Starring Hrithik Roshan and Priyanka Chopra. In Hindi with English subtitles. Rated PG. Now Playing

In the third installment of this franchise, superhero Krrish/Krishna (Hrithik Roshan) is living a beatific life with his wife Priya (Priyanka Chopra) and his scientist father Rohit (Hrithik Roshan). He can’t keep a day job as he is constantly rushing off to intervene in every crisis—whether it is a falling child or a crashing jetliner.

His world is disrupted by the villain Kaal (Vivek Oberoi), who extorts millions from unsuspecting nations by first inventing deadly viruses and then “finding” their antidotes. Kaal is paralyzed but possesses telekinetic powers; the origins of which are unknown to him.

Kaal has developed a posse of mutants with a fusion of his abnormal DNA and that of animals. He calls these “Manwars”—a combination of man and the Hindi word jaanwar (animals). This is a creepy group with inhuman strength and cringe-inducing attributes (one of them has a long and lethally prehensile tongue.) The best of them is Kaya (Kangana Ranaut), a lithe shape-shifter who is part chameleon and part femme fatale. Krrish and Rohit come to clash with Kaal when he infects the city of Mumbai with one of his invented contagions.

The rest of the film dutifully plays out as a battle between good and evil. Kaal is played without glee by Oberoi whose garishly white complexion is never explained. Krrish is still a boyishly innocent superhero with a ridiculously improbable and oft-displayed physique.

Like the character of Krrish, this is a sweet film. The special effects are quite remarkable without being conspicuous and the plot remains consistent to the internal logic of the film. Roshan is convincing as both the superhero and the aging genius. Director Rakesh Roshan distinctly veers away from the dark ennui of recent Hollywood superhero films and opts instead for a film of good but gentle fun.