Kites, most ambitious project of Rakesh Roshan. I really admire him for offering us everytime something new. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Look at his filmography - KNPH, Koi... Mil gaya, Krrish, King Uncle, Koyla, Karan Arjun. With his son Hrithik, his record is Perfect. Will Kites be his Koyla or Karan Arjun?
Anurag Basu, one of my favorite directors. He has a unique style of narration. Gangster and Life in a Metro (and Murder) has proved his mattle. His only flop is Tumsa Nahin Dekha (Diya n Imran). Many of you might not know that he directed this movie by dictation over the phone from his hospital ward while battling Blood Cancer. Hats off!!
Hrithik, as we know is so dedicated and again has good track record in last 5 years. He has a large fan following. Kites comes after 2 years of his previous release. Kites has promoted so well and it’s as big as 3 Idiots and MNIK. Will it live upto its hype? More important question is "IS KITES that good?"
Story:
J is an average Indian-american who had done all kinds of jobs that includes getting married 11 times and teaching Salsa to Gina.Natasha is a struggling maxican who is about to Mary Tony, Gina’s brother. Gina is in love with J and proposed him. J initially turned down her but after looking at her Limo, he said yes.
J meets Natasha (again) before her marriage to Tony and one night before the marriage they run away...
My View:
Hrithik no doubt steals the show. Whether his dancing skills in Fire, or His expressive face without a single word towards the climax; He knows his craft real well. When he was launched in KNPH, his father made sure that all his abilities would be highlighted. Similarly, Kites should open doors of World Cinema for him. Somewhere I read that after looking at his bearded look, one Hollywood critic commented that Hrithik is perfect to play role of Jesus(He has those eyes that can shower mercy, sympathy, love, pain). Let’s see what Kites brings for him. Barbara is surprize. I thought that this I-will-speak-in-only-spanish actress will be a big bore but instead, she has the most lively character in the movie. Her chemistry with Hrithik is too good.
Kangana’s character is not well developed. She looks heavenly beautiful though. Nicholas Brown has Chatur kind of accent but he is successful to project the over-possesive, arrogant, egoistic Tony. Rest of the supporting cast has performed ok. Earlier I used to think that Story is the most important factor for any movie. But if I look at movies like HAHK (Hum aapke hai kaun), they defies this rule. Good story is a big plus but it has to be complimented by even better script. No matter how good your concept/story is on the paper or how good your director is, if script is not good; movie is not going to work. Even Raju Hirani can’t turn RGV ki Aag into Sholay.
We have three writers sharing credits for this movie and I think they are to blame. Biggest minus of this movie is it’s script. Though it’s good in parts n particularly post-interval, movie lacks punchlines or those moments that take movie to new level. Anurag Basu has unique style of story telling. I am a big fan of Gangster and Life in a Metro. Here also he uses non-linear fashion to narrate his tale. His direction is superb. Look at the scene in car between Hrithik n Jamaal. But his writing lets him down. First half fails to show intensity of the relationship. Post Interval, movie gets pace but then too many things happening. Lead couple is on the run throughout and villains following them endlessly. I sincerly believe there should be more physical intimacy between lead couple (may be a sex scene). In Hollywood, vilains can wait for a sex scene. Here, they are in too hurry to disturb our lead couple and that’s why the X-factor is missing.
The chase scenes are good for Indian Audience. If you are a regular Hollywood action movie freak, you will not find them that impressive. True, Love follows no rules but here writers failed to show the depth of love. There are cute moments between Barbara n Hrithik, but that is not good enough for the mass.The movie has three languages: Hindi, English n Spanish. There are subtitles for some spanish dialogues. I think this is other big mistake from Roshans. There should be Hindi subtitles for all the dialogues spoken in Spanish or English. Mass will not understand what exactly the characters are saying. Some subtitles are not readable because of similar fonts and background color.
Verdict:
This movie will definitely not surpass 3 Idiots or even MNIK. In fact, I fear this will turn out as a disaster in small centers. Movie definitely lacks entertainment. Mass will stay away from this movie. It would be interesting to see how this movie fares in Overseas. Indians didn’t like Slumdog much, but we know the history. If you look for a time pass, entertainment, stay away from this. Watch Housefull or Badmash Company instead. If you watch movies not only for entertainment, love to carry your brain in cinema, you can go for it.
God bless all,
Nayan