It’s raining Kites in Bollywood this month and everywhere you go, you’re bound to see kites in the air and Hrithik Roshan flying them too. The actor was missing in action all of 2009 and the reason was Kites. However, he is back and how! The Greek-God lookalike’s next film is all set to release this month with his family backing and the very beautiful Mexican Barbara Mori in tow, Kites is ready to fly high. In an exclusive interview, Hrithik spoke at length about his experience with director Anurag Basu and co-star Barbara Mori. Check it out!
Kites in his words:
The story of Kites is my fathers, so I did know the basic concept but I wasn’t too clear about it. Kites is not the kind of film my father has been making. So I was little skeptical about it. But my father told me that he had involved Anurag [Basu] in it. He told me to wait for the final script. If I did not like it he was willing to take another hero for it. Me and my father don’t have any ego hassle, which is why together we give our best shot. Anurag Basu reacted positive on the story and he went to work on it for a month. When he came back we had a joint meeting – Anurag, Me and my father. When I heard his take on it I was completely blown out. After waiting for two years and sitting idle because of lack of good script, I had a story that I fell in love with. I actually jumped up from my chair and danced around in my room shouting with joy.
On Barbara Mori:
When we met Barbara and understood her world and her approach to the acting, everything just fit in very very good and right way, because she is completely spontaneous. She prepares a lot but all the preparation is like the lava forming in volcano but when it busts, when it’s an action time, she just explodes. She does care where it’s falling and how; there is no control over the explosion. You just fill up yourself with that energy when it action time. And that’s how we are started doing with this with right from the first day of shooting.
On the English factor in Kites:
Basically we had the script of Hindi film but when I started doing first takes with Barbara, I realized that there is kind of disbalance in the equation. My dialogues were in Hindi and she was speaking in Spanish. What was bothering me, was that I am playing a guy who was born in Las Vegas and who knows English. Any person who knows English and goes to [a] foreign land, he will first try and communicate in universal language. He won’t use his mother tongue to communicate. Since it was looking unnatural, we decided to use English.
On Singing for Kites:
I enjoy singing. But then there are so many people who enjoy singing even though they can’t sing. Everyone likes to sing, it’s something natural in all of us. I have been singing myself to sleep whenever I am stressed out. I just sing any song like a broken record and keep going till I feel some relief. Then I go to sleep. After listening to this entire story Anurag Basu has sort of shown in to the world.
The Kites Experience:
Isme actually ulta hua hain (With this film, the opposite has happened), in this film I had to unlearn. In Kites the training was to forget all my trainings. That was the most difficult thing that I had to go through. Because, coming from where I come from, I know how to face the camera. I know how to turn, I know how to walk. I know how to say I love you in the most endearing way, I know all that. Here I had to forget that there was a camera. I had to get lost in the character and not care whether my hair was ok or my make up was ok or my clothes were okay. I did not see the video assist even once in the whole film. I did not check my hair after every take. I had instructed Anurag Basu and my make-up man, I had instructed Barbara that anyone catches me looking at myself please stop. So there were these restrictions which were self-inflicted to keep a check on myself that I don’t want to have any safety measurements in this. I don’t want to rely on myself and say “arrey yaar, I could have done this.” So all I was left was to after the take got over, my only check was my heart. I used to look inside and say was I completely honest. Yes I was and that was my take.
On the Stunts in Kites:
I didn’t see it as risk. Having worked in action films, I have sort of cultivated a knack of understanding for action scenes. I knew what kind of safety requirements I needed. And once you have a good check on that and have a detailed examination of exactly what you want to do and you are stable and balanced in your mind, your body sort of speaks to you and tells it can be done it or not. Every time my body has told me that yes I can do it I do the action scenes myself. I cannot allow fear to overcome me. I have done a film like Krishh where I have cable snap falling from 45 feet. But you have to learn to trust your own instincts and people you work with.
On Kites Going International:
Kites is like taking an emotion and allowing it to take shape on screen. An emotion cannot be tied down with boundaries and language. So its left free, and will be able to touch everybody with open arms. For the first time I think the emotion is completely devoid of those external influences. This is the film which is completely honest from the word go. I feel the grammar of the film is completely different.
On High Expectations:
One fear I still have is that this film should not have an interval, because there is no interval point in the film. And it is only in India that we consider every film as two films. You come out of the theatre and say the first half is good but the second half I didn’t like that much or the second half is damn good but the first half is weak. But, when you come out of an English film, you see it as one film. You never talk about it first half or second half. Which is what Kites is about. It is like one film. So there is no interval point. Now when I see it with the interval, I can see the audience going, “Interval ho gayi, kuch hua hi nahi. Aisa kyun…isme toh kuch hain hi nahin.” So that break of 10 minutes is bothering me.
Kites is set to fly high and release on the 21st of May. Be sure to catch it and enjoy Hrithik Roshan at his best.
