MovieChat Forums > Krrish 3 (2013) Discussion > What was original and unoriginal?

What was original and unoriginal?

posted 10 years ago by agentphilosopher007
9 replies | jump to latest

I just saw the film for the second time today, and I was wondering as many reviews and people have said that it was unoriginal and a total rip off of X men, superman, Batman, Avengers etc. I can see clearly there are inspirations from these movies, but the allegation it is a rip-off is more serious, and I am wondering what exactly was ripped off. Somebody care to tell me?

Let me acknowledge some obvious inspirations from X men. So Kaya's character is inspired by Mystique; Kaal's a combination of Magneto and Mr X; and Strikers inspired by Toad.

Kaya vs Mystique

Mystique is a blue creature and has the ability to shapeshift into any form.

Kaya is humanoid creature and woman, and can only shapeshift by touching somebody and acquiring their DNA. The way she shapeshifts is through DNA transformation. In her first shift her arms literally transform into the muscles of the doctor. The way Kaya shapeshifts is totally different to the way Mystique does and the effects are much better as well. The last morph into the squid like creature is amazing.

The ability of shapeshifting itself is generic and is present in many characters in comic books. In fact even in Indian films shapeshifting "ichaadhari" snake women are fairly common.

Kaal vs Magneto and Mr X

Kaal

Magneto has telekinetic powers where he can cause objects to levitate and crush metal and Mr X is wheelchair bound.

Kaal also has telekinetic powers and can cause objects to levitate and crush metal, but he can also fly. The effects are also far more impressive in how Kaal can throw about metal missiles and assemble an entire body suit using metal.

The ability of telekinesis is also generic and present in many characters in comic books and countless Hollywood films going back decades.

Striker vs Toad

Toad is a mutant humanoid toad with long tongue that protrudes out of his mouth, which he uses to grab onto things. He can also shoot sticky slime out of his mouth.

Striker is a mutant humanoid toad, with an indefinitely long protruding tongue, which he can throw around corners, up buildings, into ventilation grills and break things with. He cannot shoot sticky slime out of his mouth.

A mutant with a protruding tongue is obviously not generic, so we can say this was a bit of a rip off, but I personally thought the effects and action scenes with Striker were far more exciting than Toad from X men.

Krrish vs Superman and Batman vs Spiderman

Batman is a masked cape crusader and fights crime and corruption. His ability is his agility to fight and he has a special batmobile and sidekick.
Superman is a non-masked cape crusader in a body suit and fight crime and supervillains with superpowers. His ability is to fly and he is invincible and strong as steel. He also shoots lasers out of his eyes and has x ray vision.
Spider man is a masked crusader in a spiderman suit, he flies through the city using a web.

Krrish is a masked cape crusader, he is very agile, super fast, his special ability is to run and make impossible jumps(jumping onto buildings, airplanes) He is not strong as steel and invincible, but gets hurt and injured, he does not have a sidekick, a special automobile or shoot lasers out of his eyes. His main job is to rescue people from accidents(like a kid hanging from overhead cables) and to fight supervillain scientists.

Masked cape crusader and fighting crime and supervillains is very generic and a staple of the superhero genre. However, Krrish's unique ability is to run and jump from building to building - I don't know of any other superhero that does this.

Overall, I would say it is an unfair exaggeration to say Krrish 3 is a rip off of X men, Superman, Batman, Spiderman etc. It is evidently inspired by the same cultural references in those movies, but it is not a rip off. There are some elements which make Krrish 3 also very Indian, like family values, religion and spirituality. There were many themes and dialogues which were directly taken from the Gita, such as "Nobody ever dies, only the body dies, the soul takes on another body" "You are in me, my blessings are with you" "One who is not born does not die" As David Chute, the critic for Variety says many of the things Krrish does which seem sensible in an Indian movie, would be laughed out of town in an American movie.

[–] agentphilosopher007 10 years ago

I cannot claim to have seen every Hollywood sci fi film(I have seen quite a few, seeing as I am a sci fi fan) but I thought these scenes were very original:

Warnings: Spoilers ahead

The special light ray pen that can concentrate solar energy into a beam of light which can bring dead matter to life, and how it is used to revive Krrish and to destroy Kaal.

The story point of how a pharmaceutical company creates a virus, then spreads it and sells the vaccine/antidote to it to make billions(very similar to certain conspiracy theories). The inventive way in which the antidote is dispersed throughout the city by shooting up rockets with vials containing the antidote exploding in the night sky.

The very moving scene when the father offers himself as a human filter to step down the laser to save his son Krrish. (I thought this scene was brilliant, it gave me goosebumps) Also very moving was the scene when Krrish injects himself with the virus.

The original plot point of a double role of a superhero son and father scientist working as a team to fight evil in their unique ways.

The original plot point of how the supervillain is in fact the brother of Krrish but was created unnaturally through genetic experiment.

Also, I am not too sure about this one as Ive not seen all the X men films, but what about the mutant character that moves about like a whirlwind? Is that original?

[–] rohonnag 10 years ago

I cant say the create a virus and then give its cure is ORIGINAL, I have read or seen such motives in various movies, tommorow never dies had a create a disater and then report it on news to get profits, so its not a ripoff, though it is not original, its a very common movie/bad corporation achitype...

the speical light pen is original, havent seen it yet...

the human filter was also same as the light concept, original (if it is not, can someone share specifics ?)

superhero son and super smart father as a team is a unique circumstances created in this movie trilogy so yes its fully original...

the brother is a genetic clone is not too original, but not a copy either, even austin powers had the same plot (dr evil is austins twin) though he is not a clone...

An Idea is the most resilient parasite - Inception

[–] sohambag-479-64389 10 years ago

The idea of spreading virus and manufacutre cure from villain's blood/dna is ripped off from Transporter 2. And the report spreading of virus on screen is from a very popular mobile game- Plague Inc.
The light pen is a original gadget but how it operates by concentrating light- hardly!
And a filter with brain- how silly! I thought the father would put some automatically adjusting photo filter and then LOL! And even after that there were something aatma related dialogue!
Superhero and his super smart father alive and working togather to make earth a better place- in cinema,original. But even Tony Stark(Ironman)'s father was helping theoretically and we should ignore that by call it nitpicking.
Well I liked the genetically related good vs evil brother, sons of same father but one with no mother concept which is coincidentally same as Arjun and Karna, sons of same mother but one with no father.

[–] Akirevada 10 years ago

A "rip off" doesn't have to copy and paste every single element of the originals. Rakesh Roshan obviously took bits and pieces of many different superhero stories just like he did in the last movie. Non-superhero Hindi movies do this too.

And by the way, running and jumping from building isn't a "unique ability" at all. That's what the title character did The Crow too.

[–] jangovin 10 years ago

Hi OP.. I have not seen Krrish 3 yet, but I thought I would just point out some of the incorrect references you have made to the XMEN characters.

Mystique is a blue creature and has the ability to shapeshift into any form.

Kaya is humanoid creature and woman, and can only shapeshift by touching somebody and acquiring their DNA. The way she shapeshifts is through DNA transformation

Mystique also shapeshifts using DNA transformation. She has the ability to alter the formation of her biological cells at will allowing her to assume the identity of anyone she wishes to look like. Also prior to a very recent upgrade to her powers, she was pretty much limited to organic shapes (ie humans) while adding accessories like clothes, glasses, etc for disguise purposes.

Magneto has telekinetic powers where he can cause objects to levitate and crush metal and Mr X is wheelchair bound.

Kaal also has telekinetic powers and can cause objects to levitate and crush metal, but he can also fly. The effects are also far more impressive in how Kaal can throw about metal missiles and assemble an entire body suit using metal.

Magneto does not posses telekinetic powers, which is the ability to move any object with ones mind. He possessed the ability to manipulate electromagnetic fields, ie control anything made out of metal.

Not sure why you only mentioned Professor X (its not Mr X) as being wheelchair bound, coz in XMEN he is rated as one of the most powerful telepaths in the world. Is the counterpart in the movie stuck on a wheelchair as well?

Toad is a mutant humanoid toad with long tongue that protrudes out of his mouth, which he uses to grab onto things. He can also shoot sticky slime out of his mouth.

In addition to the elongated tongue (which was not present in his initial appearance) he possessed superhuman leg strength and endurance, agility, reflexes, coordination, balance.

Not sure if Striker also these similar powers.

While you make a good point that shapeshifting, telekinesis (though here its a different power as I have pointed out above) and other powers are not very generic and have been explored by comics and movies previously, I must say the very obvious way in which these powers work and how its being used does seem to be quite heavily reliant on the XMEN franchis.

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[–] agentphilosopher007 10 years ago

Thanks for your comments and corrections

Mystique also shapeshifts using DNA transformation. She has the ability to alter the formation of her biological cells at will allowing her to assume the identity of anyone she wishes to look like. Also prior to a very recent upgrade to her powers, she was pretty much limited to organic shapes (ie humans) while adding accessories like clothes, glasses, etc for disguise purposes.

Thank you. The difference is Kaya shapeshifts by first touching her subject, and then gradually her body begins to morph into the subject. Her shapeshifting effects are the most impressive in the film. In the first morph, she grabs hold of the subjects hand, a man, and her arms begin to morph into the arms of the man almost like the transformation effects of the hulk. In another morph sequence she turns into this liquidy squid like creature.

It is obvious Kaya is inspired by Mystique's character, but fortunately they did not copy the way she transforms and the effects.

Magneto does not posses telekinetic powers, which is the ability to move any object with ones mind. He possessed the ability to manipulate electromagnetic fields, ie control anything made out of metal.

Not sure why you only mentioned Professor X (its not Mr X) as being wheelchair bound, coz in XMEN he is rated as one of the most powerful telepaths in the world. Is the counterpart in the movie stuck on a wheelchair as well?

Kaal is a combination of Professor X and Magneto - He is wheelchair bound, has telekinetic powers and uses this powers to particularly throw around and crush metal objects. However, he also uses in a transformers style of creating a metallic suit from scraps of metals ripped out using telekinetic powers from his labs walls. He also uses his mental powers to spin the blades of a fan and then circulate bits of metals at great speed around him and hurl them at Krrish. In another sequence he telekinetically levitates a car, crushed it into pieces and then floats those pieces into the air and fires them as missiles at a crowd. Then turns around them and fires them at Krrish. Kaal can also fly.

Again, inspirations are evident, but he is not complete copy.

In addition to the elongated tongue (which was not present in his initial appearance) he possessed superhuman leg strength and endurance, agility, reflexes, coordination, balance.

Not sure if Striker also these similar powers.

No, Striker only posses the elongated tongue, which can go to an indefinite length around 30 ft large. There is a fight sequence between Krrish and Striker, where Strikers fires his tongue towards Krrish, and and Krrish fights and grapples with it, throws him about by using his tongue, and twists and turns it around the branch of a tree, and then spins him in the air by holding his tongue like a lasso.

Again, inspired, but not a copy. Although, I would have preferred they had not taken Toad's basic character. As it borderlines on rip-off having a mutant toad character that has an elongated tongue.

While you make a good point that shapeshifting, telekinesis (though here its a different power as I have pointed out above) and other powers are not very generic and have been explored by comics and movies previously, I must say the very obvious way in which these powers work and how its being used does seem to be quite heavily reliant on the XMEN franchis.

Yes, nobody could with a straight face deny that the Roshans have liberally borrowed from X men, the idea of mutants and an evil scientist that engineers mutants, mutants with various powers and abilities(many which are borrowed from the x men universe) However, at least they did not borrow the special effects and shot design, in fact many of their shots are quite original and creative.

If I was the writer of the movie I would make sure that my characters be original. Rakesh Roshan should have anticipated the criticism that comparisons will be drawn to X men, so he should have made an attempt to make his characters more original. I hope he learns from this mistake in Krrish 4.

[–] Forlorn_Rage 10 years ago

Seriously doubt that, as the first movie, itself, was ripped off from E.T. Sadly, Rakesh Roshan is one of the many hack Indian filmmakers who couldn't give a damn about the integrity of filmmaking.

[–] brownboy76 10 years ago

Well to be honest, I think, given the over saturation of superheroes in the market and in the comic books, it would be next to impossible to write an original superhero and villain(s) strictly for a movie without drawing comparison.

Any animal type of villain= 99% of spider man's villains are ferocious animal like people.

Someone with too many muscles: Bane, Juggernaut etc.

Any kind of mutant powers: There are literally 100's of people in the x-men universe that you can compare to.

Runs fast: The Flash

Lives Underwater and can use fish to fight: Aquaman.

What I'm trying to say is that with the way that the superhero market is overcrowded, there is no way that Krrish 3 could have come out without drawing comparisons to previous superheroes. You can take every character in any superhero movie and draw comparisons, because the number of superheroes IS JUST TOO DAMN HIGH! lol

[–] jocreative 10 years ago

I am confused as to what Kaya is supposed to be... She shape shifts and they show "chameleon" in various screens with her in it, but have crazy strength and assume's cat like poses.

Speaking of fake, apart from Mystique, her walk and landing sequences are shamelessly "ripped off" (not adapted, not inspired) of Cat-Woman, especially the scene where she lands on the building beam and does her seductive catwalk, or the way she sat on the couch.