KITES review - Kati, Phati Patang!!!

A Patangi hello, freEky fellows!

Ever so often our desi stars get the urge to try their luck on firangi shores. Dharmendra tried this with Shalimar, Amitabh was to dive into the now cancelled Shantaram, and reportedly SRK turned down a role in the Bond thriller Tomotrrow Never Dies. It is now the turn of Hrithik to aazma his fortunes on videshi audiences and he does this, as usual with the help of papaji and uncleji dearest who collaborate with him in their latest bilingual outing.. KITES What it is:In a plot, suspiciously similar to the Kevin Costner, Anthony Quinn starring thriller called “REVENGE”...

Hrithik stars as “J” a swashbuckling salsa expert (what an Indian is doing teaching salsa to the Spanish, is best left unanswered!!) who also runs a side-business of marrying illegal immigrants from Mexico to bring them into the USA. When the “bigdi-raeez” daughter of a ruthless casino owner played by Kangana Ranaut takes a fancy to him, he decides to play along and seems well until he discovers that the casino owner’s daughter-in-law is one hot chick (Barbara Mori). Aur pyaar ho jaata hai..

What works: a) Hrithik in his Macro Man banian and Hot Chick in various brands of lingerie, make a stunning couple, their chemistry is certainly sizzling!! b) Kites is touted to be one of the most expensive Bollywood movies ever, and the car chases and lavish desert shots justify the costs well spent! c) With only one song sequence, Kites thankfully does not have a “I don’t know what you say…” (EK DUJE KE LIYE) like number where the bilingual lovers croon to each other!!

What Doesn’t: a) With a wafer thin plot-line Kites is essentially a mish-mash of the star-crossed lovers tale such as Ek-Duje Ke Liye, Qayamat se Qayamat tak with a firangi chick! In fact, it bears eerie similarities to Enrique Iglesias’s video “HERO”.


b) Acting talent such as Kabir Bedi and Kangana Ranaut are reduced to playing over-exaggerated characters and are thoroughly wasted!! Verdict: Despite the lavish setting and the sizzling Mori, Kites leaves you unsatisfied. Given that it is to have a huge US release (with a version re-edited by Brett Ratner) it leaves you with a feeling that it is perhaps a show-reel of Hrithik Baba’s acting “talents” meant for western directors and audiences, in much the same way Roshan Sr. had lovingly crafted “Kaho Na Pyaar Hai” to previously showcase Hrithik’s talents for the Indian junta a decade ago!

Extra freEky: Ratner has just announced an upcoming movie with Hrithik (big surprise !!!)