Bollywood takes to skies this I-Day

Hardcore kite lovers prefer good old paper kites over fancy Chinese cloth ones or the plastic ones with celeb pictures printed on them

Bollywood and film stars are flying high this Independence Day, literally. Kites of new and old Bollywood films are a huge hit among movie lovers who also have a passion for flying kites.

Ooh La La kite with a still of Vidya Balan from The Dirty Picture printed on it, Salman Khan’s look in Ek Tha Tiger, Katrina Kaif’s Chikni Chameli look and Ajay Devgan’s dialogue Ath Majhi Satkeli from Singham are attracting kite-flying enthusiasts this season. 

Vidya Balan seems to have hit the jackpot this year. She is a huge hit here too. Kite sellers say they have sold the kite with Silk’s image the most among all the celeb kites. It has been named Ooh La La after the popular number of the film. Made of plastic sheets and referred to as printed kites, these are being made in Ahmedabad and priced at a very reasonable Rs One to Three. 

Shakeel Husain, a seller in Lal Kuan, Chandni Chowk, says, “Ooh La La is a hot favourite with kite lovers. It doesn’t fly very great but everybody is buying them for sure. 

“The next best buy is Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif kites which have caught the eye of the customers,” he adds. 

However, those who are really passionate about kite-flying and want to win the competition in the skies, are still buying the traditional paper kites, which till date remains the ‘most wanted’ from across categories. 

“No matter what new design and style comes into the market, it is the old style kites which are preferred by young and old alike. The reason is that they are the lightest of all, fly easily and change direction fast – even in windy conditions,’’ says Prashant, a shopkeeper in Sadar Bazaar. 

Nitin Jain, who sells fancy Chinese kites alongwith other kites in Lal Kuan, agrees. Fancy Chinese kites come in attractive shapes of airplanes, dragons and other interesting motifs and are made of cloth. 

They are used mainly for demonstration and less for competition. Priced at Rs 10, 15 and 100, they fly only in one direction. “One should have mastery over flying these heavy kites. A strong cotton string works the best for them.” he says. 

Irrespective of what people are buying, make sure you have your own favourite kite up there too. Or will you pass up the desire to own a piece of your sky – even if its for a day?