The wierd science of Krrish

I recently watched Krrish during a rather long flight, and ended up wondering how no less than four screenwriters who are credited with the script, including the director Rakesh Roshan can end up with such a weakly written movie. While the usual and numerous plot holes that plague Bollywood action flicks abound, the movie feels rooted in the quaint plot devices of 70s and 80s Bollywood.

None of this though is as annoying as the wierd science in Krrish. Take the titular character essayed by Hrithik Roshan, for one. He is supposed to have "supernatural powers". What exactly are those?

In the beginning, we see that Hrithik is blessed with a rather high IQ. So he's super intelligent, although we don't see him making very smart choices as the movie progresses. In fact, the entire movie revolves around a rather gullible choice that Krishna makes.

We see evidence of super strength. In an early scene, the juvenile Krishna shatters a stack of stones with a ball. We also see him busting through walls and hanging on to branches with one hand while holding fair maiden.

He's also got super speed. He seems to show up in unexpected places in a trice and in a scene towards the end, he boxes a number of henchmen in a blur of motion. Unfortunately, he doesn't always seem to be able to use this power when he really needs to.

Probably the supernatural power displayed the most, ostensibly because it can create rather nice visuals, is the ability of Krrish to leap high and far much like early Superman. Once when racing a horse, he seems to be able to clear 10 meters or so and propel himself about 50 meters forwards. This power is used consistently throughout the movie although the distance varies enough that we're never sure just how high and far Krrish can jump. At times, he can distinctly glide and even hower but he doesn't always choose to do so. When chasing the villian in a scene towards the end, his super intelligence seems to desert him as he opts to run after the fleeing car through the crowded streets of Singapore rather than well, simply gliding towards the car at super speed.

Ok, so this is a movie that expects you to suspend belief because it is, after all, about a person who retains the powers of his father who has been blessed with supernatural powers by a rather funny looking blue alien child. Fair enough, but there is a difference between a creative bending of rules and flights of fancy. And in Krrish we get the latter. If you take the viewer along on a journey that suspends belief, you need to quickly establish the parameters of the universe you are creating in the movie and then abide by them. By fumbling this basic premise of fantasy storytelling, Krrish ends up being an inconsistent movie. And I haven't even gotten to the computer that can predict the future by showing snippets of what is going to occur via a strategically placed camera and consistently misinforming its users with half-truths.