Krrishtastic!. Review on Krrish

Let me make an admission. I didn’t watch the original or the prequel or whatever to this film. Somehow I never got around to watching Koi Mil gaya and that’s not surprising given my growing list of ‘must watch’ films that I never get around to watch. For every film I get to watch 10 others are added to the list and somewhere down the line the numbers tend to get inversely proportional meaning the more films I add to my list the less time I really get to watch them.

So, was not watching Koi Mil Gaya a drawback? No I really don’t think so. Was it an advantage? I am not sure of that either.

What we have here is an Indian Superman or a Superhero. Well, the premise is not a new one in Bollywood but that the earlier efforts suffered from a lack of quality special effects so very necessary for such films to make a reasonable impact. Not in this case, however, with a 40 percent of the budget set aside for just special effects the production team headed by Rakesh Roshan got it right this time.

The story begins in the beautiful landscapes of Manali where young Krrishna is shown experiencing his far from normal childhood. He is a lad with super physical and mental skills. Surprisingly, his paternal Grandma (Rekha) is not aware of any special qualities in the boy. But one day she learns that Krrish has inherited not only his fathers mental capabilities but for some reason (not elaborated in the movie) has also acquired extraordinary physical strength and reflexes that soon render him isolated from the rest of the children of his age.

The child prodigy spends his growing years in seclusion partly because of his overprotective grandma (she has a reason for that) and partly because no one wants to befriend him because they feel he is not normal like them.

Despite the forced isolation, Krrish (Hritik Roshan) invents ways to keep him occupied and spends his childhood days in relative bliss. But, all good things must come to an end and so is the case with our desi Superman. Hold on, if good things come to an end there’s always a chance that even better things lie ahead or so it is proved when Priya (Priyanka Chopra) drops from the heavens like manna into the secure arms of a waiting Krrish. I say secure not because Krissh has extraordinary strength, which of course he has, but because Priya never looked like leaving those arms again just as Krissh never allows her out of his of sight.

You’ve guessed it right! Both fall in love, or rather Krrish does and Priya realises later in the story that love is what’s attracting her to Krrish’s protective arms.

The first half of the story meanders as some would think, but I thought it was essential to build the characters and give them authenticity so that the audience can identify with the characters fully before the fireworks begin. I think that’s where this film scores. It’s not an out and out super action film and the hero is not over eager to save the world from all and sundry.

There appears to be genuineness in the way Krrish is forced to perform acts of courage. Even the mask of Krrish (a rather imaginative one) comes into his possession by chance and not by design. The audience is much into the story before Krissh’s grandma is forced to reveal the circumstances in which her son Rohit Mehra (Hritik again) was eliminated by a megalomaniac Dr. Siddaanth Arya (Naseeruddin Shah) whose only noble principles reflect in his name and the rest is shame. This power obsessed maniac’s evil agenda is to take control of the world by building a supercomputer that can predict the future of every individual as well as the world. Not a bad obsession at all for a super villain, eh?

That’s how Rohit Mehra of ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ who’s endowed with super intelligence courtesy the goodwill of the alien ‘Jadoo’ is innocently trapped into creating a most dangerous toy for Dr. Arya only to learn in the end that his creation would be used against the world and was never meant to benefit mankind. What happens to Rohit, his research, and the supercomputer he built is the premise upon which the last hour or so of the story finds its justification.

The revelations of the past act as a catalyst for Krrish to now avenge the injustice done to his father. But first he must once again don the mask to do a final battle against the evil Dr Arya and thwart his nefarious designs.

One significant flaw in the story line is Krrish himself. It is revealed that Krrish inherited his superpowers from his father. His father Rohit was super intelligent but weaker than a normal human being in all other respects. At least, that is what he is shown to be during his confrontation with Dr. Arya. But Krrish is not only super intelligent but also has super physical strength and powers of endurance, which make him a complete superhero.

Naseeruddin Shah’s portrayal of the suave looking but maniacally obsessed technocrat is spot on. His performance is always on par with expectations. Rekha as Krrish’s overprotective grandma (as if Krrish needed protection) does her job convincingly. The other support cast of Manini De Mishra and Archana Puran Singh turn in an unnecessarily overzealous performance. Manini as Priya’s friend gives the impression that she is empty headed but comes out with face saving solutions that demand presence of mind. Archana’s role as the female boss is way overblown and I shudder to think what If I had such a one. The rest of the cast has insignificant roles but perform their given task creditably. Priyanka Chopra is there only to provide a romantic touch to the proceedings, as there is not much scope for the female lead in this movie. But what’s with her, she looks anorexic for an Indian beauty?

The movie is tailor-made for Hritik to show his histrionics and he doesn’t fail this time to impress one and all with his graceful strides and fluid movements. Unlike other Bollywood stars that look totally out of place in the superhero genre of movies, with professional help from action master Tony Ching, Hritik looks completely the part. His performance as the aged Rohit Mehra is on par with the best that I have seen. However, the majority will love his performance as young Krrish.

If Hritik looks like a convincing superhero at least half the credit should go to the Special Effects Team of Hollywood wizards Marc Kolbe and Craig Mumma. Their seamless rendering of Vfx scenes make this movie all the more realistic and enjoyable by all barring the die-hard cynic.

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