Kambakkht Ishq

'Kambakkht Ishq' has been in the buzz for a long,long time. The film has been awaited... why? Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor are the lead actors, the film is produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and has 3 Hollywood Supertstars, Stallone, Routh and Denise Richards. But with all these trumps does this flick entertain? The answer is NO!

The problem with Kambakkht Ishq is that it's a senseless film. The film hardly has a script, Debutant Director Sabbir Khan makes a disappointing fare. The first hr of the film is yet passable, but the second is just unbearable. The film has 'A' class production value, but script wise, its a complete disappointment.

Pluses of the film: Sajid Nadiadwala is a classy producer, he has left no stone unturned to make this flick. Akshay, Kareena, Stallone, Routh & Denise Richards are the pluses as well. Akshay is in form once again, but he's again done a film that throws even the least amount of logic into the trash bin. Kareena looks great and delivers a good performance. Stallone, Routh, Denise are perfect in cameos. Stallone's action scene, where he bashes up the goons will be will loved by one and all. Aftab & Amrita do their parts perfectly. Vindhu Singh is just right.

Minuses: Sabbir Khan's direction and screenplay. Anu Malik's music is mediocre. Talented actors like Kirron Khan and Jaaved Jaffery are wasted in apologetic roles.

Those 5 stars are in order -- 1 for Sajid Nadiadwala's high class production, 1 for Akki, 1 for Kareena, 1 for Stallone, and 1 is shared by Denise and Routh.

To sum up the review, 'Kambakkht Ishq' is a letdown.

Don't go expecting a great movie, it's not.

But it is also not "the worst of the worst" etc. It is uneven. There are jokes that might appeal to a 13 year old that are dreadfully stale and in poor taste for adults. The scriptwriter's sense of how a person becomes a doctor in the US is bizarre. I don't know if this matches Indian practice in some way but it certainly doesn't represent even a nodding acquaintance with the American hospital scene.

The situations and language will not shock anyone used to US films, though they are probably fairly shocking for Bollywood, and I do not know to what extent the subtitles represented a taming of the language in Hindi. Someone complained about nudity--I don't count presumed nudity under sheets as nudity.

That said, there are some nice moments, and a great sense of energy throughout. If you have high tolerance for silliness, this is fun. My husband who is not a Bollywood fan, enjoyed it.

Gosh, I thought that they had buried movies about the 'battle of the sexes' and 'swashbuckling stunt-men' way back in the 20th Century. And yet, here it is, all exhumed, reanimated and outfitted with Hollywood names the likes of Sly Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh - and called 'Kambakkht Ishq'. The title is derived from the popular number, 'Kambakkht Ishq' from Ram Gopal Varma's film, 'Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya'.

Directed by Sabbir Khan, 'Kambakkht Ishq' is loud, crude, clichéd, campy and utterly predictable. And if you are curious about the (advertised) roles of its Hollywood supporting stars, let's say that their parts are so cheesy, you can open a pastry shop with them. Imagine a geriatric Stallone reprising his Rambo role and you will know what I mean.

The movie is a remake of the 2002 Tamil film 'Pammal K. Sambandam'. It is about a 'super' Indian stuntman in Hollywood (Akshay Kumar as Viraj Shergill) who meets an Indian supermodel (Kareena Kapoor as Simrita Rai) at his brother's (Aftab Shivdasani as Lucky) wedding in church. Both the leads are unhappy about the marriage of Lucky and Simrita's sister Kamini (Amrita Arora) and the battle lines are drawn at the wedding reception where we see the movie's most dazzlingly choreographed number that ends in a tasteless and farcical brawl.

Yeah, Viraj and Simrita hate each other. In Bollywood terms, it means they are gonna do lots of idiotic things before they finally realise that they love each other right from the get-go.

The first half is more tolerable than the second. Sabbir Khan loads the first hour with action-packed stunt sequences and dance numbers that take us from Hollywood to Italy. Then he has to take such a long time to render the outcome of the 'battle of the sexes' plot which everyone in the audience already knows. And if that is not bad enough, Sabbir Khan also does recaps of his scenes - in case we missed them or forget them! The director also could not resist crude 'American Pie' gags like having the protagonist fart in the face of a bride, having the heroine curse like a sailor; and going over-the-top with an 'anal search' scene. Character development is minimal, and the cast are unimpressive, with the age-old device of having the 'hero' supported by a clownish aide (in the form of Vindu Dara Singh). And whose idea was it to have Viraj undergo open abdomen surgery without anaesthesia? Of the stars, Kareena shines brightest in a badly-written role. She is the most watchable but alas, not quite enough good to stop this "Dumbakkht" from sinking.

Kambakkht Ishq is a very cheap comedy. Akshay Kumar once again fails to prove and bring new in himself. For me, this movie is nothing. Just bores you. Total waste of time and money. Very cheap comedy throughout the movie and the story says Kambakkht Ishq = SEX. I was expecting Akshay will prove himself. The only thing I found worth was Kareena Kapoor's body which director has focused very much. Anu Mallik's music is totally disappointing. Doesn't entertain you any moment. The film has no story, revolves around just one aspect sex and affairs. So, to take my word don't go for this movie. Instead sit in your home and hire some great DVDs and watch them. The film is not worth watching. Let god save Akshay...

While this is no masterpiece of any kind it does do what it is set out to do. And that is entertain. The problem however is that it entertaining for a certain kind of audience. In it's heart this is a romantic comedy that distances itself from the traditional Bollywood love story. Although it does contain elements from that genre. Basically the love story is more westernized and that apparently is too much for your typical Bollywood fan too handle.Bollywood fans want to see the same thing over and over again. Any change or modernization is felt as a slap in their face. And this is something I just don't understand. Since most of what is happening in this movie is pretty universal especially the conflict between the main characters. I have to admit that some scenes are far too silly and drag the movie a bit. But for the most of it is all good fun. Ignore the critics and you might be surprised how entertaining this movie actually is.