Kites that never fly

It’s so inspiring to listen to Hrittik speaking about his struggle against couple of his career threatening childhood problems like stammering and back spasm and the way he fought against them with his tremendous will power to live his dreams of becoming an actor. God is kind that he stood by this lad, and now many see him as a face of this nation, whose success can be shared and celebrated. End of the story, cut it here. I doubt whether Hrittik has also been cursed with another defect, not physically but psychologically. That is trusting things that has nothing to be trusted or valued. Not that he signed every thing that came his way; instances are there in the past when he rejected the role of “Lallan” in Maniratnam’s “Yuva”, and showed green signal to “Bad luck by chance” movies like “Lakshya”. But “Kites” is something that is beyond stupidity and makes my doubt even stronger.

It took two long years for Rakesh Roshan to deliver this movie as a producer, and resources that he chose are truly speaking some of the best cooks of bollywood delicacies. We know a thing or two about too many cooks, just like the name of Anurag Basu. Anurag Basu’s venture as a director in tinsel town has been an inspiring story too just like his last movie’s hero’s personal life, if not better. Fighting against the disease of cancer, Anurag has films like “Gangster” and “Life in metro” in his kitty. Record says whenever Hrittik worked under his dad’s production success kissed his legs. But as they say about “law of average”, “Kites” falls flat on its face. So what are the things that brought doomsday for Kites?

1. You will understand the plot in first 15-20 minutes of the movie, that J (Hrittik) a multitalented hunk who had dreams of making it big in his life, meets a girl called Gina (Kangana), daughter of a Las-Vegas mafia don Bob (Kavir Bedi) in his dance teaching class and makes a false love with her to get access to the power and money that her daddy has to offer. J had many means of earning the dollars and one of them was to marry girls who are seeking green cards in US. He married eleven girls (yes you read it correctly, only 11!!) and the face that got rooted in his memory among them was of a Mexican girl called Linda who could not give him rest of 42 dollars of return. J meets Linda once again, now called as Natasha (Barbara) in Gina’s house but finds her as Fiancé of mafia’s son Tony. Like typical spoiled brats Tony too beats up Natasha too often. Story gets crystal clear that both are entertaining Bob’s family only because of money and nothing else. Frauds come closer and they fall in love, the other party disagrees and they run away. Good, at least something kicked off, but the point is there’s nothing to follow even after this average story. I mean nothing.

2. In these last two years so many things were written about the chemistry between Hrittik and Barbara that is about to scorch the screens like never before, are all turned out to be a publicity stunt only. Through out the movie the two good looking human being just look at each other and then just stair. They hardly speak, and whenever they do, they only repent about their past and losses and present poverty. You even get bored yawning, and then eyes would suddenly pop up in expectation of an up coming kiss, but alas! They lock their lips for thousandth fraction of a second and then go apart. Even a bikini clad Barbara near the waterfall was not enough for Hrittik to do something that may entertain you and save some of your money that you could have easily thrown in to the Ganges.

3. Ambience created for the action scenes were no doubt world class, but the way they were portrayed are just very very childish. J runs over Tony with a car, Tony again stands on his feet!!! Wow some quick recovery. Gina shoots J, but there’s no value for Gina’s bullets, she is not the main star you know!

4. What about mixing “Aap mujhe achhe lagne lage”, “koyla”, and “revenge” in a single unit. Headaches are ready to be dished out sir and madam. I think headache curing balms are queuing up for kites.

5. At least one should expect acting to be good for a movie that’s been in the air for lat two years. But sorry to say there’s none. Kabir Bedi and Barbara are pathetic. Kangana is wasted, regretted; don’t know why an actress like her signs a movie like this. Good if she learns. Now, the question is how Hrittik has done. All I can say he literally shows a boring accent, which is no way a Yankee style. As if saying “listen all you out there, you see I have an accent to live in Las-Vegas”. The blue eyed boy of bollywood still has that signature boring style of jitters in his face in anger or pain, a hero that does nothing but kills his instincts inside his soul, may be a lesson or two about “Gandhigiri” that he wants to show to the war-freaky world. To survive here, I would say better watch some DVD’s of Sunny Deol, Hrittik. Really an inspiration from “Gadar” might have saved graces for “Kites”. We know kites depart from each other whenever they come closer, but one must understand that requires sharpness in their threads. Forget harsh sharpness of Kevin Costner starrer “Revenge”, these kites never even flew to come close.

6. When acting and scripts let you down, then there’s no point wasting your valuable energy by talking about styling. They were good, but Hrittik wearing a hat even inside the room, just like Barbara’s father used to. No man, no more crap of traditional stupidity. The lesser you speak about the songs by limited capable Rajesh Roshan and the background scores by Salim-Suleiman better it is.

Good thing – Ahh!! That’s difficult you bet. The only good thing to be found in this movie is the dance in the song “Fire”. It was really a performance to be seen; a very commendable job by Hrittik and Kangana.


No matter how much you talk about the changing faces of this industry, I have still doubts about what this industry would do when Amir and Shahrukh would hang up their boots.