A Krrish 3 poster outside a theatre in Bhubaneswar. Telegraph picture

Bhubaneswar, Nov. 1: The superhero that Odisha needed a few days ago to be saved from Phailin appears to have come a little late. Nevertheless, Krrish 3 has received a rousing welcome in city theatres.

Heartthrob of the youths, Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra-starrer, the Koi Mil Gaya sequel, Krrish 3, was released today in five of seven theatres in the city and also at the Inox multiplex that screens 13 shows of the movie every day. All other theatres run five shows of the superhero-genre film.

As the film today hit theatres across the country, the youngsters and film lovers here left no stones unturned to watch the first-day show of the science fiction that is different from the regular Hollywood sci-fi films for the Indian touch to its story telling. “Superb story, fantastic acting, breath-taking visual effects and a must-watch movie of the year,” said Ankit Mohanty, an engineering first-year student, who had booked the tickets from Internet a week ago.

Long queues were seen in front of the counters and tickets were sold in the black market at three times the original price. Huge crowd gathered in front of all the theatres. “I am a die-hard Hrithik fan. His physique, dance and acting are unmatchable. I have watched the previous two films of this series many times. For this film, I had booked tickets much earlier as I did not want to miss the first day first show,” said Krishna Sharma, another college-goer.

However, many felt that that it could have been better, had it been kept away from the melodrama of normal Bollywood films. Besides, audiences gave thumbs down to the music and songs of this Rakesh Roshan-directed film.

“The songs are not up to the mark. None of the songs will be remembered for long unlike other Hrithik films,” said Santanu Lenka, a movie buff.

The visual effects shown in the film were never seen in Bollywood and the production team has scored a perfect 10 with this, which they think is the USP of the film. Theatre owners and online ticket sellers predict this to be the biggest hit of the year.

“Chennai Express did well for Shahrukh fans in the city and the timing of the release on Eid. But, Hrithik movies always go full house and advance booking continues till the film is screened in theatres,” said Swagat Kar, who runs the state’s first online ticket booking system.

Krrish 3 tells the story of a superhero fighting against the evil powers to safeguard the good.