Masand's Verdict: Krrish-crass

Krrish

Starring: Hrithik Roshan,Priyanka Chopra, Naseeruddin Shah.

Director: Rakesh Roshan

Okay, so we're finally here and naturally the subject du jour is Krrish, director Rakesh Roshan's very eagerly awaited sequel to Koi Mil Gaya.

Taking the story forward from his 2003 blockbuster, Krrish is centred around the unusually gifted Krishna—played by Hrithik Roshan—who has inherited all these remarkable powers from his father Rohit, and also a startling resemblance to his father.

Now Rohit, as we all remember, was the star of the previous film, that slow but lovable guy who turned into a slick stud after he befriended Jadoo the alien. Rohit's dead unfortunately, so Krishna lives in Kasauli with his grandmum Rekha.

He has the IQ of a genius, the strength of a bull and the speed of a cheetah. He leaps across rivers, climbs mountains effortlessly and zips around faster than a speeding jet. He also falls hook, line and sinker for Priyanka Chopra, who's on an adventure holiday in his part of the world, and before long he follows her all the way to Singapore to ask her hand in marriage.

Once there, he has his work cut out for him. Krishna must get to the bottom of a big mystery linked to his father's death, and must also stop megalomaniac scientist Naseeruddin Shah from accomplishing his sinister plan to take over the world. Now this, he does under an assumed identity—Krrish —a masked, caped crusader.

Now the film has been positioned as India's first superhero film, and I suspect that if you go in with those expectations, you're going to be very disappointed. Because, let's face it, apart from about 20 minutes of spectacularly stylish stunt work, there's very little superhero stuff in this picture. And that's a pity, because Hrithik makes a terrific superhero.

In fact, you're only willing to suspend your disbelief and make this journey because it's a fantastic actor like Hrithik Roshan who's holding your hand and taking you through what is really a fractured story. I should confess here that I wasn't mighty impressed with Koi Mil Gaya, the film whose sequel this is. I have a problem with plagarism and to me, Koi Mil Gaya was an ET rip-off no questions asked.

For me that film was watchable for one reason and one reason only: Hrithik Roshan. In Krrish, once again the actor is the only saving grace. Despite the ludicruous plot, Hrithik immerses himself completely in his role and it's only his sincerity that diverts your attention from the film's many flaws.

My biggest complaint against Krrish is directed towards its screenplay: It stinks.

For starters, I think you'll agree with me when I say that the writers have indulged in dumbing down to appeal to the lowest common denominator.

All those supposedly comic scenes in the first half about Krishna pretending to be a ghost, and then that whole subplot about Priyanka and her friend calling Krishna to Singapore so they can save their jobs-those portions are extremely amateurish, and to write such scenes and play them in all seriousness amounts to taking the audience's intelligence for granted.

Now surely you've heard of the proverb, too many cooks spoil the broth. I think that's the best way to describe what's happened to the screenplay of Krrish. I was bewildered to discover that it took five writers to hammer out this script.

Now I understand that you're not really meant to take a fantasy film too seriously, but there has to be a limit to how many creative liberties one can turn a blind eye to.

In the end, one cannot deny that Krrish does have some fabulous moments. Starting with that scene where Hrithik first rescues Priyanka from a paragliding accident, to the portion in the end where he chases Naseeruddin Shah across land, water and sky.

But alas, it takes more than just a few spectacular moments to make a great film. The plot fumbles constantly between love story and thriller, the special effects aren't really all that special, and the songs only add to the film's never-ending length.

Yes, Krrish may actually be Bollywood's first stab at a superhero story, and the intention is commendable, but the effort leaves a lot to be desired.

So as far as I'm concerned, Krrish is only an average film that could have been so much better if the makers had concentrated as hard on its story as they did on its action and stunts. Watch it once because it's a step in a new direction. But there's still a long way to go before perfection.