It's finally graced cinemas, but 'Kites' hardly soars. The expectations from this film are huge; the money spent on it is phenomenal, as well. After all, there are heavyweights like Rakesh Roshan, Hrithik Roshan and Anurag Basu associated with the movie. And this was supposed to be Hrithik's ticket to Hollywood. Well, the film seems to have all the right elements – a beautiful canvas, brilliantly shot, and a Greek-godlike Hrithik – but it still manages to leave one a little cold at the end of it. The film, which ends up more as a chase movie, doesn't leave one shaken and stirred. Director Basu seems to have bypassed the emotional quotient in this movie and opted for gloss polish instead. So yes, we have a film which has an international feel and look to it, but with no soul to it. One of the major problems with this film has been its mongrel pedigree—it is a mix of Hindi, English and Spanish and somehow is not able to integrate all these elements together. The result being a beautifully shot film which hardly makes any emotional connect with its audience. As for the story, it is ordinary and there is not much of novelty there, except for it locales, the glitzy Las Vegas or the stark Mexican desert.
The first half of the movie has Hrithik playing J, a hustler, who teaches dance by day and tries his luck at the casino tables by night. He will do anything for money and has even wed eleven times to enable illegal Mexican immigrants get a green card, all for money, of course.
One of his students, Gina Grover (Kangana Ranaut), happens to fall in love with him and J decides to play along once he realises that she is loaded. She is the daughter of the biggest casino owner in Vegas, Bob Grover (Kabir Bedi) and he gets invited to their palatial home in the country for Gina's brother's wedding. He bumps into Natasha here and realises that she was Linda, his wife No. 11, now set to be Gina's brother's wife. He falls in love with her and the couple end up running away, with Gina's furious brother, Tony (Nick Brown) in hot pursuit.
The second half of the movie has the couple on the run and plenty of action scenes. J and Natasha manage to rob a bank, get injured, flee in a hot gas balloon and end up getting married in Mexico. But despite all their efforts, they are unable to keep Tony at bay. The film finally ends with J paying a heavy price for his love.
The romance between J and Natasha is hardly crackling, except for a few stray moments. For most of the duration, she is jabbering in Spanish and he in English and Hindi. The chemistry is hardly there, though Hrithik tries very hard to create it with his sizzling looks and glances. The film has been hyped and so has the chemistry between the couple, but it all comes to nought as it hardly translates into something substantial on screen.
The film's music also doesn't seem to rise to the occasion and remains just ordinary, except for perhaps the KK number, 'zindagi do pal ki'. Rajesh Roshan's music doesn't prove to be quite as impactful as one would have imagined it. The background score by Salim-Sulaiman is just about okay.
Hrithik looks heavenly in the movie and totally overshadows Barbara Mori in the looks department. Where performance is concerned, he puts in a good show, as usual. But obviously, the lack of an emotional core in the movie also impacts his performance and deprives it of that typical edge.
Mori doesn't manage to set the screen on fire, except for a few moments. She is hardly a femme fatale and her habitual grins render her more wholesome than sexy. She is just about okay in the movie where performance is concerned. Together, she and Hrithik are hardly able to create any special magic on screen.
Kangana has been reduced to almost nothing in this movie and that's rather sad, as she is quite a performer if given an opportunity. Kabir Bedi and Nick Brown are adequate.
'Kites' is a beautifully shot film and the full credit for that goes to the cinematographer, Ayananka Bose. The best thing about the movie is its texture, feel and the canvas. The film fails to captivate as it lacks that emotional core, one which is essential for any love story to have. It would be all too easy to blame the writers for the movie, but that would hardly be fair as it would seem to nullify the role of Roshan Sr, the producer, and Basu the director.
Basu, whose earlier movies have never lacked soul, seems to go wrong somewhere with 'Kites'. Perhaps he got too carried away with the idea of making a film with an international appeal. At the end of the day, a film, or any other work of art, must be able to move, shake or stir its viewer. Sheer beauty can enthrall only for a while. Finally, it comes down to feelings, emotions, all of that which is the realm of the heart and soul. 'Kites' flounders in this aspect. And is unable to take flight.
The first half of the movie has Hrithik playing J, a hustler, who teaches dance by day and tries his luck at the casino tables by night. He will do anything for money and has even wed eleven times to enable illegal Mexican immigrants get a green card, all for money, of course.
One of his students, Gina Grover (Kangana Ranaut), happens to fall in love with him and J decides to play along once he realises that she is loaded. She is the daughter of the biggest casino owner in Vegas, Bob Grover (Kabir Bedi) and he gets invited to their palatial home in the country for Gina's brother's wedding. He bumps into Natasha here and realises that she was Linda, his wife No. 11, now set to be Gina's brother's wife. He falls in love with her and the couple end up running away, with Gina's furious brother, Tony (Nick Brown) in hot pursuit.
The second half of the movie has the couple on the run and plenty of action scenes. J and Natasha manage to rob a bank, get injured, flee in a hot gas balloon and end up getting married in Mexico. But despite all their efforts, they are unable to keep Tony at bay. The film finally ends with J paying a heavy price for his love.
The romance between J and Natasha is hardly crackling, except for a few stray moments. For most of the duration, she is jabbering in Spanish and he in English and Hindi. The chemistry is hardly there, though Hrithik tries very hard to create it with his sizzling looks and glances. The film has been hyped and so has the chemistry between the couple, but it all comes to nought as it hardly translates into something substantial on screen.
The film's music also doesn't seem to rise to the occasion and remains just ordinary, except for perhaps the KK number, 'zindagi do pal ki'. Rajesh Roshan's music doesn't prove to be quite as impactful as one would have imagined it. The background score by Salim-Sulaiman is just about okay.
Hrithik looks heavenly in the movie and totally overshadows Barbara Mori in the looks department. Where performance is concerned, he puts in a good show, as usual. But obviously, the lack of an emotional core in the movie also impacts his performance and deprives it of that typical edge.
Mori doesn't manage to set the screen on fire, except for a few moments. She is hardly a femme fatale and her habitual grins render her more wholesome than sexy. She is just about okay in the movie where performance is concerned. Together, she and Hrithik are hardly able to create any special magic on screen.
Kangana has been reduced to almost nothing in this movie and that's rather sad, as she is quite a performer if given an opportunity. Kabir Bedi and Nick Brown are adequate.
'Kites' is a beautifully shot film and the full credit for that goes to the cinematographer, Ayananka Bose. The best thing about the movie is its texture, feel and the canvas. The film fails to captivate as it lacks that emotional core, one which is essential for any love story to have. It would be all too easy to blame the writers for the movie, but that would hardly be fair as it would seem to nullify the role of Roshan Sr, the producer, and Basu the director.
Basu, whose earlier movies have never lacked soul, seems to go wrong somewhere with 'Kites'. Perhaps he got too carried away with the idea of making a film with an international appeal. At the end of the day, a film, or any other work of art, must be able to move, shake or stir its viewer. Sheer beauty can enthrall only for a while. Finally, it comes down to feelings, emotions, all of that which is the realm of the heart and soul. 'Kites' flounders in this aspect. And is unable to take flight.
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