Never quite flies..

Kites Review
Rating ** stars

I happened to watch 'Kites' on a day that witnessed one of the worst air crashes to have happened in India. And unfortunately, the fates of the two couldn't be more similar. Made with a budget of little less than 100 crores and with 2 years in the making, 'Kites' could have soared easily but this one is a turbulent journey. Directed by Anurag Basu, the man behind the far more superior "Life in a Metro" and boasting of a dream cast and production, Kites is supposed to be Mr. Hrithik Roshan's international launch vehicle-a "Kaho na Pyaar Hai Part II" of sorts. His character is a larger-than-life dude who dances like a dream, flaunts his toned torso and speaks flawless English (though his accent is a mystery-given his origins, the fake american accent doesn't make any sense).
The girl is a Mexican beauty- a poor man's Salma Hayeq but looks very hot nonetheless and makes a super-hot pair with our desi hero. The duo share great chemistry-having similar motives, they empathize with each other, exchange glances and try to communicate making for some sweet endearing moments. He doesn't know Spanish and she has a broken english. But while their efforts to communicate with each other may come across as plain cute to some, they may be frustrating for many. Much of the movie is either in english or spanish-and guess what there are english and not hindi subtitles. As one guy sitting behind me remarked "Agar yeh(Hrithik) isse Spanish sikhne ki bajaye khud isko(Barbara) hindi sikha deta, tho shaayad picture behtar hoti”.
But all these are smaller flaws compared to movie's two of the biggest problems-absence of a plot and some bad acting by the supporting cast. The bad guy, whose name I don't remember, is vicious all right but looks a complete buffoon trying to overpower the US police officers as he screams at them. And oh my god, what was Kangana Ranaut doing in such a thankless role that would even put a Rakhi Sawant to shame. And let's not talk about Kabir Bedi. But the cinematography is top-notch, the background music soothing. How I wish the story of 'Kites' could match up to those.