Kites flies high for critics

Move over Crowe, Clooney and Cruise. While India always knew it had a superstar in Hrithik Roshan, Kites has made the whole world sit up and take notice. The Hrithik-Barbara Mori starrer may only be a day old at the box office, but already the ripples are being felt across the international movie business.

Move over Crowe, Clooney and Cruise. While India always knew it had a superstar in Hrithik Roshan, Kites has made the whole world sit up and take notice. The Hrithik-Barbara Mori starrer may only be a day old at the box office, but already the ripples are being felt across the international movie business.

"Overlong yet still plenty accessible, the sprawling 133-minute trilingual extravaganza will see its chances boosted by May 28 release of a shorter (and reportedly racier) English-language "remix" cut down to size by Brett Ratner, which Reliance Big Pictures intends to open on more than 2,300 screens internationally (1,800 of them in India)." (Peter Debruge, Variety).Read the Full Review
"The film is free of both subtlety and irony, and it demands of its charismatic stars, Hrithik Roshan and Bárbara Mori, that they act their hearts out with the utmost sincerity. The result is an exhilarating escapist entertainment that plays out like a violent and floridly poetic allegory." (Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times).
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"Mr. Roshan requires viewing uncut: writhing on the dance floor or just gazing into space, the man was made to drive women crazy, one movie at a time." (Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times). Read the Full Review

"If one is going to make a grand, action-packed love story set amid the garishness of Las Vegas and starring one of India's most charismatic actors, there's no point in being shy about it." (Lisa Tsering, The Hollywood Reporter). Read the Full Review
"Even with the lights of the Vegas Strip forming a gauzy halo behind his tousled head, Roshan is a master at low-keying his enormous charm and shrugging off his blinding handsomeness." (David Chute, Village Voice). Read the Full Review
"Preposterous? Oh, yeah. Preposterously entertaining? You bet." (Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer). Read the Full Review

"It also helps that Kites' leading man, Roshan, is one of India's biggest superstars: a lithe, handsome man with a facial resemblance to Dr. McDreamy and the best washboard abs this side of Mark Wahlberg." (Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle). Read the Full Review
"It slams seemingly disjunctive genres together with gleeful force, so that one minute we're watching spaghetti western, the next, a moody film noir detective mystery or a spectacular, strobe-edited rock music video." (Dann Gire, Daily Herald). Read the Full Review
"Nonetheless, it's the sort of Bollywood/Hollywood hybrid that should find a big audience and make Hindi megastar Hrithik Roshan as big here as he is there. The actor, who will remind you of Bradley Cooper, inspires a fan frenzy known as Hrithikmania in India." (Liz Braun, Qmi Agency London Free Press). Read the Full Review

"In the mood for an extravagant shoot-'em-up with a gorgeous couple, gangsters and cops complete with high-speed chases that end in blazing fireballs? Then go see Kites." (Stephen Schaefer Boston Herald). Read the Full Review
"Kites pulls no punches in its histrionic story of love and revenge. It also spares no expense in the telling with the cast of primarily Hindi actors gnashing their way through a beautifully stylish production and several large-scale action set pieces." (Ted Fry The Seattle Times). Read the Full Review
"I saw the long version, and it doesn't feel in any way stretched or dull. It tells a simple story - an almost archetypal story - but it does so with a lot of passion and technical sophistication." (Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle). Read the Full Review
"Roshan is a genuine Bollywood star and it's not difficult to see why. With his yellow-green eyes, sculpted features and chiseled body, he exudes charisma and the camera loves him. Mori is likewise a smoldering onscreen presence and their burgeoning love and their growing desperation feels genuine as they are relentlessly pursued." (Bruce Demara, Toronto Star). Read the Full Review
"It's to Roshan's credit in particular that the completely straight-faced, non-ironic movie pulls it off. It's hard to say who its audience is, other than die-hard Turner Classic Movies buffs, but for what it is—aside from occasional lapses like the cornpone music in one “Dukes of Hazzard”-like scene—Kites flies." (Frank Lovece, Film Journal International). Read the Full Review