai, November 2: Would there be a Krrish 3 if X-Men, Iron Man and countless other superhero flicks didn’t exist? A lot in the third instalment of this desi superhero franchise is an inspiration or, should we say, imitation. There’s Kaal (Viveik Oberoi), a wheelchair bound supervillain, who like Magneto, uses his mind to control and blow up things. One of his allies is Kaya (Kangana Ranaut), who like Mystique, is a shape-shifting mutant. Another is Frogman, known as Striker, who uses his slimy, long tongue to snatch scoops of ice-cream (Havmor to be precise). Kaal refers to his mutant army as Maanwar (do we even explain?). That’s the extent of creativity you’ll get in Krrish 3.
Krrish 3 takes the adage, “The pen is mightier than the sword” to a new level altogether. Scientist Rohit Mehra has a pen (Flair to be precise) which once exposed to sunrays generates astounding power that revives even the dead. Miles away in a frozen landscape, there is the cold-blooded Kaal, who in need of a bone marrow to cure his condition conducts multiple experiments. To finance them, his pharmaceutical company first unleashes a deadly virus on the citizens of Namibia (poor Namibians) and then mints money through an antidote. His next target is India, which sends millions to hospital (Fortis to be precise).
Enter Krrish, our knight in shining leather suit, who is unaffected by the virus. Mehra realises the cure lies in their family’s blood and uses his superhero son’s blood to develop an anti-dote which saves lives of millions. Kaal is furious and sends his mutant army to eliminate Krrish. He also kidnaps his pregnant wife, Priya (Priyanka Chopra), a TV presenter who dances in stilettos, and leaves Kaya behind to take over her place. We soon discover that Kaya, created from the genes of a chameleon, has a heart that beats for Krishna.
Director Rakesh Roshan’s story is so convoluted that looking for logic and motive in it is an exercise in futility. Why does Mehra suddenly go to Singapore? Why does Kaal want Priya’s kid when early on he doesn’t even know that she is Krrish’s wife? Why does Krrish have to stand on the edge of a crane? Is he admiring the view? The script randomly shuttles from Krrish to Kaal’s world. In the former, Krrish is averting one disaster after another, always involving kids in jeopardy. After all is there a better way to play on audience’s emotions? While in the latter, Kaal is devising devious plans to eliminate the inferior human race and dominate the world.
Essentially an action flick, Krrish is woefully low on awe-inspiring stunts. The battle sequence between Krrish and Kaal reminded us of the Spiderman and Batman films. It is also unintentionally funny. Kaal’s black tights can be seen through his shoddily put together metal armour, which is a messy version of Robocop’s attire. His make-up often makes him look like a vampire. Kaya, as daft as Mona Darling, ransacks a laboratory in search of the antidote. She simply types “antidote” in the search engine.
There are preaching, cringe-worthy dialogues like one where a kid says, “Kaal, Phat gayi?” With little going in terms of story, Rakesh Roshan throws in one twist after another but the film fails to reach the crescendo he so desperately wants. His composer brother, Rajesh Roshan, takes the film to a newer low with a terribly dated soundtrack, which makes you bang your head in agony than tap your feet. Even son Hrithik Roshan, playing dual roles of a portly old scientist and a toned, vein-popping superhero, disappoints. When in intense mode, he starts quivering his face.
The film’s attempts to be path-breaking in special effects and production design ring hollow especially when towards the end in a clear sign to continue the franchise, Krishna has a son. After all a Bollywood superheroine is not cool, right?
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Movie Review: Krrish 3
Vinayak Chakravorty
Mumbai, November 2: Imagine Superman fighting it out with a bunch of evil X-Men. Krrish 3, letting the logic of numbers go for a toss in its title (we never had a film called Krrish 2), cocktails the formulae of two Hollywood franchises that never seem to fail.
The effect is just right. The sequel, despite running low on script, crackles with high energy, by and large living up to all the hype.
In the Bollywood context of course, Superman needs to do a lot more than just fight villains and save the world to prove his superhero credentials. Club hopping, dancing in the disc, soaking the script with hyper melodrama, a bit of comedy and some six-pack show – you name it, apna superhero Krrish does it all.
No one parcels Hrithik Roshan as well as dad Rakesh Roshan does, and Roshan senior knows well a desi sci-fi superhero has to remain a Bollywood star in the end of the day.
If Hrithik’s return in his superhuman elements ends up as this year’s grandest celebration of the larger-than-life Bollywood hero (so far at least), he also impresses with his more grounded double role of Krrish’s dad Rohit Mehra. The dual act is the backbone of a film that otherwise gives in to sundry masala cliches at every twist of its plot.
Hollywood addicts could gag a snicker watching Vivek Oberoi’s wheelchair-bound villain Kaal. The Professor X-inspired shot at gravitas tends to get lost in Vivek’s occasional hamming trips but overall the actor does a fair job in adding a shade of the sinister to the story.
Kaal has a business plan. His scientists have invented a lethal virus that can finish the population of a whole city in a matter of minutes. They have also invented its antidote.
It’s all very simple. Kaal’s gang of mutants first go about spreading the virus. Then, as panic strikes, Kaal brings out the antidote as medicine to mint the millions.
Krrish 3 needs to be seen in the context of what it set out to do. It aims at creating a different flavour of mainstream action drama for the larger audience. In that sense, the film’s sci-fi backdrop merely marks a cosmetic departure from so many other hero-versus-villain potboilers we have forever watched.
Stock Bollywood quotient includes imagining a happy family scene for Krishna and Priya (Priyanka Chopra), now husband and wife. This also facilitates a familiar turn of events in the second half. The hero’s loved one will be in peril when the villain strikes, in sync with superhero cinema norm and in order to allow old-school action unfold with new-age swagger.
There is nothing fresh about the good-vanquishes-evil formula here except that Rakesh Roshan lets it happen in the fantastic terrain.
Watching the extravagant affair that Krrish 3 is, you realise the film’s failure to scale exceptional heights is not necessarily about its tech-specs. It lies in the fact that the story reveals no ambition at giving the superhero genre any extra dimension as, say, The Dark Knight flicks or Iron Man have done in Hollywood despite not losing out on the fun factor.
Rather, Roshan and his screenplay team (Honey Irani and Robin Bhatt) focus more on creating situations that let Hrithik loose with action and/or drama amid CGI effects.
The authorbacked double role is tested realm for Hrithik, and he evidently enjoys every minute of screen space. Krrish 3 was always meant to be Hrithik’s show and he doesn’t let his fans down.
The X-factor about the film, though, lies with Kangna Ranaut’s antiheroine Kaya. She is a mutant with a special power that Kaal creates out of his own blood. Kaya does reveal influence of a remarkable character in X-Men but, without revealing spoilers, she lends the predictable script of Krrish 3 a few unpredictable twists. Kangna simply goes for the kill with the role. Just for the impact she leaves on screen, we will gloss over the fact that her love song with Hrithik was totally irrelevant.
