KITES may fail to impress international audiences

Beautiful looking starrers (Greek god Hrithik Roshan and Uruguayan princess Barbara Mori) and a good-looking supporting cast (Kabir Bedi, Kangna Ranaut), lots of action, a bit of imaginary chilli pepper sprinkled here in the form of Mexican "andele, andele!" and another dash of luxury or US Western locations there and you've got a mindblowing worlwide hit, right?

Well... Sorry to say... No.

'Kites' is likely to be a let down, particularly for Latin American and American audiences who will likely be fed a film that does not really take the trouble to appeal to their cultural sensitivity. A film that focuses on Hrithik Roshan but fails to duly bring forward his talent by an evident lack of script/story will certainly make ladies drool and men make summer resolutions to hit the gym but possibly not much else. 

While 'Kites' has an underlying subject that could have been beautifully used to craft a good film, the script falls short of the brilliant idea of filming an international romance between a gorgeous couple from two fascinating different cultures. While cinematography is good in various sequences, the word "unnecessary" certainly comes to mind during some hero-centric frames or several unessential film situations. The extremely wicked villain, nonetheless well enacted by Nicholas Brown, might also not go down well with audiences who are open to foreign cinema but prefer a bit more subtlety in their film plate.

Strangely enough, one of the most hyped pre-release sequences - a salsa dance featuring the jaw-drop-worthy pair - has reportedly been deleted, thus taking away probably one of the scenes that would have succeeded in successfully reeling in Latino audiences, making them feel that they were being shown in a cool and appealing light, an asset that the film is cruelly lacking. On second thought, the 'Kites' soundtrack offers such a poor example of pseudo-Latin rythms that the salsa sequence would probably not have worked. It is a pity that with such a large budget, production would not have tapped more gleefully into the fantastic array of musical talent available in Latin America.

It is unfortunately not enough to show a doll-like Barbara and an Indian hunk onscreen to attract non-Indian audiences to the cinema. Therefore, my feeling is that the film is less meant for international audiences and more likely to be a success among Hrithik Roshan fans. Barbara (Natasha) may say “Main ullu ki patthi hoon” with her charming Mexican accent to express her love to her Romeo but international audiences are more likely to express their feelings to Rakesh Roshan and Anurag Basu by asking "What's the point?". 

Producer: Rakesh Roshan / Sunaina Roshan
Director: Anurag Basu
Cast:
Hrithik Roshan...... Jai
Barbara Mori...... Natasha
Kangna Ranaut...... Gina
Kabir Bedi...... Bob
Nicholas Brown...... Tony
Cinematography: Ayananka Bose
Story: Akash Khurana / Anurag Basu / Robin Bhatt
Official website here