Kites - External Reviews

Thumbs up by Stefan S, A Nutshell Review ...The revelation of the film though, as I mentioned, still belonged to the charismatic presence of Barbara Mori, who is likely to gain plenty of adoring fans from the Indian continent ... full review

So-So by Noyon Jyoti Parasara, AOL INDIA ...In the entire story of ‘Kites’ the importance of language or the insignificance of it in true love never surfaces as the strongest element of the film. ... full review

Thumbs up by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice ...The real strength of ‘Kites’ lies not in its story, but in the flourish with which director Anurag Basu presents it on the screen.... full review

Thumbs down by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express ...The culprit is the romantic track. Kites wants us to revel in the amoral adventures of J and Natasha, but when it comes to their love, the film turns utterly (and fatally) moral... full review

Thumbs down by Bobby Sing, Bobby Talks Cinema.com ...How could he even approve of such spineless film with Hrithik Roshan at this crucial time of his career, when all the other major stars of Bollywood are coming up with consistent hits in the recent years. ... full review

Thumbs up by Kara Baer, Bolly Spice ...Anurag's script is very clever and he often sets up scenes that appear to be resolving one way only to flip it around and totally foil the audience's expectations.... full review

So-So by Hina, BollyPlus ...Honestly one of the best performances of Hrithik Roshan. His screen presence mesmerizes you.... full review

So-So by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama ...Rajesh Roshan's music is strictly okay. The score isn't a patch on this combo's [Rakesh Roshan and Rajesh Roshan] earlier works.... full review

So-So by Daliya Ghose, Bollywood Mantra ...The screenplay was very poor, it was not moving forward and stick to the same point. ... full review

So-So by Saurin Parikh, BookmyShow ...if you’re wondering why Kangana wasn’t shown much in the trailers or pre-release publicity, it’s not because she had a mysterious role. It’s because she has a miniscule role. ... full review

Thumbs down by Jitaditya, Cinemaa Online ...If I have to put a blanket statement, I would say it’s not a great film but far worse films have become blockbusters in recent years. ... full review

Thumbs up desi hits ...Kites is a unique story with a little bit of dancing and a little bit of romance.... full review

So-So by Aniruddha Guha, DNA ...doesn't eventually add much to the drama the way you expect it to... full review

Thumbs down by Partha Pratim, Express-oholic ...Lack of script. Or must I say, total lack of respect for need of any script. ... full review

Thumbs down by Deepa Garimella, fullhyd.com ...a pretty ordinary, formulaic, masala movie... full review

Thumbs up by Martin D'Souza, Glamsham.com ...KITES is a complete entertainer, a first of its kind in Bollywood; a multi-lingual film in Hindi-English and a spattering of Spanish. ... full review

So-So by Pravir, Gomolo.in ...Ayananka Bose’s camerawork is brilliant.... full review

So-So by Mayank Shekhar, Hindustan Times ...The language alone turns it into a cut-piece made neither wholly for Peter, nor quite for Patel.... full review

Thumbs up by Lisa Tsering, Hollywood Reporter ...Despite the extremes of Basu's script and producer Rakesh Roshan's story, Roshan anchors the film with a solid, believable performance and a palpable chemistry with his co-star... full review

Thumbs down by Kaveree Bamzai, india today ...Hritikh movies tend to be Hrithik-porn.... full review

Thumbs down by Mirhir Fadnavis, india.com ...there's the stunning, gorgeous, eye popping cinematography by Ayananka Bose... full review

So-So by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes ...come to think of it, thematically Kites isn’t much different from Rakesh Roshan’s decade-old flick Koyla ... full review

So-So Indicine ...It looked like a conscious effort, on part of the makers, to make the film appeal to the international audience while at the same time having enough in it to keep the Indian audience hooked ... full review

So-So by Kshitij Mehta, J.A.M ...From the very first frame, ’Kites’ screams quality.... full review

Thumbs down by Sanjukta Sharma, Live Mint ...The dialogues will ring false even to a Hindi-movie novice... full review

Thumbs up by Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times ..."Kites" is so heady and naive a brew, it would have been perfect for the silent screen.... full review

Thumbs down by Abhijit Ranade, MH-31 Fun Unlimited ...This is Hritik’s first movie in nearly two years and you wonder why did he spent so much time coming up with this crap movie.... full review

Thumbs down by Sarita Tanwar, MiD DAY ...Despite its short length, the reason why Kites becomes dreary after a point is because of the irrational and sometimes illogical script. ... full review

Thumbs down by Vivek Saynia, Mixed Bag ...The one thing i liked most in the movie was the intermission for then was showed the theatrical promo of the forthcoming movie ‘Raavan’.... full review

Thumbs down Movie Talkies ...The romance between J and Natasha is hardly crackling, except for a few stray moments. ... full review

Thumbs down by Mr Inketi, Mr. Inketis Weblog ...Hrithik Roshan is a good actor no doubt, but as my father put it he has a curse, which makes him do all the wrong movies... full review

Thumbs down by Minty Tejpal, Mumbai Mirror ...music remains average, while the background score is a bit too operatic... full review

So-So by Anupama Chopra, NDTV ...Together they are so luminous that the frame lights up when they are in it. Their crackling chemistry keeps Kites soaring.... full review

Thumbs up by JEANNETTE CATSOULIS, New York Times ...The result is a lovers-on-the-lam blast of pure pulp escapism, so devoted to diversion that you probably won’t even notice the corn.... full review

Thumbs down by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com ...The story of J and Natasha is very predictable, the pace is slow, the dialogues are cheesy and the editing not quite up to the mark.... full review

Thumbs down by Sujoy, OneKnightStands.net ... I am not exaggerating any bit. It looks like a prolonged advert of Provogue/ John Players [ brands which Hrithik endorses ]... full review

Thumbs down by Atul Chopra, Outlook India ...All the Indian characters are caricatures.... full review

Thumbs down by Namrata Joshi, Outlook India ...The over-oiled, muscular body of Hrithik sports a peek-a-boo Calvin Klein underwear and some sexy tan. Those green eyes shed copious tears, rather fetchingly at that... full review

Thumbs down by ROFL Indian, Passion for Cinema ...The action sequences often appear forced, and seem to be stitched together with their seams standing out like that in a badly thrashed T20 cricket ball in the twentieth over... full review

Thumbs down by Padmaja Thakore, Passion for Cinema ...But these ‘intense’ love stories particularly those that are ‘plot free’ must get one thing right – that the audience root for the lovers right from the outset.... full review

Thumbs down by Khalid Mohamed, Passion for Cinema ...Patangs are mentioned at the beginning of the picture and towards the end credits. Amnesiacally, the aforecited kites are forgotten in the rest of the 14-reeler which is frequently so sloooow-paced that you find yourself drifting away into a siesta.... full review

So-So by Carrie Ricky, philly.com ...Preposterous? Oh, yeah. Preposterously entertaining? You bet.... full review

So-So by Samir Dave, Planet Bollywood ...Anurag Basu’s screenplay (also co-written by Robin Bhatt, Akarsh Khanna, and Rakesh Roshan) is fairly straightforward and avoids the typical Bollywood masala situations... full review

Thumbs down by Great Bong, Random Thoughts of a Demented Mind ...The rest of “Kites” is just hot air, the kind that builds up in your stomach after a big bean burrito.... full review

So-So by Sampurn, real bollywoood ...director Anurag Basu has given the film a gloomy operatic feel and the background score enhances this effect... full review

Thumbs down by Matthew Schneeberger, Rediff ...For a character so central to the story, the lack of detailing affects the second half of the film, because Jay's fate isn't as important to us as it should be.... full review

Thumbs down by Raja Sen, Rediff ...it's a standard-issue Hollywood actioner, laced with bucketloads of tears and overwhelmingly high-octane background score. Actiomelodrama? ... full review

So-So by Shilpa Jamkhandikar, Reuters ...Where the film flags is when the director takes the spotlight away from his main characters and concentrates on lengthy action scenes and Indian actors speaking in bad American accents.... full review

Thumbs up by Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle ...This is opera... full review

Thumbs up by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies ...For all the hype about the explicit scenes, the movie’s tame by today’s standards. And quite dignified, too (no excessive body shots when the heroine’s wearing a bikini).... full review

So-So by K N Gupta, SmasHits.com ...Barabara Mori gels well with his chemistry, but still falls far short of our desi-turned-international filmi hero. ... full review

Thumbs up by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice ...Kangna Ranaut has a special appearance and manages to looks pretty and dance fairly well. There is nothing new about her psychotic and unstable character which she plays with ease.... full review

Thumbs up by K K Rai, STARDUST ...Hrithik Roshan, who plays the character of Jai in the flick, looks great but fails to meet his own standards set in Yashraj Films’ ‘Dhoom.’... full review

Thumbs down by Roy Daniel D’Silva, The Friday Freak ...The only saving grace of the movie is Barbara Mori, who has a much stronger character than her lover, J. ... full review

So-So by David Chute, The Village Voice ...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.... full review

Thumbs up by Bruce DeMara, thestar.com ...Anurag Basu does an admirable job of keeping it fresh, sustaining the tension of the chase and allowing the love to blossom ... full review

So-So by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India ...But hey, do they make out? Not really, unless you call Barbara yakking relentlessly in Spanish as sexy or Hrithik stitching up her arm beneath the rocks as romantic. ... full review

Thumbs down by The ThirdMan, Upper Stall ...Hrithik is efficient enough but not spectacular, defeated as he is by the script. Still, it is credible he opted to play a character like this.... full review

Thumbs down by SpiceZee Bureau, ZEENEWS.COM ...Much Ado About Nothing. ... full review