काईट्स

Hrithik Roshan's movies have gained the stature of uncommon events as of late. His last release came when I was in my second year and now I am nearing my graduation. All said, this guy doesn't disappoint a bit.

Kites has a simple story with a fascinatingly beautiful soul. Two lovers and their strife for peace and bonding, when none understands the other's language. Kudos to Anurag Basu for keeping this movie away from bollywood clichés and giving it a truly international treatment, unlike some other filmmakers out there who produce so called 'crossover cinema' which turns out to be quite the converse. The length is crisp and though the second half could've been better, the amazing chemistry between Hrithik and Barbara keeps you riveted till the very end.

In performances, Hrithik is quite the maverick at his cool conman turned lover act. Effortlessly oozing charisma, he has indeed kept upto his fans' expectations. Barbara is a delight. Unlike other foreign models who come to India for the skin show and currently rule the roost so as to say, she is beautiful yet articulate throughout the movie. The supporting cast is able.

Technically, this has to be one of the best movies I have seen. Rakesh Roshan as always has left no stone unturned to give kites an international look. The cinematography is awesome with quite a lot of camera work a-la Guy Ritchie genre movies. The background score is soothing like a gush of cool breeze, and especially the end is very well done. I might get a chance to catch the international version as well, and if I do, no probs with watching Kites again!

Kites takes its name from the notion of two beings seemingly carefree without a worry, dancing in the sky in their freedom, only that the harsh reality of life meant someone else is pulling the strings from down below, making them nothing but mere puppets in the whole scheme of things that is called Life. So sets the premise of star crossed lovers who have to jump through plenty of hoops just to get together, and given that romances usually tug at your heartstrings when they make you feel and shed a tear for the characters.

But in true blue Bollywood fashion, there's always a little time for song and dance, since Jay is a drifter in Las Vegas trying to carve a living through 1001 jobs, with the one he loves most being a dance instructor which doesn't pay a lot, and supplementing his income through green-card schemes by marrying illegal immigrants in a scam set up by his friend Robin (Anand Tiwari). As chance would have it, daddy's rich girl Gina (Kangana Ranaut who disappears to make way for Mori) has the hots for Jay, and the latter only reciprocating because of her money and legacy of her casino-owning father.

Enter Natasha, the fiancé of Gina's brother Tony (Nicholas Brown), who also is set to marry the casino scion for the sake of money, never mind his constant ill-treatment and bad temper, and soon we have everything set up for the lovers Jay and Natasha, who go way back because of that green-card scam, to decide if they will risk everything, including their initial prime motivations of striking it rich the easy way, for true love, despite not being able to communicate directly except through broken, halting English phrases, since she's Mexican, and him Indian.

Told in non-linear fashion separating two timelines present and past through a series of flashbacks, this technique actually managed to draw plenty of emotions at the last major sequence where all is revealed about a key character, which is delivered brilliantly so much so that you'll be hard pressed not to reach for a tissue. It's shot in a peculiar fashion as well though with plenty of close ups on its beautiful leads, that offers plenty of opportunity to milk those symmetrical facial expressions in a very in-your-face fashion, which I suppose nobody in the audience will mind having to gaze at good lookers anyhow.

Hrithik Roshan's performance is almost flawless, but somehow I felt that his Jay is one of his weakest cinematic personas thus far. Opportunities to show his toned body comes by the by the bucketloads (and makes those struggling to fight flab extremely envious), and so does the chance to dance, being one of the best dancers Bollywood has to offer. He demonstrates once again he's Mr Flexible, and his dance number opposite Kangana Ranaut actually sizzles, with Ranaut actually showing that she can dance to the demands of a Hindi film heroine.

The revelation of the film though, as I mentioned, still belonged to the charismatic presence of Barbara Mori, who is likely to gain plenty of adoring fans from the Indian continent for her heartfelt portrayal as the drop dead gorgeous heroine who's vulnerable, yet able to show who's boss by wearing the pants in the relationship. She's no flower vase, having to take charge most of the time especially when Roshan's Jay goes into puppy dog mode, and frankly, in my opinion, her Natasha has him all wrapped up around her little finger. Mori makes the character believable, has moments where she injects natural comedy, and possessing a smile that is able to disarm the most stern of demeanour. I'm certain that most reviewers will find positivity from her performance even if they somehow adopt a lukewarm response to the hype surrounding the film which is basically a simple love story told in a roundabout manner.

Even if it clocks in at 130 minutes which is short by Bollywood standards, Anurag Basu still managed to throw in so many sub plot and elements into the film, that it pretty much travels at breakneck speed from start to finish unfolding in quite an expected manner. Action sequences in the film somehow had a ring of familiarity to them, and sadly none of them excites or puts you at the edge of your seat, being nothing more than peripheral for the major love story. Basu seemed to champion cars smashing against cars followed by noisy explosions, and exploits this so much that it becomes generic and a formulaic yawn. The action sequences needed to be more imaginative, just as how main villain Tony has to be more than a one-dimensional caricature to add to that sense of menace and danger.

It's reported that two versions of the film were shot simultaneously, one with the language predominantly in English, while the other in Hindi, the former for the Hollywood and Western markets. So enter director Brett Ratner who's re-editing it for a more "international" audience which promises no dance sequences and a lot more sensual scenes than what's shown here (where a simple kiss can raise eyebrows), while yet keeping true to the nature of the story, with Hrithik Roshan even moved by this version. I don't mind sitting through another round actually, just to compare and evaluate if the Ratner version is superior. Here's hoping the DVD will come with both!

I am not into dumb Musical movies, especially Bollywood ones and when I got the Chance for Special screening of Kites, I simply turned down. But I decided to give a try for it's International Version crafted by the XMEN 3 LAST STAND director Brett Ratner.

I expected a mediocre typical Bollywood Stupid Musical Dance movie, but this one broke the mold. This movie will be remembered as the Trendsetter of Hindi films in the International Grounds.

It is a Rollar Coaster film, but with a Heart. I don't want to spoil all the story but it reminds me some of the movies like Stallone/Sharon Stone's Specialist, Mr & Mrs Smith, Bonnie & Clyde, even a Hindi film Daud, but all those stands down in-front of Kites.

I don't know how the Hindi version would look like, how the conservative audience react to Kites. With some Intense Physical scenes and unique narration which really required for the story material, I think this movie is going to be a "Love It or Hate It" category.

The thing I don't like in this movie is the Love story itself, because it's too aimed for Female "Twilight" Audience who worships Romance. Other than that it's a Total Adrenaline movie, with great cast and good locations. The main leading man Hrithik Roshan I think is a well trained actor, with great physique and fight/dance abilities. This could be his "Enter The Dragon" in Hollywood.

Also I have to give credit for Brett Ratner for his experimental Remixed version for the Movie. With no Reshoots, just with the Original and unused material he made the perfect Crossover Product for an Asian film. By hiring composer Graeme Revell the movie got a new dimension and a fresh soul. The action scores and emotional themes heard in the movie were so brilliant, it definitely going to be Graeme Revell's best work after Daredevil and Freddy vs. Jason.

My recommendation only watch the International Cut. It's more cooler, edgy and Real. It is much shorter than the Asian version I heard and much stylish. Also it got no Dumb Song dance numbers (except the last one, which was done brilliantly by lead actor Hrithik Roshan).

Anyway I give this movie 9 out of 10.

Kites = The Next Level

It's a Hollywood bollywood combo, but great! Main Indian audience won't like it because 90% is English and Spanish. Hrithik was SuperB in the movie and Barbara 2. It's a movie that wont gain great box-office achievement in India, but will be appreciated by many Hollywood critics. Rakesh Roshan was great as a producer and Anurag is one of the best in Bollywood. Thumbs up to them! Also, the screenplay is wonderful... Never seen such a screenplay in a Bollywoodmovie besides Black. Kites is one of a cult movie among movies as Black, MariGold etc. Just go and watch! If you don't want a ordinary Bollywood movie. It's pasta not biryani.

I would give Kites 4/5. Its truly an experimental movie. One thing is; its not that easy to experiment in such a way. We have to appreciate the makers. Anurag basu has done a good job. There are no Rakesh Roshan shades in the movie. Hrithik could be more better in few scenes. He has to improve in them. Script doesn't demand more for Kangana. Barbara is cool. Girl next door in her country. Rajesh Roshan worked with Anurag Basu but not with his brother. So the music goes Anurag's way. Cinematography, Production design, Background Score, costumes, editing, make up, visuals with color are good. But the script(writing) and the screen play should have been much better adding some more elements which could commercialize the film more. This should be a lesson for a commercially weak script for high budget films made in a couple of years or more time. Definitely, it could have been better if the script is fine tuned. Finally its worth watching for the effort the makers have kept.