Krrish 3

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 1st November, 2013
Time : 152 minutes
Director & Writer : Rakesh Roshan; Music : Rajesh Roshan
Starring : Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Kangana Ranaut, Vivek Oberoi

To really like this one, you either have to be around ten years old, or a huge fan of Hrithik (with his finely chiseled abs shown multiple times), or someone who’s never watched English superhero films or a student of advertising (with numerous brands, product placements shown time and again). All others will find this one just about okay, with the movie reminiscent of the older, formulaic superhero films from Hollywood, filled with caricatures and black and white characters and innumerable moments of sentimental schmaltz.

Hrithik, in his masked Krrish avatar, is the perennial do-gooder, living with wife, Priyanka, and Dad (himself in a double role), who is a top scientist. He is mostly confined to the Mumbai area – living in an impossibly scenic and sprawling bungalow – and also struggles to keep any job in his normal identity due to his penchant for running around doing good deeds (foiling a jewelry store robbery, helping an aircraft land etc).

Kaal, Vivek Oberoi, is just pure evil. With a paralyzed body, the power of telekinesis and a burning desire to cure himself (needs an elusive kind of bone marrow for that). However, during his search for the bone marrow, he has created many mutants – everytime someone says ‘Maanvar’ (the name given to these mutants), I was cracking up – by combining animal strains with his own DNA. And he makes money by creating deadly virus, spreading them and then supplying the antidote…

A key role is played by the most interesting mutant, the shape morphing, curvaceous Kangana (she really stood out in the film, dresses, figure and acting wise). Eventually Kaal’s and Krrish’s paths cross, there is the fight to the finish… and lots of scientific mumbo jumbo, sentimentality and impossible stuff happening before things draw to a close.

Barring one song, made interesting by fantastic locales, Kangana’s cleavage and a smoking hot Hrithik, the other ones are terrible, slowing down the pace of the film. There are many scenes where emotional moments are milked for all they are worth, with many kids (including one very irritating one who keeps popping up through the film) / babies used to get the heart-strings going. The pace of the film is uneven as a result – its quite a stretch at two and a half hours – with not enough action, lots of ‘There is a Krrish in all of us’ kind of dialogue and other distractions. The special effects are good – they’re not up there with Hollywood but definitely a notch better than Ra-One or the previous Krrish

There is little to stay with you from the film – its one of those you forget easily when you walk out from the hall. The characters are unidimensional, non-introspective and thus, for a seasoned Hollywood observer, boring. But maybe that is being unfair…after all just ten-fifteen years ago, the films there had similar over-the-top heroes and villains…and in India, this genre is still nascent.