Review : Krrish

[amazon_link id=”B008NW4Z3A” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ][/amazon_link]Rating : Above Average (3.8/5)
Genre : Sci-fi/fantasy
Year : 2006
Running time : About 3 hours
Director : Rakesh Roshan
Cast : Hrithik Roshan, Priyanka Chopra, Rekha, Naseeruddin Shah, Kiran Joneja-Sippy, Manini Mishra

Krrish : Creating the first desi super-hero with aplomb !

Finally, the first ever desi Superhero film ! Granted Krrish can’t fly, he has no webs to sling or Krrish-mobile to drive, but he has bulging biceps, and great powers of levitation. And yeah, no cape, but the snazzy, black, patent leather trench coat he sports does the job. He is brawny, (apparently) brainy, incredibly strong and nimble of foot, and can hop, skip and jump his way through the most arduous of circumstances, be they in the forests of his village, or in traffic in Singapore. So, yes, a Super-hero who has his own sense of style, with a costume not borrowed or inspired from the West.

However being desi has it’s own side-effects, ie; the guy is still tied to the mater’s apron strings (in this case his dadi’s – hence all the “Maa” dialogues gets translated into Dadi mode). And then there are the sentimental overtones, our Krishna, is a senti nitwit, in love with the first adult woman he sets his eyes on (the fact that she’s this gorgeous gal is another matter), but remembering his Dadi even in pardes, full of anger towards the bad guys, yet childishly sweet, innocent and incorrupt.

Since this is a sequel to Koi Mil Gaya, Krish is about Rohit’s son Krishna. The young Krishna is precocious which worries his grandma Sonia (Rekha) greatly and she resolves to hide away his super-powers in a remote village, where she builds a cottage and home-schools Krishna. The duo is apparently self-sufficient with the resolute Sonia tending her vegetable garden and her grandson in her heavy, expensive looking silk sarees. Sonia’s son Rohit and his wife are apparently no more. The boy Krishna does little more than learn from his granny, play cricket, and frolic with his pet white horse. Growing up in the space of a few minutes (Bollywood style – remember the Amitabh films where the boy morphed into the young man while running or during a song ?) into well-muscled Hrithik, the adult Krishna really digs into the village wastrel life-style.

OK, to rev things up, we have a damsel in distress landing from the sky, via a glider. True to form, the valiant Krishna saves the damsel from falling from the tree when her glider gets stuck. And what a damsel – Priyanka as Priya does a convincing impression of a pretty gal with no brains – all she does is look wide-eyed, flutter her well-mascaraed eye-lashes, and squeak with fear, and emit oohs and aahs in appreciation of being saved. Krishna being the epitome of manly man, advises her to close her eyes and hang-on to him tightly and all will be well. And she does.

Well, you guessed it, Priya’s the love interest, but after some non-sensical histrionics with her and the rest of her adventure trip members (when everyone is awed by Krishna’s strength and sundry super-powers), and a song and dance later she bids goodbye to the now love-struck Krishna and heads home to Singapore. She and her friend Honey (Manini Mishra) work for Star TV, and when Honey hits upon the idea of doing a story on Indian Superman Krishna, Priya gets roped into persuading Krishna to come to Singapore, which he does, after much emotional drama with his grand-mother who tells him the tale of his father’s demise abroad.

In Singapore, Krishna develops his super-hero identity “Krrish” almost accidentally while saving a kid from a circus fire. With his romance going sour, Krishna is ready to leave for India, when he meets friends of his father and learns that he has a ready-made foe in a corrupt businessman Siddhant Arya (played by Naseeruddin Shah). He also learns a shocking secret about his father which compels him to change into Krrish and storm Arya’s guarded head-quarters. Will Krish be able to avenge his father’s death ?

Now, admittedly the story’s a bit shaky and lacks (basic) logic in (many) places. And the film’s a tad too long – it’s 3 hours. However this still earns an above average rating on my scale because it’s essentially a pioneer in the Hindi super-hero genre, and actually creates a desi super-hero with class (and biceps). Not a mean feat by any standards. Plus the director has to be commended for the very well-done special effects – very world class – they reminded me of the “Matrix”, and “Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon” – especially the scenes in the forest and the one-guy-beats-all scenarios. Krish has the best special effects I’ve seen in any Hindi film/serial I’ve seen so far. I’me very glad that it’s Rakesh Roshan who pioneered the desi super-hero thing instead of some one like say Ramanand Sagar (of the serial Ramayana fame – remember the whizzing arrows ?) – I cringe at the thought of the special effects he’d have had.

Some of the shots in the film, like the one where Krishna is seen as an adult for the first time racing along with the white steed, and ones where he’s saving people as Krish during the fire, are very well-done, kind of the super-hero introductions you see Superman and Batman getting. Plus the wide angle, 360 degree shots are novel, and interesting to see.

The acting is OK. Hrithik is above average and can emote decently. Rekha is an accomplished actress, even though she is swathed in heavy drama, so no worries on that account. Shah as the villain is very, very good. Thus the only weak point is Priyanka, who has one of those witless woman roles which are so dominant in Hindi films – not her fault really. Kiran Joneja appears in a very short role as Priyanka’s mom. Manini Mishra as Honey is the typical Bollywoodian female “saheli” and she does OK.

The songs are averge – I remember only 2 now. The background music is good though and adds to the quality of the film.

Although this is not a scintillating film, it’s still a very watchable one. I predict Roshan’s going to recover the millions he’s spent on this one.