New Delhi, June 30 : For some it denotes a
victory call, for others a struggle against obstacles and important life
lessons -- India's age-old tradition of kite flying is being
interestingly woven into the plots and sub-plots of films like "Kai Po
Che!", "Patang" and "Gattu" with varied metaphorical inferences.
Be
it in titles or story, kites are finding renewed popularity in the film
world. Most such projects are set in Gujarat, where colourful kites of
all shapes and sizes dot the sky around
Independence Day and Makar
Sankranti every year.
Abhishek Kapoor has used the Gujarati
phrase 'Kai po che', a street term used popularly in the state during
the kite flying festival, as the title of his next film, based on Chetan
Bhagat's "The 3 Mistakes of My Life".
It is so due to two
reasons, he explained: "My movie is set in Gujarat, and 'Kai po che!' is
a victory call when you cut someone's kite. It is also the sound of
celebration."
"Since my film has Gujarat as a backdrop, where
kite flying is a huge thing and above all it metaphorically fits my film
perfectly, I thought this would be the best title," Kapoor told IANS.
The
term "Kai po che" was also used in a peppy song from "Hum Dil De Chuke
Sanam". Its lyrics and picturisation were primarily around the kite
flying tradition in Gujarat.
Indian-American director Prashant
Bhargava, whose debut film feature film is titled "Patang", says he was
inspired by the way people of Gujarat use kite flying as a mean to deal
with their problems.
"What touched me about Gujarat was the way
people handled tragedy - riots, natural disasters. And kite flying
played such an important role in providing them that momentum to pursue
(happiness) and persevere," said Bhargava.
"For me kite flying
was a meditation and a purifying experience. That magic that I saw
during the research period was something that I wanted to preserve,"
added the director, who has captured the emotions that kids go through
while flying kites in his film.
Kite flying also forms the ground
for "Gattu", a children's film directed by
Rajan Khosa. He pans the
camera around the story of a young boy who wants to win over a
mysterious kite in the sky and goes out of his way to achieve this
dream.
The movie, releasing July 20, has travelled to various international film festivals, and received its share of acclaim already.
"Yeh Khula Aasmaan" was another film this year which drew focus on kite flying.
Actor
Raghubir Yadav, who played a kite runner in the movie, where a kite was
used as a metaphor to teach lessons of life, says the movie gave him a
chance to relive his childhood love for flying kites.
"I loved
flying kites as a child and even today I like it. Cricket and football
are all new games. At that time when we were growing up, we used to play
'gilli danda' and used to have kite flying competitions. During the
shoot of the film when we flew kites, it took me back to my childhood
days and I enjoyed it a lot," he said.
It's not a new phenomena.
Shakti
Samanta's 1970 classic "Kati Patang" dealt with the trials and
tribulations of a woman, whose life becomes a directionless kite.
The figurative use of 'kites' was also loud and clear in Rakesh Roshan's 2010 affair "Kites".
The movie's story revolved around how love goes beyond boundaries and culture, and how love grows in tough times.
For
Roshan, the inspiration for the script itself came from watching two
kites fly in the air, it was a deeper meaning behind that drove the
makers to title the film as "Kites", which starred Hrithik Roshan and
Mexican actress Barbara Mori.
"Kites fly against the wind and not
with it - the stronger the wind blows, higher the kites fly. Our
protagonists in the movie too face obstacles; their love grows deeper
with every increasing obstacle," director Anurag Basu had said during
the film's release.
© IANS 
