Kites- All Style and No Substance

I would not think twice to rate 1/2 out of 5 points for this movie even if it had hit the screens a decade or two back. This is no different from other recent bollywood movies which followed the mantra of "All style and no substance". Since QAQT and probably even before that, audience have been constantly bombarded with boringly clichéd concept of a couple eloping and the goons chasing them down to death. The only difference that the director has to offer is that this happens in the backdrop of Mexico.

Hrithik should grow out of those biscuit ads. He has nothing new to offer in this movie except his toned body and few super fluid dance steps that he had done for the ads Sony Ericson, Coke and Hide & Seek. Even if Hrithik was half cautious about his story selection as he was for his ads, he would not have chosen to do this. In this movie he is a Dance instructor, he also has a part time profession of marrying girls to get them into LA on a false Visa. This is how he meets Barbara Mori. Her introduction is good and different. She looks beautiful, but did less of skin show than our heroines. The story is built around the name "Kites". H (Who is Mr J in this movie) and B.Mori meet and separate like two kites in the sky. Situations pull them together so close as if they would never be separated but in the next moment they go so far as if they were never meant to meet.

About other actors, every one is wasted except the villain. He has got strong negative shades which is a plus point. I don’t see a reason why Kangana had accepted this role; even an item song could have done more justification than playing Hrithik's girl friend.

Scripted by as many as four writers (probably the dullest and the most vacant minds one can find), kites is woefully predictable despite its jumbled screen play. The dialogues are written in a sophomoric mood (Even though there are hardly any). For an instance Hrithik convinces Barbara to come with her by saying "I have a dream, you have a dream, we have a bigger dream”. I don’t think any one even in their normal thinking condition would go for such pick up lines in reality. Bullet wounded Barbara says "I wonth die, I wanth Babies". And the moment you might feel like falling off the seat due to sleep is the scenes when the chemistry between H and M is established by sharing each other their ridiculously over-sentimental back-stories about dead parents.

The fight sequences are sordid but okay and all the blasting of cars like toys are unnecessary and doesn't add value. The climax fight has been reduced to a Sten gun firing and yes your guess is right Kangana suddenly pops up with a gun but still does not shoot H for ditching her. Hritihik does all hi-fi stunts to reach the villain only to know the spot where the heroin has committed suicide so that he can also go and jump off the cliff. I was also looking for a nearest cliff to jump off after seeing this movie, but wasn't lucky enough. I don’t recommend this movie. It bores you to death. Every scene of the movie is a flop show. Movies like this are national waste and this movie is for universal audience so should we coin a new term “Multi national waste”???

I spent 200 bucks in Innovative Multiplex of Marath halli only to get a feeling of watching a movie in a laptop. I dont know why is it named Gold class, the sound effects is sad, 30 mm screen look and the seats are positioned far from the screen. So I vote for NO GO for the movie as well as for the theatre

A Review on MTR

Heaven is best described as a rendezvous of hunger with a tasteful cuisine. It happened on a Wednesday afternoon I was near the Lal bagh gate amidst the roaring Bangalore’s traffic, under the scorching sun. Hunger and thirst were at their high. All I needed was a quite place to sit and fuel myself with some carbohydrates. As my eyes scanned for a hotel, they fell on a small red hoarding amidst the loud and boastful ones as if it was shying away from the rest. The abbreviated name on the hoarding said “MTR”.

“Mavalli Tiffin Room” has its roots dated back to 1924 creating a legacy out of its carte du jour. MTR takes the credit of inventing “Rava Idly” in the troubled times of Second World War, when there was a shortage of rice - the main ingredient of Idly. The chefs experimented with “Suzi Rava” and rest is history. I had heard the popularity of MTR for its mouth watering dishes but never experienced it. I stepped in to the building; the insides reflected the architecture of early 1900s. Rows of black and white photographs of what looked like freedom fighters and thinkers discussing over coffee at MTR decorated the right side wall. Satisfied with the hotel’s legacy, I purchased the lunch coupon (which was the only available option at noon) and went upstairs. The dining hall in the upstairs was dimly lit and was already crowded with Indian families and few foreign tourists. The waiters wore traditional attire of Karnataka Brahmins a white dhoti and no shoes.

I settled down in a table and was served a chilled grape juice in a silver cup. The sweet and sour drink did more than just quenching my thirst; it woke up the connoisseur in me. As I finished the drink, the glass was taken back may be to indicate the authenticity of the metal. After that, the South Indian concoctions topped with calorie-intensive ghee continuously replenished my plate. The Dosa was excellent and with each bite it released a mix of ghee, coconut chutney and sagu teasing my taste buds. The Payasam was good, the curry tastier and the huli with rice reminded me of my granny’s cooking. The rasam was simply outstanding. By the time curd rice arrived I was awfully loaded but still adjusted my stomach to get a taste of it. The dessert fruit salad topped with vanilla ice cream was as usual good.

While exiting the restaurant, I got a glimpse of the kitchen which was clean and hygiene and reminded me of the cooking methods followed in Brahmin marriages of South India. It goes without saying that MTR can be loved if you are a veg lover. This place is a perfect treat for food evangelists, and gives you an authentic Bangalore eating experience. However the Sunday mornings are chaotic where scores of locals (especially morning walkers of Lal Bagh) rush into savor the Tiffin items. The brand though stands for its taste, tradition and quality, but is often rebuked for long waiting times and notoriously surly waiters.