Picking up a few years after where Krrish left off, Krrish 3 tells the story of Krishna Mehra and his superhero alter-ego Krrish (both Hrithik Roshan), Priya (Priyanka Chopra) and Rohit Mehra (Hrithik Roshan again). This time around, we’ve got another villain – the menacing Kaal (Vivek Oberoi) and his bunch of mutants called ‘manwars’ (man + janwar, yes, really). Krrish will have to fight a deadly virus and bring down Kaal all in one go – the question is, can he do it?
The thing about Krrish 3 is that it’s stuck in some form of a limbo between a Hollywood superhero blockbuster and an 80s Bollywood masala flick. For every great special effect and fantastic action sequence, there’s a cringeworthy dialogue and Mogambo-esque villain costume. Even though you know the story is interesting and has clearly been well-thought out, it’s peppered with implausibility and some ridiculously crazy elements (like “dimagwala filter”). Therefore, it’s kind of difficult to figure out how you feel about the film – some times you’re genuinely entertained, and other times you’re entertained in an “oh God, what is this?” sort of a way.
The point is, though, that you don’t stop being entertained. In fact, Krrish 3 has all the elements of a good entertainer: action, an actor who flaunts his stardom, family drama, a good-trumps-evil theme and some great special effects. The story, too, has packed in enough high moments and plot twists to keep you interested. Of course, things will start falling apart bit by bit if you start actually analyzing the film, but that’s something you should stay way from doing with a film like this.
The performances are good – Hrithik Roshan handles both Rohit and Krishna so differently that you wouldn’t really think it’s played by the same actor at all. Priyanka Chopra is reliable as always, although her role doesn’t do her justice – it’s not meaty enough for someone with her talent. Vivek Oberoi is great as Kaal, which is quite the feat considering that he doesn’t move for much of the film. Kangana Ranaut stands out as well: her diction has improved and she plays her part with sincerity.
If you wanted to list Krrish 3‘s faults, you could have a field day doing it – it’s formulaic, it borrows from Hollywood films, the music is terrible, it loses steam in the second half, the number of product placements could put Ra.One to shame, etc etc etc – but, you know what? At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter. Krrish 3 is, in fact, some super escapism. You want to get lost in that different world. You want to feel the hope that Krrish brings. You want to believe that there’s a superhero in all of us, as long as we’re using our talents and powers for good rather than evil.
So forget the issues. Instead, take this film at face value, and I expect you’ll come out sufficiently entertained.
Verdict:
Watch. But leave all your Hollywood comparisons at home.