Kites: Movie Review
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By Gaurav Malani / INDIATIMES MOVIES

Let’s get this straight – Kites is no masterpiece. Rakesh Roshan comes up with a story which dates back to the Kati Patang era. Romance is brewed amidst Bollywood clichés where the heroine invites hero to dance in rains while leaving inhibitions behind or the hero lends his coat to the heroine when she is drenched. The characterizations are conventional and the plot is predictable. What still keeps you attached to Kites is Anurag Basu’s sublime direction where he binds you emotionally with the sheer intensity of this heartrending love story.

 Jai (Hrithik Roshan) earns his livelihood in LA by taking Salsa classes and doesn’t mind some extra bucks by crooked means. Luck comes knocking at door when one of his students Gina (Kangana Ranaut) falls in love with him and he gets to know she is daughter of a millionaire, Bob (Kabir Bedi). His pretentious affair with Gina introduces him to Natassha (Barbara Mori), fiancée of Gina’s brother Tony (Nicholas Brown).
 
Jai and Natassha hit it off instantly and discover true love in their lives, much against their manipulated relationships. Together they elope inviting the angst of Tony who is out to get them at any cost.
 
Woody Allen’s Match Point is evidently the reference point for the core correlations in the film. But come to think of it, thematically Kites isn’t much different from Rakesh Roshan’s decade-old flick Koyla where Shah Rukh Khan elopes with the fiancée (Madhuri Dixit) of the antagonist (Amrish Puri) who is out to get them. Also writers Robin Bhatt and Akash Khurana seem to draw from Deepak Tijori’s character from their first script Aashiqui for the friend’s character (Anand Tiwari) here who helps them on the run.
 
However director Anurag Basu scores in inciting sparkling chemistry between the lead pair as Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori take to each other naturally. Despite being unfamiliar with each other’s languages, they communicate through symbols and connect through momentary monosyllables establishing that love has no language. While the freshness of Barbara’s face is well-tapped, at the same time there is also a desi streak in her looks that wins her a familiar stamp of approval. She appears cute while speaking in broken English and radiates a stimulating smile that brightens up even the most mechanical scene. The palpable passion between Hrithik and Barbara when they come close for the first time is almost a reconstruction of a scene from Anurag Basu’s Life in a Metro where forbidden lovers Shilpa Shetty and Shiny Ahuja share a moment of intimacy. The final frame of the film is visibly derived from that of James Cameron’s Titanic and its then that you realize that the two films also share similar character conflicts – the hero winning villain’s fiancée.
 
After a point of time the cat-and-the-mouse game between the protagonist and antagonist through continual chase sequences becomes repetitive and the narrative tends to get one-dimensional. In between there are some lighthearted Bonnie and Clyde moments when the couple attempts to rob a bank or run away with a car. But the fun is cut short with the focus of the film primarily being on their romance. Since the storytelling is in the flashback mode, one can clearly foresee the impending vengeance of the villain. So in its constant anticipation, the viewer isn’t able to wholeheartedly appreciate the refreshing romance.
 
Technically the film is packaged with finesse. Whether it’s the countryside ambience of New Mexico, picturesque fountains of LA or the freeway chase in US, the virgin locations are well exploited by cinematographer Ayananka Bose. Each frame of the film is captured with richness and grandeur. Akiv Ali’s editing is watertight as he smartly fuses past and present in the narrative that is set in a constant flashback switching mode. Hrithik grooves amazingly to choreographer Flexy Stu’s steps in the only dance number from the film in the initial reels. Thankfully none of the songs are lip-synched but Rajesh Roshan’s music isn’t really much to rave about. The action sequences are credibly and dynamically directed.

Hrithik Roshan puts his heart and soul in the character and is impressive. His emotional outbursts are stirring, action is convincing, dancing is flawless and chemistry with Barbara is just immaculate. Barbara Mori looks gorgeous and also comes up with a natural performance. Nicholas Brown makes for a good negative lead but is marred with a conventional characterization. Anand Tiwari is a pleasant change as the hero’s sidekick and does decent in his part. Kangana Ranaut doesn’t get much scope in her special appearance and is passable.

With a metaphorical title, no lip-sync songs, crisp length, cross-country romance, subtitled (and not dubbed) Spanish lines and foreign premieres, Kites is certainly targeted more at the international market. But down at heart, it’s intensely Indian.

Watch it with no strings attached and you might like Kites . Otherwise this doesn’t come through with flying colours.

( Courtesy: http://movies.indiatimes.com )