April 28, 2010 (Sampurn Wire): The world and its favorite senorita would now get to hear Hrithik Roshan speak in Spanish. Besides the 2-hour-10-minute Hindi version and the 1-hour-30-minute English versions of Kites which are releasing worldwide in May, there will now be a Spanish version of the film to come a little later after the two other versions.
.jpg "Hrithik Roshan, Barbara Mori in the still from movie Kites (2)")
Confirming this development, Sanjeev Lamba, CEO of Reliance Big Pictures, says, “Yes, we are indeed on the verge of closing a deal for a Spanish version of Kites. While the Hindi and English versions would cater to a mass audience across the globe keen on seeing Hrithik Roshan, we must not disregard Barbara Mori’s fan following in the Spanish belt.”
According to Lamba, the global interest in watching Hrithik romance Mori puts Kites in a very different league from other Bollywood films. Reliance Big Pictures is now looking at releasing a larger number of prints globally than even 3 Idiots.1700 prints of 3 Idiots had been released in India. Kites is expected to top that figure with approximately 1750 prints in India.
“We will release around 2300 prints across the world. There will be 250 prints in the US and 100 in the UK”, informs Lamba.
The English language version will be released in the US a week after the Hindi version. “The only difference between the Hindi and English versions would be the length. Brett Ratner who has edited the English version took out all the songs and some of scenes which were seen too Indian in spirit. Otherwise both versions are the same in spirit. Out West, audiences don’t have the patience to sit through lengthy foreign films. In the English version that Brett Ratner has cut everything happens super-fast and snappy,” says Lamba.
The length of the Spanish version is expected to be the same as the English version of Kites. Though it is not being said out aloud, Reliance Big Pictures hopes Kites would top the box-office statistics of 3 Idiots in the international market where the 2-hour-40-minute playing time of 3 Idiots was seen to be big hindrance for a wider acceptance by a non-Diaspora audience.
The producers are looking at Kites as the Indian film that would finally crack the Western market.
“Kites is not what the Bollywood formula is perceived to be in the West. The language of love is universal. We’re hopeful that this film will get a new profile of western audiences interested in Indian cinema,” says Lamba with finger crossed.
Barbara Mori is expected to play Hrithik’s host in Mexico when the Spanish version of Kites releases. In a cute manifestation of a cultural exchange programme she has even offered to do a Spanish film with Hrithik.
— Subhash K Jha / Sampurn Wire
