Krrish [DVD]

Same as before. What do you get when you put together Superman, with a lot of Spiderman, and a bit of Flash Gordon. Simple...you get Krrish. this best sums up Krrish. You have the believable love story between krishna and priya (Clark and Lois), you get the simplicity and the loneliness of the character (Peter Parker(Spiderman)) and you get a silly villain and some crazy action (Flash Gordon). The action is believable for the most part, except for one horrible scene towards the end, which is why i gave this movie a 4 star. The hollywood references are used a lot better this time, and are actually effective in telling the story, and Krishna is a unique superhero character, who even with his similarities, Rakesh Roshan still manages to make him feel original. Hritik Roshan's performance is brilliant once again. he also doesn't have to carry the film as much this time, because of a more realistic storyline, and all supporting actors are in fine form aswell. the most notable is priya, who has a 'large eyes' gag that runs through the movie, which is actually charming and funny at the same time. Overall, a big step in the right direction, and overall, a very good movie. Bring on film 3.

Krrish is an Indian superhero film which makes for interesting viewing in the light of such mixed Hollywood outings as Daredevil, Spiderman, X-Men etc. Hidden by his mother from the enemies of his late, genius father, hero Krishna has inherited enhanced superpowers granted to his dad by kindly aliens in the first installment of the saga. Swept off his feet by a visiting female journalist in his remote retreat, at length he reluctantly returns to Singapore only to discover that elements of the past tragedy may not be what they seem. Soon he is forced to don a mask to hide his real identity and battles against a technological conspiracy which has at its heart a personal imperative.

Overlong and entertaining, Krrish has many of the merits and faults of Indian popular cinema, while still providing a novel experience for fans of the western superhero genre. Most interestingly, the Indian superhero has few of the neuroses and persecution complexes which mark out his western counterparts, never viewing his superhuman nature as a curse for instance. His special talents seem part of nature and not a dubious mutation of it. The first half of the film, consisting of a slow moving romance as Krrish, living with his overprotective auntie, discovers his heart and his destiny, has one or two decent moments but one longs for more outright drama. Notable scenes include the first meeting with his co star as he romances her, Tarzan-like, descending down a tree together in a prolonged arboreal embrace after a hang glider crash above. But these are meager highlights in what proves a slight and generally unmemorable opening act.

Things pick up considerably however after the half time intermission as, once installed in Singapore, Krrish moves into a different gear entirely. In the film's best and most excitingly choreographed sequence, the hero first dons his improvised mask to rescue victims trapped inside a burning circus tent while later, in another impressive moment, he leapfrogs across boats on the river to reach his enemies. Most of the wire-work based stunts in the film are well done and some - such as the moment when he slides his motor cycle along a warehouse floor to unseat several other riders, are exciting and new. Krrish's super powers mainly consist of Dr Doolittle-like communication powers with animals, super strength and speed, but there is no denying that in the requisite black mask, with streaming hair and Matrix mac he looks very cool when required. Ultimately though it has to be admitted that the film is not a complete success; the central conceit of a computer that can 'foretell the future' for instance is a clumsy one and, while Krrish is a great action figure, the film itself seems uncertain on which elements of his character to concentrate on, which leads to some loss of focus. But a decent enough effort all the same

There are many good things in this movie. First of all, Hritik Roshan is a revelation in the lead role. I'd always written him off as a simple romantic lead - but here he demonstrates remarkable fitness, dancing and martial arts skills which are clearly not faked. He also looks really cool in his costume. Priyanka Chopra is meltingly beautiful as always. God! I would gladly sell my soul for her - and ably backed up in looks and acting talent by Manini Mishra who deserves a bigger part somewhere else. The action stunts are terrific and the last thirty minutes of the movie are great. The big musical number, set in a circus, shows tremendous originality and works really well. Finally, the locations in Kashmir (I think) and Singapore are both breathtaking in different ways providing a good contrast at the halfway point of the movie.

But there is a weakness that lets it down a little. The first hour of the film, though pretty to look at, is extremely tedious and I was actually losing interest. Also, the 'secret identity / mustn't tell my girlfriend' motif has been seriously overdone elsewhere - as we know - and is no longer original. It's just annoying now. So this is a great attempt at providing a modern superhero for India and it very nearly makes it - maybe Krrish 2 will be more compact and a stronger movie because of the experience gained here. We'll see. Oh, and how about a female superhero for India - now that would be really something!