He runs faster than a race horse. Glides and slides from skyscrapers with ease. Climbs on trees-n-mountains with the electrifying zeal of a monkey after a truckload-of-bananas. When he beats a horde of bad men you are convinced that he wouldn’t get hurt. Like a true hero he saves little children from a fire-in-the-circus. And when he zips past a school bus on the way to demolish the evil, the magic faces of small girls and boys scream in unison….It’s KRRISH!!!! Director Rakesh Roshan has capitalized upon the colossal popularity of his son Hrithik amongst the kids. For ‘Krrish’ is made for them. And the only man who could have done justice to the genre of superhero in terms of style-n-substance is none other than the green eyed Hrithik Roshan.
‘Krrish’ is a sequel to ‘Koi Mil Gaya’. The sweet-n-amiable-alien Jadoo is not coming back any more. The power bestowed by him on pal Rohit Mehra (Hrithik Roshan Senior) made him a genius. Dr Siddhanth Arya (Naseeruddin Shah), a ‘great’ scientist and the owner of the biggest Information Technology Company of the world Technotronics, employs him to make a computer by which the humanity can see the future. Rohit dies under mysterious circumstances after achieving the impossible. Nisha (Preity Zinta) gives birth to their son Krishna (Hrithik Roshan Junior) who is blessed with Rohit’s special powers. Sonia Mehra (Rekha) shields Krishna from the world after Nisha’s death as she realizes that her grandson is extraordinarily intelligent with an amazing capacity for doing physically challenging things.
The protective grandmom is unable to scaffold Krishna with emotions once he grows up into a handsome young dude with long hair and a whacko dressing sense (A village bumpkin need not look like a local-from-the-ancient-era). Priya (Priyanka Chopra) from Singapore lands on the runway of his heart with a thud of a parachute. After playing ghostly tales with her band of picnic-cum-adventure-sports-aficionado friends, Krishna loses his heart to pretty Priya. She is mesmerized by his special talents like catching a fish with his hands, breaking a rock with the power of his volleyball and beating hefty men in a tug of war all alone. Krishna lands up in Singapore to proposition Priya who has her own little reason for getting him there. The story fast forwards and under exciting circumstances, Krishna has to turn into Krrish to do the job of the savior.
EFX, responsible for spellbinding special effects have done a marvelous job. Action by Shyam Kaushal and Tony Ching Siu Tung is the best you’ve seen in Indian cinema so far. And the man who made it all possible Hrithik Roshan deserves a standing ovation. Be it the action, the emotional scenes, the sensitivity-n-romance, the comic scenes, the consistent look throughout the film and the fact that he has done most of the miss-a-heartbeat stunts himself makes you applaud for the sheer conviction and belief that he has had in ‘Krrish’. He has small portions where he plays the weak and numb Rohit Mehra (Hrithik Roshan Senior). But I must say, he makes even those small portions gut wrenchingly brilliant. Here I must add that if it were not for the magnetism of Hrithik, ‘Krrish’ as a story wouldn’t have worked for me. Why…Read on….
There are sections both in the first as well as the second half when the story doesn’t seem to be going anywhere. I am absolutely OK with cinematic liberties and song-n-dance. But when as a viewer in the audience (Who clutches on to his Pepsi a bit too tightly when Krrish, the superhero is casting its magic by saving the underprivileged like a Spiderman or a Batman) I am eager to see the daredevilry of the man-in-the-mask and I am handed over a slow romantic song slowing the proceedings, I feel like screaming….Foul! The story takes far too long in developing and could have done without too much of melodrama. In other words, ‘Krrish’ needs editing by at least fifteen to thirty minutes. And please Mr Rakesh Roshan if you have shot a few stunts-in-the-mask that you haven’t used so far, then go ahead and add it now in place of at least a couple of songs. I saw people going out during the songs while the maximum whistles echoed in the hall during the Superherogiri scenes.
Naseeruddin Shah as the maniacal scientist comes second to Hrithik. The psycho style of reading television breaking news after every bad deed committed by him made for interesting watching. Priyanka Chopra looks good as a showpiece and she is happy being the same. She can do with some weight loss at the earliest. Rekha’s body-language as an ageing grandmom is spot on. This actress continues to surprise with her arsenal of variety. Hemant Pandey as Bahadur, Manini Mishra as Priyanka’s friend Honey and Archana Puran Singh as the TV Channel boss impress with their comic timing.
Music by Rajesh Roshan is a treat for the ears. It is amazing how he continues to churn out hits after being in the industry for the last forty years. My favorites being ‘Dil Na Diya’ and ‘Aao sunaoon pyaar ki ek kahaani’. But as I have mentioned earlier, a few of the songs drag the film, though they sound very nice in the audio album. Cinematography by Santosh Thundiyil and Piyush Shah is top class. Every frame is sketched with care and detailing.
Last but most certainly not the least, the direction by Rakesh Roshan is a mixed bag. To be fair to him the plusses are more than the negatives. It is apparent he knew that it’s not easy to make a superhero film like a Spiderman in the Indian context without its share of emotional appeal. The son taking a revenge for the wrongs done to his father, the basic human values and the characteristic romanticism associated with Hindi cinema interspersed with The Matrix special effects and the Batman-mask-meets-Superman-flights-of-fancies has been handled with deft vision. I’ve already pointed out the loopholes, so there’s no point repeating it again. As for the big question, whether ‘Krrish’ shall work on the Box Office in the longer run, then the answer is a BIG YES. There’s every possibility of it being a cult film. It is made with an eye at another sequel. And the kids deserve it as well.