Kites promo leaked

Rakesh Roshan's Kites, scheduled for a worldwide release on May 21, has had its share of upheavals. And there's no end to their problems.

Says a source, "This film that is Rakesh's most ambitious venture has two versions. The international version, as is common knowledge now, is being edited by Hollywood's Brett Ratner because Rakesh feels Ratner's sensibilities will make it suitable for an international palate."

What however comes as a shocker is the fact that Rakesh Roshan allegedly approached 3 Idiots director Raj Kumar Hirani to edit the desi version. A trade source says that 10 days ago, Rakesh reportedly met up with Raju and asked him if he could do the final edit of Kites.

Now there is a history to this request. Not only is Raju Hirani Bollywood's most celebrated filmmaker after 3 Idiots, he is also a very talented editor. Since he passed out of FTII (Film and Television Institute of India), Hirani has edited most of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's films; that is before he made his debut as an independent director with Munnabhai MBBS (2003).

The source adds that after the stupendous success of 3 Idiots, Rakesh felt it would be prudent to get someone of Raju's expertise to sit in on the final edit of the Hrithik Roshan-Barbara Mori love saga. Raj Kumar Hirani's office denied the story.

However, our source says that one reason why Raju couldn't comply with Rakesh's wish is because he was previously committed to travel to Los Angeles to join Vidhu Vinod Chopra to finalise scripts for their joint productions - Ferrari Ki Sawari and Munnabhai Chale Amrika. Raju, who is booked to fly out of India on Feb 6, could naturally not change his schedule at the nth hour to accommodate Kites.