West End Odeon, Leicester Square, London.
18th May
Hundreds of Screaming fans….
If you combine those three elements – you can only come to one conclusion. Yes, it was the Red Carpet Event and the Premiere for Hrithik Roshan and Barbara Mori starrer Kites organized by Sterling Media…. and BollySpice.com was there!
With the stars expected to arrive at 17:30, many fans started to queue up early to position themselves as close to the barriers as possible; and the clock started ticking until the countless fans of Hrithik Roshan could catch a glimpse of their beloved star.
Entertained by a dance troupe performing to songs from Kites, fans were keen not to be left out of the fun and sang some very interesting renditions of popular Hrithik songs, with the most popular track of choice in the live karaoke being ‘Ek Pal Ka Jeena‘ from Kaho Nah Pyaar Hai.
First down the carpet was the Roshan family sans the three Roshan’s associated with the film. Dressed in a gold shimmery dress, Sussanne Roshan looked radiant as she spoke to us about husband Hrithik –
“He has worked very hard on this film…. I think it is one of his best performances”.
Sussanne was closely followed by Rajesh Roshan in black tie stopping for his fans to sign autographs.
Anurag Basu, also dressed in a suit, followed saying that he would keep the media posted with future announcement on projects. Commenting that Hrithik Roshan was not a superstar when he was on set&. He was simple and a great buddy. Asked about Mori, Basu commented that it was her first [Bollywood] film, so he was looking forward to seeing the audience reaction.
Shweta Nanda – Daughter of Amitabh Bachchan was an unexpected guest looking stunning as always in a blue full length gown. It seems she was there to support the Roshan clan but wanted to remain hidden from the cameras.
Next down the carpet was Rakesh Roshan – who commented that he was a proud father, a proud producer and a proud director.
“I used to come to Leicester Square to see the premiere of some Hollywood films when I used to come on holiday here and I used to say that one day I will have my premiere here.”
Where asked if Kites was an attempt to move away from family orientated films Roshan senior was quick to set the record straight, “No, not at all. It all depends on the subject… because I make different types of films always”.
When asked if either Anurag or Hrithik approached him for advice Roshan said, no and that they had discussed things when they had initially met and that Basu had done everything that was required of the film.
The crowd was however eagerly awaiting the arrival of the two stars of Kites, Barbara Mori and Hrithik Roshan.
A rapturous roar from the crowd signaled Barbara Mori’s arrival. Dressed in a black dress she looked every inch the star.
Saying she was really excited to be in London for the premiere and that she had had a lot of fun attending the premiere in NYC. She shared her hopes for the film for the British audiences, “I hope London enjoys the film and likes the film and that it makes you all want to fall in love”. Barbara revealed that the next project she had lined up was in Venezuela, but that she was very much looking forward to doing more Bollywood films.
Hrithik Roshan was also every inch the superstar and completely in his element walking the entire length of the red carpet (down to the people in the corner) to meet his fans first to sign autographs before walking back to meet the press.
When asked about having the European Premiere for Kites in London’s Leicester Square Hrithik Roshan said he was very excited….
“I have often walked these streets on my own… I have sat and had pizza at the Pizza Hut (On the other side of the square) and now I have a red carpet rolled out for me in the heart of Leicester Square, I feel very blessed, very special and very thankful.”
When asked about the possibility of becoming a permanent London resident laughing he responded ” I would have to earn a bit more money let’s see.”
He was also asked to say something in Mexican before he left he responded ‘Ti amo muchisi’. (I love you lots). He has a lot of very happy fans saying that to him at the moment…of that we are sure!
Aside from the huge Bollywood glitterati that adorned the red carpet from the film premiere were many British-Asian celebs. We had the chance to catch up with the Grewals from Channel 4’s insanely popular show The Family. Sunny Grewal revealed his excitement about the film, “I wouldn’t say I’m a huge Hrithik Roshan fan but I am a fan of his father’s.” Sunny’s younger brother Tindy was hesitant to reveal that he is a Hrithik Roshan fan but admitted that was his excitement about the film.
Funny guy Murtz, from the BBC Asian Network, also stopped for a brief chat before the screening. Talking about walking the red carpet, he said, “It’s really weird because red really isn’t my colour but today it seems to be suiting me.” When speaking about the film, he was enthusiastic, “I’ve spoken to Raj and Pablo – The Bollywood Boys – and we think it will be interesting how the audience take to the film. Hrithik is looking very stylish and very sexy, I’m kind of wishing I had also worn sunglasses now”, he joked.
Hrithik Roshan shared his excitement of the opening weekend of Kites by tweeting that this is, “Thank you for making it the 2nd biggest film opening in the history of cinema in the world” That’s some record. We hope Kites remains soaring high and flying the flag of Indian cinema. Wanna see more pics from the red carpet be sure and check out our exclusive pics here.
Photo Credit: Jas Sagu of JasdipSagu.com
