Birth of a Hero...not so fast!. Review on Krrish

Its a summer of super heroes, and with the release of Krrish, a new superhero is born wait not so fast. While Krrish is a great summer entertainer with awesome special effects and the one man power house, Hrithik! It is far from being super. Krrish is a sequel and the second film in the Koi Mil Gayaa trilogy. Next one due out summer 2008, is already in production and it is attentively called Krrish Ka Jaadoo!

Krrish tells the story of the gifted son of Rohit, who supposedly died in a freak accident. Krishna grows up pretty much like his father, sheltered and isolated fromsociety for obvious reasons. While Rohit was mentally handicapped, Krishna is the exact opposite. He spends his days racing horses, climbingmountains and leaping across streams, until one day he encounters agirl from the city. She works for a major newspaper and is in India for a ten day vacation which is extended due to her meeting Krishna. At first, it is unbelievable for her and her friends to encounter sucha being but after a few laughs and jokes (which are way overdone,doesnt really help move the story along), oh and a song number, they understand one another and Priya returns home with her friends.

A superhero movie will inevitably invite comparisons to the big wigs like Superman and Spider-Man, and there are a few in Krrish worth noting. Krrish grows up in a small village before finding his destiny in a big city. Remind you of a certain Smallvilleresident who became Super in Metropolis. Much Like Lois Lane Pryia works for a major Newspaper, who wants to get the biggest and best stories, like the Daily Bugle, the major newspaper in Spider-Man.

For those who dont know much about the film will be pleasantly surprised. For movie buffs who have been eagerly awaiting might find afew things disappointing. From the release of its soundtrack it had been a disappointment, with only a few songs with a repeat value for listening. Im a huge movie score fan and after watching the film I dont know why they didnt release a CD with just the background score. It isone of the best parts about the film.

The first half is a little slow paced. I realize characters must be introduced and tension must be relieved through light humor but here itwas way overdone. A good 25 minutes could have been cut from this film(especially the songs), giving more time to spend on tweaking the special effects, which are the best Ive seen in a Bollywood film since Paheli but some of the effects looked rushed. Of course then comes the question, do you make a film and take a risk of not including so much masala that the South Asian audience cant get enough of or do you cater to your everyday Bollywood movie goer. Unfortunately the filmmakers found the latter to be a better choice.

Hrithik leaps across trees, streams, cars and over buildings. It looks great, but his legs constantly cycling through empty air might get a bit tedious. Hrithik himself delivers perfection in all of his roles.His fans wont be disappointed. Ive been a Hrithik fan since his first release; in fact watching him is what inspired me to start dancing. His films in the past that have failed at the box office are due largely tothe script and direction. It is evident in all his films, that he is a perfectionist and does his best with every role and every aspect of his character.

Cheers to the Roshans for giving us visually captivating films and technically pushing the Bollywood film industry into the next millennium.

Oh and by the way.I was just kidding about the trilogy bit, there is no Krrish Ka Jaadoo! However you can see all his magic unfold in the current film.

(Side note: After seeing Kaho Naa Pyaar Hai, I had always thought Hrithik would make a great Tarzan, after watching him in Krrish with his flowing long hair and he gliding through trees, that idea was confirmed.)