The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Hrithik, Barbara sizzle in ‘Kites'

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Saturday, May 22, 2010
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Andhra Pradesh

Hrithik, Barbara sizzle in ‘Kites'

Cosy pair:Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori in a scene from

Film: KITES

Director: Anurag Basu

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori, Kangana Ranaut

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly, but Anurag Basu seems to have forgotten kites rise against the wind, not with it. Backed by a producer father, who apparently wants to see his talented son cross over as an international star, he is in a race to achieve a few firsts. First mainstream Indian film where the lead character is an American citizen, first film which has a foreign actress in the lead role, first Hindi film where the lead actress speaks Spanish… Basu has achieved it all. Hrithik truly looks international and Barbara Mori is suitably fetching.

But the problem is all his differentials are superficial. The fact is the strings don't have the strength to keep us flying on the horizon of entertainment for around two hours. Yes, the duration is also international but today it has more to do with the multiplex pressure to squeeze in as many shows as possible in the first three days.

With blinding hype and some smartly cut promos, this trick might still salvage the ‘big' people involved in the project.

At the core, it is the same old drama filled with clichéd characters and situations.

Once again the corporate honchos have failed to factorise script when it comes to investment. Curiously set in an America of casinos and cowboys, the three screenplay writers try hard to make the narrative engrossing and sensitive by going back and forth in time, but they only end up making it confusing and childish depending on the way you look at it.

Yes, the treatment is truly world class but that's not something that could make a film soar on its own.

It is all about emotions and for a film that is being promoted as a mix of romance, action and thriller, the only volatile element is the premise.

The Las Vegas-based Jay (Hrithik) wears many hats and conscience is not one of them. Legally he is a dance teacher, but his real income comes from marrying girls who lust for a green card. During the dance classes, Gina (Kangana Ranaut in a guest appearance), the daughter of a big casino owner (Kabir Bedi), falls for him but he doesn't show any interest.

However, when Jay comes to know about her rich lineage, he pretends to be in love. As they get familiar, he comes across Natasha (Barbara), the fiancée of Gina's belligerent brother (Nicholas Brown). The two have met before when Natasha was Linda, a desperate Mexican immigrant. Like Jay, money decides her conscience.

Sparks fly all over again, but even as their dreams begin to take wings, the brother strikes. The two somehow manage to break free and in the process come close. Language is no bar as the hearts begin to understand the idiom of love.

And when it comes to emotions, Spanish makes it all Greek.

Despite Hrithik's sincere effort, the transformation of Jay is sudden and lacks justification.Barbara looks great, but it seems somebody has told her when in doubt your smile could bail you out. Hrithik and Barbara never manage to strike a chord that could make us forget all the chaos in the screenplay.

When the kite of purpose and kite of greed fly close together, one of them invariably gets cut. In this case it is the former!

ANUJ KUMAR

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