#KetchupCut: Why the kite-flying sequence in Raees in peak SRK romance!

Raees biting off his kite string after slicing off Aasiya's romanticised pyaar mein haarna in the most flirtatious way!

As a 2000s kid, my idea of romance has been shaped by Shah Rukh Khan. I believe‘pyaar dosti hai’, romanticise ‘ek tarfa pyaar’ and believe true love transcends borders! Of course my experiences have time and again contradicted the aforementioned notions but I often blame SRK for setting such unrealistic expectations of romance for an entire generation, only to quietly admit, deep down, that what he really did was set the standard! And it's not just his grand acts in love but those thousand little things that make our hearts skip - the way he looks at his heroine, the tender way he tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, that iconic arms stretch that somehow feels big enough to hold the whole world’s love! SRK doesn’t just sell us romance, he teaches us how to long for it beautifully. One such moment that lives in our heads rent-free is the kite-flying sequence before the song Udi Udi Jaye from Rahul Dholakia's Raees. 

What makes this scene even more appealing is SRK, unlike a hardcore romantic Rahul or Raj, plays Raees - a ‘Miyan Bhai’ who commands an illegal alcohol empire and has his own way of dealing with seasoned kingpins. A man from the 1980s, Raees sports Pathani suits with kohl-clad eyes and a heavy beard that adds to the intensity of his ‘don’t mess with me’ look. The sequence here features the kite flying competition unfolding in full swing, amid which he is also shown dictating terms of a partnership to a group of mafias he once worked for. The character is dropping ‘gangster’ dialogues one after another. However, soon after the deal is closed, we are quickly segued to the pookie side of our protagonist. Again, the romance here isn’t about over-the-top declarations - it’s about stolen glances, a sweet little symbolic surrender in love and the magic SRK weaves in the smallest moments on-screen that make them so memorable. What makes the scene more relatable is the fact that it moves away from his usual sophisticated urban vibe to lean into a raw, earthy and alpha-yet-tender moment of desi romance.

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We see a man who fearlessly takes on a powerful nexus of politicians, underworld and a hostile system daily, shyly trying to impress his childhood sweetheart through a small but significant gesture. Just moments after outsmarting the syndicate and coming out on top, we see Raees laughing triumphantly as he slices through his opponent’s kite string in the intense kite war. However, the celebration soon turns embarrassing as some laughter and teasing from his friends present on the terrace make him realise that he has eliminated Aasiya (Mahira Khan), his muse’s kite instead. Cut to the opposite roof, we see Aasiya and her friends furiously looking at Raees for knocking their kite out of the competition. And what he does next has SRK romance written all over it. Wearing a tender smile on his lips and locking his magnetic gaze on Aasiya, he bites off the string of his kite, symbolising that he is willing to let go of his victory and sacrifice his win, just to make her happy and win her affection. It's a gesture that signified that the mightiest man of the city doesn’t mind losing for his woman.

For others, the scene could be a quintessential Bollywood move to impress a girl, which conveys that the protagonist here is not just a ruthless businessman, he's also a romantic who has a softer side to his personality. But for SRK fans, it is something deeper; it's a tender lesson on how breathtaking chivalry, quiet sacrifice and vulnerabilitycan be in love.

What do you think about this scene? Tell us in the comments below!

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