Indian-made film "Kites" releases today in the United States and India, and the first Kites movie reviews suggest it could be a foreign hit for Bollywood.
The romantic thriller is set in Mexico and centers around a man named Jay (Hrithik Roshan) who has close encounters with death. IMDB notes "the only thing that keeps him alive is the quest to find the love of his life."
Christian Science Monitor noted that the film brings together "a beautiful Mexican actress, India's premier silver-screen hunk, and the director of 'Rush Hour'" with hopes to appeal to a Western audience.
Mike LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said of the film, "It tells a simple story -- an almost archetypal story -- but it does so with a lot of passion and technical sophistication."
Carrie Rickey from the Philadelphia Inquirer added that the movie provides "an embrace, explosion, or chase sequence at regular intervals. If you don't like the genre, wait three minutes."
Hours ahead of the United States due to time zone, Indian Twitter users helped "Kites" launch to Twitter's Trending Topics on Friday morning with mixed reviews.
Said one user, @saurabhdhawan1: ""KITES" was too boring & Action is there but its not at all exciting. I feel like wasted big bucks & more than that my time." But @khurafatinitin disagreed: "I cannot understand how anyone can dislike Kites.Just saw it.Awesome Movie.I'm gonna give it 4.75 stars tmrw on my show!"
Sussanne Roshan, wife of the film's lead actor Hrithik Roshan, tweeted, "The destiny of a film is always in the hands of the viewers, kites made the move of trying out no formulas,just heart!world hold on 2 that!"
WATCH the Kites trailer video here: