Kites

Anurag Basu’s ‘Kites’, is a classic example of how even extra ordinary hype or for that matter Hrithik Roshan with his Greek God looks, cannot make a film better than it actually is. Boy meets girl with money – Boy meets girl who he loves – Boy and girl act stupid and people around them go crazy. There is a bit of everything in this movie - romance, music, violence, charm, beauty, action, dance – but not a single element strong enough to help the movie through. It is a confused movie that constantly switches genres from romance to action to just portraying a slice of life. This lane changing nature of the film leaves the audience feeling no connect with its characters or the story itself. It’s like constantly adjusting your seat while you are driving at a 100 kph. Is this movie about love, good looks, revenge, action – one would never figure I guess.


Hrithik Roshan’s acting, Barbara Mori’s charm could do only that much for a film that wasn’t going anywhere in the first place. And Kangana’s role seemed to be just playing catalyst for Hrithik to meet his love, in life or after life. And for that matter the whole -wealthy, Casino owning, confused gangster - Grover family was so contrived and lacked authenticity for us to buy the plot. And one thing I want to truly understand is, if a movie is in English mostly, and you also expect people to read English subtitles to understand the Spanish bit… in a country like India, that is a sure shot formula for disaster. Here are the other signs that this movie has failed to make its mark. 1. At the intermission one is convinced that it will take a miracle to revive the plot. 2. When the hero of the film is dying a painful (physical and emotional)death, the audience laughs 3. The first scene which evokes a laugh in the entire movie happens after an hour of the movie, when Hrithik is accidently knocked down by a car door 4. The movie ends on a tragedy and the audience leaves the hall laughing.


Kites, is somewhat beautiful in the way it’s made, but it lacks depth and lure to such an extent that the story and its characters went plummeting, literally and figuratively by the end of the film. The movie is slow and refuses to carry the audience with it. Just like a lonely kite, it makes a solitary journey. Kites for me, is stuck between electric cables of confusion and refuses to take flight.
Rating : 3/10