Kites may not fly high!

Produced by Rakesh Roshan’s Filmkraft and Reliance Big Entertainment, Kites was being perceived as one of the year’s most anticipated and expensive films, but it appears to have become a non-experiment. Releasing in English and Hindi, the film created an enormous buzz. However, it has left the trade circuit, the audience and the critics disappointed.
According to critic and trade analyst Taran Adarsh, Kites will get an initial response, but sustaining for a prolonged period will be difficult. “The content doesn’t work for the typical Indian audience. The distributors will suffer losses,” he adds.
Komal Nahta, another tradesmith and critic, is rather optimistic, but is still not sure about the film. “The craze for this film is unbelievable. Though I am not sure about the overseas audience, I am sceptical about its fate in India,” he points out.
Guesstimates are that Reliance Big Entertainment had purchased the film for approximately Rs 85 crore, according to Nahta. However, Vikas Mohan, the editor of the trade magazine Super Cinema, informs that the news in the trade circles was that Kites was sold for Rs 125 crore. “Later the price was reduced by Rs 20 crore, and the film eventually went for Rs 105 crore,” he adds.
According to Mohan, the overseas trade reports of the film aren’t too pleasing either. “Kites is an old story. It seems like a film from the 1960s; and is very slow. Rakesh Roshan was trying to make a modern day Ek Duuje Ke Liye (1981), but has failed. That movie had a lot to offer. This one is meant for a multiplex audience. They have attempted to make a Hollywood film, not realising that they have seen tonnes of these films and it’s nothing new to them. In the process, even the Indian audiences may be put off,” he rues. “It will be a huge loss for Reliance.”
Disappointment, some more
Brett Ratner’s edited English version, Kites — The Remix —  runs into 90 minutes only. Bharathi Pradhan, the editor of Film Street Journal, returned disappointed. Reason: the film is largely about Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori’s chemistry, which she feels was missing in the film.
“I like Anurag Basu’s cinema. We’re used to Rakesh Roshan’s unexpected twists, but Kites didn’t have any of them. The story is stagnant,” adds Pradhan.
Kites released simultaneously in multiple markets. Speculations are that the release strategy behind the film sent the budget skyrocketing. “With two versions, the prints could have cost them between Rs 40 and Rs 50 crore. The overall price then shoots up to Rs 140 crore, making it the most expensive film ever made in Bollywood,” states Mohan, adding that Kites hopes to sustain throughout the week to recover costs, as against other films that depend more on a heavy weekend opening.

I am not sure about the overseas audience, but I am sceptical about Kites’ fate in India. One goes prepared to watch a Hindi movie, but the movie is in English and Spanish. So, it is as if one prepares for an Algebra paper, but when he reaches the examination hall, he is given a History paper.
 — Komal Nahta, trade analyst and  critic

 Like most big movies, Kites will have a good opening. But the box-office collection will nose dive later in the week. 
—Deepa Gahlot, critic

I don’t think this movie will run because although the story is good, the power in the script is missing.
—Taran Adarsh, trade analyst and  critic

Music Review : House Full

Director : Music : Lyrics : Starring :	Sajid Khan  Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy  Sameer and Amitabh Bhattacharya  Akshay Kumar, Ritesh Deshmukh, Arjun Rampal, Lara Dutta, Deepika Padukone, Jiah Khan and Boman Irani

 Like him, love him or hate him, but one just cannot ignore actor, comedian and now successful director Sajid Khan, who was at one time better known as the kid brother of super successful director and internationally famous choreographer, Farah Khan.However Sajid's directorial debut venture, HEYY BABYY proved that he was just not all about jokes and wise cracks. His film was a roller coaster fun ride with all the elements of comedy, drama and emotions thrown into it thus making HEYY BABYY a good hit. The composers, the talented trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy too rose to the occasion and delivered music that complemented the film. The title track that featured the Australian girl band was a rage and 'Mast Kalander' , the 'qawwali' featuring Shah Rukh Khan (essaying a cameo) and Akshay Kumar brought the house down. So, can we expect the repeat of a similar success from the team that gave us HEYY BABYY? Well, all pointers are to the fact that yes, we can and we should!
The album gets a super groovy start with the highly infectious 'Oh Girl You Are Mine..'. Ever since the promo of the song was shown across all major channels and portals, one could not help but hum this highly rhythmic number, such is the infectious charm of the song. The beauty of the track lies in its beautiful rhythm that is very groovy, and the two relatively new singers in form of Tarun Sagar and Alyssa Mendonsa, who have very distinct vocals that are dew fresh and pleasing to the ears. They are given adequate support by Loy Mendonsa himself, who pitches in to lend the song its unique touch. The absolutely bewitching music arrangements consisting of beautiful harmonica sounds and soft percussions are in harmony with the light romantic feel of the song. Lyricist Sameer makes an appearance for S-E-L after a while and one must add that he has done a good job of mixing Hindi and English words thereby making the song more youth oriented and cashing in on the urban appeal of the lead female protagonists like Deepika and Lara.The song appears in its remixed version as 'Oh Girl You Are Mine..Oh Boy! What A Girli Mix' rearranged by DJ Whosane. In fact all the remixes in the film are done by the team. A superb job done by the creative team which has not tampered much with the vocals and just upped the tempo a wee bit. The work on the arrangement is classy and absolutely different from the original and the deadly rhythm remains intact . The instruments used are western but the ethnic touch rendered to the song is worth lauding. After a chilled out romantic composition, its time to get naughty and S-E-L work their magic with 'Papa Jag Jayega', a totally hilarious situational number that features a zombie like sleep walking Boman Irani , with the lead actors Akshay and Ritesh trying to woo Deepika and Lara without waking Papa up! Akshay's very own voice, Neeraj Sridhar, who together have belted out numerous chartbusters, comes in to render the song along with Ritu Pathak and Alyssa Mendonsa. The situation is quite similar to Amitabh Bachchan's evergreen 'Pyaar Hamein Kis Mod Pe Le Aaya' (SATTE PE SATTA) and the team has done a wonderful job of churning out a chartbuster in form of 'Papa Jag Jayega'. Though the credit for the song goes to the lyricist Amitabh Bhattarcharya, who is simply at his creative and humorous best, almost like the late Anand Bakshi, who was a master at writing such situational and day to day used wordings. Shall we say that we have another Anand Bakshi in the making? Definitely! Sample the zany lyrics to believe us, 'Oomph bhari teri beauty re, Yaara tardpaye , Agan lagi heavy duty re, Masti si chadh jaye.' The background synthesized rhythm is great and so is the arrangement, which once again is light and in keeping with the situation.

The remix is aptly titled as the 'Insane Insomaniac Mix' and once again is a job well done. Though the tempo has been heightened a bit too much for comfort but that has been compensated by some very zany sounds and arrangements.