The latest in a confusingly-titled sci-fi franchise (there is no Krrish 2, but this is a third instalment), Krrish 3 picks up with Mumbai superhero Krishna (Hrithik Roshan), who lives in domestic harmony with his TV reporter wife Priya (Priyanka Chopra) and father Rohit (also Roshan). However, an emerging supervillain, Kaal (Vivek Oberoi), has evil plans afoot...

Director Rakesh Roshan (Hrithik's father in real life) has stated that he wants the Krrish films to be trendsetters for Indian cinema, proving that Bollywood can handle visual effects just as well as its American counterpart. On this front, Krrish 3 is largely successful, and in some ways even exceeds Hollywood’s limitations: the unreal nature of Bollywood films, with their colourful costumery and tendency to erupt into choreographed song and dance routines, mean that such highwire super-antics seem less out of place. The hints of Hindu mythology that run throughout (several character names have divine origins) also aid Krrish 3’s storyline: if Superman had earnest chats with youngsters and professed himself on a mission of love and peace, he’d be laughed out of town by cynical Western audiences, but the spiritually-inclined Krrish is able to pull it off.

Unfortunately, not all the visual effects are up to scratch, and Kaal’s final transformation is ultimately a cumbersome, badly-designed folly. There’s also very little in the way of character development – only head henchwoman Kaya (Kangana Ranaut) gets anything close to an arc, and that’s not saying much. Hrithik Roshan’s Krishna is endearing in a lunkheaded himbo sort of way, but his Rohit is downright awful.

These failings aside, Krrish 3 is a highly enjoyable Bollywood-take on the superhero action genre, with a hefty dose of wushu-style wirework added in. It’s just a tad ironic that, while trying to mimic Hollywood’s big budget action stylings, Rakesh Roshan should also adopt one of its major weaknesses: shallow writing.

Limited release from Fri 1 Nov.

Krrish 3 - Trailer with English Subtitles