India’s First Superhero, Not So Super
By MovieTalkies.com, 23 June 2006
2 / 5
The one advantage that a sequel has over any other film is that it needs no build-up to set the stage nor does it need to introduce the lead players; it can straightaway get into the meat of the story and catapult the viewer into the heart of the action. However, this one advantage has not been put to use by the makers of Krrish. Though a sequel to Koi Mil Gaya, it tries to begin a new on several fronts and the lame screenplay never really gets off the ground, except towards the last 15-20 minutes of the film, and by then it’s too late.
What Koi Mil Gaya was to ET meets Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Krrish is to Superman meets Spiderman (with some Matrix action thrown in). But Koi Mil Gaya was an extremely well crafted entertainer with a crackerjack screenplay and deft direction by Rakesh Roshan, breaking the conventional hero mould and establishing that a great performance which is not necessarily heroic in true Indian tradition (but has heroism written all over in terms of originality and clever inspiration from other successful works) is bound to work. Krrish is not what one would expect from the same maker. It’s not even a patch on the prequel, and wastes away valuable screen time establishing itself and its eponymous hero. Yes, this is a superhero film, and yes, some action sequences have a Matrix hangover and the special effects are worthy, well executed by any set world standard, but it’s the writing which is very poor and lets the entire film down.
The screenplay interestingly is credited to as many as six people (Sachin Bhowmik, Rakesh Roshan, Akash Khurana, Honey Irani, Robin Bhatt, Sanjay Masoom), veterans of Indian cinema who have in the past worked magic with the pen. But the pen here has decidedly dried up now and scratches into anything and everything that it tries to set-up. The drama lacks momentum and the thrills are sporadic, more concentrated in the second half. The film begins in Manali with Krishna (Hrithik Roshan), the son of Koi Mil Gaya’s Rohit, falling in love with Priya (Priyanka Chopra), who is on a visit from Singapore. Though blessed with supernatural powers of both strength and extraordinary skill (our hero can catch swimming fish with his bare hands, ascend mountains without ropes and out-run horses!), his grandmother (Rekha) has advised against the display of these extraordinary powers because she believes she has lost her son owing to his Jaadu-given abilities. Of course, since he is not normal, he has no friends except for the birds, horses and a rather amusing tour guide. Saving Priya while her indulgence in parachuting boomerangs, he falls in love. However, Priya has to return to Singapore and Krishna discovers depression. Priya and her friend Honey (Maaninee De Misshra) return to Singapore five days late and hence they are on the verge of being fired from their jobs, until they announce that the extra five days they spent in India was actually used for the benefit of the channel they work for (Star TV). They convince their boss (Archana Puran Singh) that they have met a man who runs faster than horses, climbs tress quicker than monkeys… and more. A plan is devised to convince Krishna that Priya is in love with him (as he his head over heels in love with her) and that he needs to immediately reach Singapore to ensure Priya does not get married to someone else. Dadi is hesitant to let Krishna go but allows him on the condition that he will not reveal to anyone his superpowers. Once he lands up in Singapore, all attempts by Priya and Honey to capture his “heroics” on camera fail and they once again are on the verge of losing their jobs.
But an accident during a circus forces Krishna to use his superpowers to save innocent lives, however he ensures he dons a mask first in order to preserve his anonymity and keep his promise to Dadi. Krishna now becomes Krrish, the masked super hero. Somewhere along the lines, Priya actually starts falling for Krishna and even discovers that he is the real Krrish, but before she can confess her love to him, he overhears a conversation and learns that the pretext of calling him to Singapore was a lie.
It is only post this point that we actually get into a true superhero story where the villain (Naseeruddin Shah) is in the process of rebuilding a machine initially built by Rohit which allows a person to see the future. Kahani mein twist comes from the fact that Krishna learns that his father is not dead after all, and that along with saving his father, he now has to save millions of innocent people from the evil that will be done with this machine in the wrong hands. What follows next are spell-binding action sequences at par with what we would see in any Hollywood film, although a couple of sequences give an instant déjà vu of Spiderman, Matrix and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. The climax, where our masked hero saves not only his father but also succeeds in eliminating the villain, is probably the most memorable sequence of the film.
In terms of performances, the film belongs to Hrithik Roshan completely, and Hrithik fans will surely not be disappointed. He not only looks the part of a superhero with his absolutely mesmerizing action sequences, he handles the light comic and romantic sequences with equal élan. The rest of the cast is there for able support, efficient in every sense. Priyanka Chopra plays her part with conviction in spite of the fact that the film does not demand anything worthy of mention from her. It should be noted that her first time pairing with Hrithik is successful in that they make a good romantic lead and compliment each other well.
Last but not least, the in-film placement brands: if you want to leap from buildings, climb mountains without ropes and run faster than a horse, please drink Bournvita. And if you want your clothes to be bright and clean, then only use Dadi’s Tide. Suffering from a cold, Vicks is the solution.
And after seeing this film, we’re sure you will think twice before your next trip to Singapore, a city where you are attacked right on arrival at the airport and where instead of fish, you find dirty shoes and clothing in the sea! Of course, there’s also the Hero Honda sponsored circus which catches fire!
Krrish does not match up to the prequel nor does it live up to the huge hype which has been created. However, the film is worth a dekho only for Hrithik’s performance, and few outstanding action and special effects sequences.