A Bollywood experiment that reached the North American top ten but failed at home
In short: In 2010, the film Kites attempted a daring linguistic pivot, blending Hindi with Spanish and English. While it made history as the first Bollywood film to enter the North American weekend top ten, its multilingual narrative proved divisive, leading to a critical loss in its domestic market.
Directed by Anurag Basu and produced by Rakesh Roshan, Kites is a romantic action film starring Hrithik Roshan and Bárbara Mori. The plot follows Jay, a Las Vegas dance teacher who marries immigrant women for money, and Linda, a woman he marries in Mexico while on the run from a violent brother-in-law named Tony. The ensemble cast also features Kangana Ranaut and Kabir Bedi. The story was written by Rakesh Roshan.
The film's release strategy was highly ambitious. It opened in India and North America on 21 May 2010, with a 208-theater opening in North America that marked the largest Bollywood release in that region up to that time. An international version, titled Kites: The Remix, was released a week later on 28 May 2010, featuring new music by Graeme Revell. The English-language version was presented by Brett Ratner. This version utilized remix techniques from the series Kung Faux.
Despite its historical box office milestones, the film faced significant hurdles. In India, critics and audiences were divided; many criticized the heavy use of Spanish and English dialogue in a film advertised as Hindi. Although some praised the movie's visuals, Box Office India classified it as a failure, reporting total net earnings of ₹47 crore (US$10.28 million). The narrative follows Jay as he attempts to build a new life with Robin's help. His journey eventually leads to a tragic confrontation with Tony.
The film's soundtrack, composed by Rajesh Roshan, saw significant success, particularly the song 'Zindagi Do Pal Ki' performed by KK. The production was massive in scale, with distributor Reliance BIG Entertainment reporting the film was shown on 3,000 screens in India and across 500 screens in 30 different countries globally. The film's music was also lauded for its diverse range, spanning from hip-hop to Enya-esque styles. Additionally, the brand Provogue launched a dedicated clothing range to promote the production.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Kites (film)
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