TAKE a Bollywood movie, chop some scenes, add a few others, change the music, use some explosive sounds — and, hey presto, there is a slicker, racier Hollywood action potboiler.
That's what A- list Hollywood director Brett Ratner did to Kites that stars Hrithik Roshan and Mexican actress Barbara Mori.
It happened after Reliance BIG Pictures's chairman Anil Ambani and co- producer Rakesh Roshan casually asked him over dinner Ratner — creator of the spectacularly successful Rush Hour series — what he would do if he wanted to release Kites in the US. “ When I saw the movie, I thought it was an Indian movie that would appeal to the Western style,” Ratner said from Los Angeles.
So when they popped the question, he said: “ Well, I would do this and this and this, I would shorten it, change the music. And they said, ‘ can you do it for us?' So I said okay. That's how it happened.” The film is being released in Hindi on May 21 and in English on May 28.
Ratner took his cue from the local Chinese movies released in the US. “ They change the music, the voices and make it somewhat different to make it appealing to an American audience. And that's how I got the idea,” he said.“ For me, it was just an experiment. It was fun for me. I didn't do it to get rich. I did it out of friendship and I love filmmaking,” he said.
How did he go about it? “ Nothing was re- shot. I just cut the movie and kept the story. For instance, there was a dance sequence in the movie, but it didn't drive the story forward. So I removed it.” “ I was very nervous about losing it. But Hrithik was on board. When they saw my version, they loved it.” There was also some footage that “ was more racy, more sexuality — stuff that would appeal to international audiences. But they didn't use it. When I was looking at the footage, I said, ‘ wow, we have to put this in the movie'.” Hrithik and Barbara are not “ US film stars. But they have an appeal and a chemistry that works. I think it's going to be great and that's why I feel so proud to be part of it,” he said. Ratner thinks his version of Kites is as slick as a Hollywood movie. Well, we wish him all the best.
