Kites - Movie Review

As is the case with all the movie releases, we went with lots of expectations to watch Kites. Especially when the makers and star crew were promoting the movie like there’s no tomorrow – a movie shot in Las Vegas and Mexico, the leading lady who is a Mexican beauty and what not.

The movie started well. J (Hrithik Roshan) is scraping his living in the US as a dance teacher as well as by being a “husband’ to illegal immigrants to get them green card. His only aim in life is to become rich, by hook or crook. He pairs up with Gina (Kangana Ranaut) for a dance competition when he realizes that she is the daughter of a casino owner. The dance rendition by Hrithik, needless to say was mind blowing. All the par excellence dancers take a bow. He is introduced to Gina’s parents (the casino crooks, if you please), who watch the dance show and is invited to their beach house to the betrothal of Gina’s brother Tony, a vicious egoist. J realizes that Tony’s fiancé is none other than Linda, his latest “immigrant wife”, going under the name of Natasha for the casino family. He is hopelessly attracted to her and comes to realize that she is indeed marrying the casino money and not the owner. On the eve of the wedding, Natasha requests Tony to spend time at her apartment to which Tony concedes. This step by Natasha is taken at J’s behest. The two spend the evening in each other’s company, and when they return home, they are confronted by the malicious Tony. Then starts the scuttle and scamper of the J-Linda aka Natasha duo. They run for their lives to Mexico with the vengeful Tony and the policemen in their pursuit. How they do it forms the rest of the story.

The music does not appeal much to the auditory senses. The title track is sung by Hrithik Roshan and I must concede it wasn’t unpleasant. What was appalling was the fact that the American police were shown in poor light. We know that the policemen in Bollywood movies are slipshod, but hey, whatever made the movie makers use the same logic for the American police? We see innumerable police cars turning turtle and flying all over the place in the hot chase scene! Duh! Where are the oh-so-famous American police round-ups when they are pursuing an offender? Guess they were flying kites!

Wait, there is more uproarious logic in the movie! A mighty rich casino owner marrying a penniless illegal immigrant only because she is hot and sexy! I’d rather appreciate if it were just a fling and nothing more. What’s worse, he actually goes all over the place chasing the destitute duo merely because he was deceived by them! Hey, I’d rather spend that time fleecing more customers at the casino and let the sidekicks take after the sprinting duo. Hang on, it’s not yet done. The icing on the cake is the insanity epitomized by the protagonist and his lady love. Well, which dunderhead on earth would be willing to dig his own grave? The fact that the duo would be ruthlessly hunted down if they betrayed the casino family was written all over the faces of the family members, then why did they run to their gory end? Love? Bosh!

After a long wait and looking at the watch countless times, the movie finally ended. The popular verdict after watching the movie was a collective sigh of relief from the spectators.

“Kites” is better left to fly into oblivion.