Krrish 3 was initially scheduled to release as a 3D film.[7] However, due to lack of release time to convert the film to 3D, director Rakesh Roshan mentioned that the film will be released only in the 2D format. Krrish 3 released worldwide on 1 November 2013.[1][8] Produced on a budget of ₹95 crore (equivalent to ₹161 crore or US$19 million in 2023),[3] the film grossed ₹393.37 crore (equivalent to ₹669 crore or US$80 million in 2023) worldwide.[4] It has received generally positive reviews from critics.[9][10]. Krrish 3 has maintained a position among the top 50 highest-grossing Indian films for over a decade, from its release in 2013 to 2024. With a worldwide gross of ₹393.37 crore, it remains one of the most successful films in Indian cinema reflecting its enduring popularity and cultural impact.
Plot
Rohit Mehra lives with his son Krishna in Mumbai. Krishna is married to Priya, a journalist for Aaj Tak and Rohit works in a research institute. Krishna, while moonlighting as superhero Krrish, is regularly fired from various day jobs due to lack of attendance. Rohit is researching a device that will bring dead tissues to life using solar energy.
A deadly virus is spreading in Namibia whose antidote has not yet been discovered. Rohit's friend Dr. Varun Shetty, and Dr. Alok Sen, a scientist who wants to meet him to reveal information about the virus, are murdered by Kaya, a shapeshifting female mutant. She is the secretary of Kaal, a handicapped evil geneticist with telekinetic powers. Kaal creates a team of human-animal hybrids called Maanvars with distinct physical powers to cure himself but to no avail.
The virus was spread by Kaal himself to incur huge profits by selling its antidote. Rohit discovers that the virus, now spreading through Mumbai, has no effect on Krishna, Priya (pregnant with Krishna and her child) or himself. He makes an antidote with Krishna's blood, which he spreads with explosions. Kaal sends his mutants to attack Rohit. Krrish saves Rohit but Priya is injured. Carrying out Kaal's instructions, Kaya shapeshifts into Priya while Priya is kidnapped by Kaal.
Posing as Priya, Kaya leads Krishna to believe that Priya has lost her child, and lives with the Mehras. While discovering the truth behind the antidote, she develops feelings for Krishna. Rohit travels to Singapore to seek answers from Dr. Siddhant Arya's partner, where he is kidnapped by Kaal's men. Krishna discovers Priya's kidnapping, reveals himself as Krrish, and asks Kaya to take him to Kaal's laboratory. Kaya decides to help rescue Priya. It is revealed that Kaal is Rohit's son, created by an experiment conducted by Dr. Arya while Rohit was held hostage by him years earlier. He was born handicapped and adopted by a wealthy man.
Kaal uses Rohit's bone marrow to cure his disability. Kaya saves Priya but is murdered by Kaal for her disloyalty. Kaal also severely injures Krrish. Rohit re-uses his failed dead tissues experiment to save Krishna. However, the beam of light created by the experiment needs a filter in order to take effect on Krishna. Rohit stands in front of it, allowing only a portion of it to make contact with Krishna. This resurrects Krishna, killing Rohit in the process.
Kaal has returned to Mumbai to taunt its citizens with destruction should Priya not be found and taken to him. Priya voluntarily surrenders herself, but Krrish then arrives and a fight between Krrish and Kaal ensues. With the two now capable of flight and super strength, Krrish and Kaal's fighting destroys many buildings across Mumbai, while Krrish is emotionally weakened due to the number of people dying around them. Finally, Krrish manages to kill Kaal using Rohit's solar experiment.
Six months later, in the aftermath, Krishna and Priya name their newborn son, Rohit Mehra. The baby also seems to exhibit superpowers. This marks the continuation of the superhero legacy.
Kangana Ranaut as Kaya, Kaal's secretary and girlfriend who is created by fusing the serum of a woman and a chameleon. She is instrumental in Kaal's scheme because of her ability to shapeshift into anybody whenever she wishes. She later falls in love with Krishna after shapeshifting into Priya.
Vivek Oberoi as Kaal, a handicapped evil scientist who exhibits telekinetic powers. He is the founder of Kaal Laboratory and the creator of Maanvars, a team of mutants made by fusing the serum of humans and animals. He is the main antagonist of this film.[11]
The film was referred to as both Krrish 2 and Krrish 3 in media reports. Hrithik Roshan confirmed in an interview to Rediff.com that on similar lines as with the Rambo franchise (where the first film was named First Blood, then came Rambo and then Rambo 3), the film will be called Krrish 3.[15] Rakesh Roshan also clarified the title to Bollywood Hungama.[16] In an interview director Rakesh Roshan said "I can't reveal the budget of the movie, but it has been a very costly film".[17] The film was reportedly produced on a budget of ₹1.15 billion (US$20 million).[18]Red Chillies VFX, a subdivision of Shah Rukh Khan's motion picture production banner Red Chillies Entertainment, worked on the special effects worth ₹260 million (US$3.1 million) for Krrish 3.[19] The filming process was completed in June 2012, and then the VFX team started their work.[20]
"While shooting in hot and humid conditions in India – in the film studios in Hyderabad, and in Mumbai, the mask [made of wax] would get distorted and start melting. This was because of the high temperature, which would often go up to as high as 44 degrees. At times, it seems it was so hot that in a day, he [Hrithik Roshan] would end up changing five to six masks,"
– The Hindustan Times, who stated that Roshan ended up using 500 masks[21]
Principal photography began on 1 December 2011 with Vivek Oberoi, Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra. However, Hrithik Roshan did not participate in the first schedule due to a back injury.[22] The primary location of filming was Filmistan Studios at Mumbai.[23] Actress Shaurya Chauhan had an accident while shooting for the film in Hyderabad, due to which the film had to face some delays.[24] On 29 August 2012, it was reported that, the makers had decided the superhero to indulge in the action sequences in snowy terrains. So, some part of the film was shot in Alps, Switzerland.[25] Filming also took place in Jordan where a song featuring Roshan and Ranaut was shot.[26] Rakesh Roshan stated in an interview that the shooting of Krrish 3 was completed by June 2013 with the VFX took one and half years to complete with the last of them coming on 22 October 2013, just 10 days before the release of the film with each and every VFX action sequence undergoing a revision of 40 to 50 times before inclusion.[27]
Casting
Following the success of the previous instalments, director Rakesh Roshan planned to develop a second sequel to the franchise, with Hrithik Roshan playing the protagonist again. He had penned the script, but had to re-work it as the storyline was too similar to the Hollywood blockbuster Spider-Man 3.[28]Priyanka Chopra was later confirmed to reprise the role of Priya. In this film, she will be seen married to Krishna Mehra.[29][30]
Next, Chitrangada Singh announced her inclusion in the project as a mutant but left the film due to unspecified reasons. Later on, Jacqueline Fernandez was signed but she, later on, backed out of the film due to a lack of dates. It was reported that actresses Nargis Fakhri, Esha Gupta and Bipasha Basu were to replace Fernandez.[31][32] Finally, Kangana Ranaut was confirmed to play the role, who coincidentally was originally offered the role.[31] Rakesh Roshan had earlier revealed to the media that the main antagonist of the film would be as powerful as the hero.[33] After talks with Ajay Devgn and Shah Rukh Khan fell through, Vivek Oberoi was eventually cast for the role.[11][34] In an interview with Bollywood News Service, Oberoi said, "Kaal is contrary to my nature. I am very friendly and Kaal isn't," and added, "He has anger and vengeance burning within him; he hates humanity. To express these emotions through my eyes was difficult."[35]
In January 2011, Lakshmi Manchu claimed to have been offered a role in the film as the antagonist's girlfriend.[36] Its overseas distribution rights were sold to Eros International while Rakesh Roshan retained rights in Mumbai.[37] There was also initial speculation that Rekha would play a major role in the film, which was later denied as a rumour.[34]
Design and costumes
For the cast's costumes, Rakesh Roshan involved with designer Gavin Miguel. Roshan wanted a light and flexible costume to allow Kangana Ranaut to do her stunts without any restrictions where he stated "She has a lot of toughness in her personality. So instead of looking at feminine superheroes for reference, I looked at Batman". It took three and half hours to apply Ranaut's makeup every day.[38] Oberoi is dressed in a metal suit weighing around 28 kilograms, which required about 2–3 hours and 7-8 workers to fix on the body.[39]
"Raghupati Raghav" Released: 15 September 2013[41]
The songs of the film are being composed by the legend Rajesh Roshan at Krishna Audio; whilst the background score is being composed by Salim–Sulaiman. The music rights of the film were acquired by T-Series for ₹60 million (US$720,000). The full soundtrack album was released on 18 September 2013 with music composed by Rakesh Roshan. The song Dil Tu Hi Baata is the 2nd hit song of multi-talented singer Zubeen Garg in this Bollywood industry.[40]
Promotions for the movie started post-July 2013 and the first look of Krrish 3 was unveiled online.[43] Response for the poster was quite enthusiastic from the audience. The first trailer video was published by filmmakers on their official YouTube channel on 5 August 2013. It received more than 2.3 million views at YouTube within its first day of release and thereby surpassing the record held by Jab Tak Hai Jaan of 1 million views in one day. Krrish 3 trailer became the most watched Bollywood trailer on YouTube with 12 million views within two weeks, even eclipsing the trailers for such Hollywood superhero blockbusters as Thor (2011) and The Avengers (2012).[44][45] Press reaction has been positive to the teaser trailer with many stating it echoes the look of recent superhero movies from Hollywood such as Iron Man 3, The Amazing Spider-Man and Man of Steel. Author of Bollywood: An Insider's Guide, Fuad Omar wrote on his blog that such comparisons were unfair given they were based on comic books and intellectual properties that had been developed over decades. He commented that Krrish was very much an original character created by Rakesh Roshan and developed by Filmkraft and so the film and character deserved credit for setting a new standard for an original superhero which has not been seen elsewhere in the world. He also stated that no other filmmaker in India or elsewhere has managed to achieve what Rakesh Roshan and Hrithik Roshan have in completely creating a new character and comes out with a hugely successful franchise that is original and has fueled a fanfare similar to those of comic book heroes yet with Krrish's story still being written with each film.[46][47]Krrish 3 was the first Indian film to launch its own official Facebook Emoticons as part of promotion.[48] An official Krrish 3 game was launched for Windows smartphones, tablets and PCs. The game was developed by Hungama Digital Media Entertainment and Gameshastra.[49]
Release
The film was previously expected to release on 4 November 2013 but was brought forward to a 1 November, Diwali release.[50]Krrish 3 released in over 4000 screens worldwide (3500 screens in India) and nearly 600 screens in key circuits overseas.[51][52][53] The film saw its release in around 750 screens in the South India. Particularly in Andhra Pradesh, Krrish 3 was shown in over 425 screens with the highest being in Nizam, where released in more than 175 screens.[54] The film was dubbed in Telugu and Tamil for release in South Indian states.[55] The distributors of the film released the film in 150-200 screens in the TN and Kerala circuits.[56][57] The satellite rights were sold to Sony Entertainment Television for ₹400 million (US$4.8 million).[58]
Copyright litigation
Uday Singh Rajput, a writer from Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh moved the Bombay High Court alleging copyright violation of the script of Krrish 3 and seeking a stay on the all India release of the film and claiming ₹20 million compensation.[59] But, the High Court refused to grant relief to the writer.[60]
Critical reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 71% of 17 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.8/10.[61] Critics directed praise towards cast performances (particularly Hrithik Roshan, Kangana Ranaut and Vivek Oberoi), VFX, cinematography, background score, direction and entertainment value, but criticism has been directed towards the film's lack of originality, soundtrack and writing.[10]
India
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and stated that "the film has all the ingredients that make a splendid superhero film, besides being Rakesh Roshan's most accomplished work so far."[62] Madhureeta Mukherjee of The Times of India gave it 4.5 stars while commenting "For sheer vision, bravado and superlative execution, this one soars to new orbits. Latch on to this cape for an exhilarating ride."[63] Raedita Tandan of Filmfare awarded it 4 out of 5 stars, remarking "Hats off to Rakesh Roshan for dreaming big and actually pulling off this risky proposition. It's not perfect. But it has all the elements a good, entertaining film must have. All you Marvel superheroes, better watch out. Krrish is here to stay."[64] Anupama Chopra of the Hindustan Times gave it 3.5 stars and said, "Filmmaker Rakesh Roshan deserves a round of applause for giving us a homegrown superhero. Krrish 3 is ambitious and exciting."[65] Sarita Tanwar of DNA gave it 3.5 stars and wrote, "Krrish 3 is fast-paced and the VFX effects are smashing."[66] Rohit Khilnani of India Today gave it 3.5 stars noting, "The only part where the movie dips are during the songs. The music sounds too dated for this action-packed film."[67]
Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it 3 out of 5 and stated "I'm going with two-and-a-half stars for the film, and an additional half star just for Hrithik Roshan, which makes it three out of five for Krrish 3. The film is ambitious but flawed. It is, however, consistently watchable for its terrific lead star who you can't take your eyes off, even for a moment".[68] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave it 3 out of 5 stars, while adding, "Krrish 3 is an outrageous mishmash of Bollywood sentimentality meets E.T. meets Superman meets X-Men with set pieces, sound design and screenplay structure liberally borrowed from Hollywood's imagination."[69][70] Aparna Mudi of Zee News rated the film 3 stars saying, "'Krrish 3' has all the elements of an entertainer and a lot of potential to have given some serious competition to Hollywood flicks."[71]
Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film 2.5 stars stating, "Krrish 3 is, for the most part, impressively ambitious and dazzlingly competent, if not always riveting."[72]Karan Anshuman of Mumbai Mirror gave it 2.5 stars and stated that Krrish 3 is a film for kids.[73] Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave it 2 stars only and stated that Krrish 3 has absolutely no screenplay with poor acting and over the top dialogue.[74] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave it 2 stars out of 5.[75] Mihir Phadnavis of Firstpost stated that "Krrish 3 is the most superficial components of X-Men, Batman, Superman, Spiderman and even Shaktimaan stuffed together."[76] Paloma Sharma of Rediff.com panned the film, and gave it "no stars" saying, "Krrish 3 is astonishingly eager to entertain with its stock of doodads that should amuse if not endear".[77]
Overseas
Mohammad Kamran Jawaid of the Dawn gave Krrish 3 a rating of 3/5 stars stating that "so most of it is tiringly clichéd, ripped off from Marvel and DC comics (Krrish's Superman worship is rather blatant) and stick-glued together, it is startling when director Rakesh Roshan's underlying Bollywood-emotionalism compensates the flimsiness of the awkward superhero element from his last film". He closes by saying that the film "is family-friendly stereotypical entertainment".[78]
David Chute for the Variety, applauded Krrish 3 as "a charming Bollywood superhero movie" from a different perspective and applauded the heart and upbeat spirit of the movie for "not being an audience-pummeling industrial product like most of Hollywood's superhero films." He loved the way Krrish 3 "has the off-hand, anything-is-possible spirit of a children's book or fairy tale."[79]
Lisa Tsering writing for The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review saying that "the musical superhero extravaganza is too scary for young viewers and too long-winded for everybody else". She continues that the "effort is admirable and the effects are certainly adequate, but can't compensate for uninteresting, drawn-out action scenes; childish logic and uneven acting, especially by Hrithik Roshan, who as Rohit mouth-breathes and toddles around with his head cocked to one side. Worst of all, the movie is devoid of that one secret ingredient that makes audiences love superhero films: It just isn't cool."[80]
Box office
Krrish 3 had a final worldwide gross of ₹393 crore (US$50 million).[4]
India
Krrish 3 opened across the country in multiplexes to more than 80 percent occupancy as well as around 90-100 percent attendees at single screens. According to Box Office India, first day collections of all versions were estimated at ₹20.4 crore (US$2.4 million).[81] The film nett. grossed around ₹18.8 crore (US$2.3 million), with its (Tamil) and (Telugu) dubbed versions have collected approximately ₹1.5 crore (US$180,000) nett on the first day.[55][82]Krrish 3 (Hindi) grossed ₹15.1 crore (US$1.8 million) nett on its second day.[83] Box Office India estimated the first weekend collection of ₹53 crore (US$6.4 million), with around ₹49.5 crore (US$5.9 million) nett for its original version,[84][85] while the dubbed versions grossed another ₹4.5 crore (US$540,000) nett approx.[86] The film also recorded the sixth highest opening weekend worldwide as it collected ₹92 crore (US$11 million) gross.[87] The first Monday business of the Hindi version was estimated at ₹31.5 crore (US$3.8 million), taking its four-day total to ₹80.5 crore (US$9.6 million) and set a new record for the highest single day collection ever, overtaking the previous record held by Chennai Express.[88][89][90]Krrish 3 (Hindi) collected around ₹20.5 crore (US$2.5 million) nett on Tuesday to take five-day total past ₹100 crore (US$12 million) to ₹101.25 crore (US$12 million) nett.[91] The film nett. grossed around ₹13 crore (US$1.6 million) on Wednesday taking the 6-day Hindi version total to ₹114.25 crore (US$14 million).[92] The film (along with its Tamil and Telugu dubbed versions nett.) grossed around ₹130.25 crore (US$16 million) in the first week.[93][94][95]
The film nett. grossed ₹7.5 crore (US$900,000) on the second Friday.[96]Krrish 3 collected around ₹10.5 crore (US$1.3 million) nett on second Saturday, and ₹13 crore (US$1.6 million) on second Sunday to take the Hindi version nett. total to around ₹153 crore (US$18 million) in ten days.[97][98] The film's Hindi version earned around ₹4.2 crore (US$500,000) nett on its second Monday, ₹3.75 crore (US$450,000) on Tuesday, ₹3.5 crore (US$420,000) on Wednesday and ₹3.55 crore (US$430,000) on Thursday to take its two-week domestic total to ₹165 crore (US$20 million) nett.[99] The second week thus collected ₹42.9 crore (US$5.1 million) for the Hindi version of Krrish 3.[99][100][101][a]
Krrish 3 grossed around ₹7 crore (US$840,000) nett in third weekend to take its Hindi-version total to almost ₹172 crore (US$21 million) nett in 17 days. The Tamil and Telugu versions added a further ₹10 crore (US$1.2 million) nett approx in 17 days to take overall total to ₹182 crore (US$22 million).[105]Krrish 3 grossed ₹174 crore (US$21 million) nett with its Hindi version after the third week.[106][107][108] The fourth week collections were ₹2.54 crore (US$300,000) taking the Hindi version's total to around ₹176 crore (US$21 million).[109] According to Box Office India, the three versions together earned ₹188 crore (US$23 million) nett lifetime with the dubbed versions of the film contributing ₹12 crore (US$1.4 million).[110][111] The lifetime domestic distributor share of the Hindi version was ₹98.5 crore (US$12 million).[106][107][109]
Critics claimed that the domestic collections were inflated by almost ₹ 60 crore.[112][113] Some reputed trade analysts stated that the collections published in trade websites like Bollywood Hungama and Koimoi, which were being shown as nett, were actually gross (including Entertainment tax).[114][115]Box Office India stated that the domestic nett of the film including Tamil and Telugu versions was ₹188 crore (US$23 million).[110][116] On 7 January 2014, after being miffed over the alleged inflated collections, Hrithik Roshan maintained that Krrish 3 had done a business of about ₹244 crore (US$29 million) in India and around ₹55 crore (US$6.6 million) overseas.[117][118][119][120][121][122][123]
Overseas
Krrish 3 did well overseas as it collected around $3.85 million in its first weekend.[124] The film grossed $6.9 million overseas in ten days.[125] It grossed US$7.8 million abroad after seventeen days. The film earned $8.5 million overseas, as of 26 November 2013.[126]
^While Box Office India confirms that the film did not hit the ₹200 crore (US$24 million) nett mark in India even if its dubbed Telugu and Tamil versions earnings are included,[99] other trade analysts like Taran Adarsh and reputed trade magazines claimed that Krrish 3 has lifetime nett collections of all its versions at ₹244 crore (US$29 million) and that the film had emerged as 'the highest grosser of Hindi cinema'.[102][103][104]
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