Salaam-E-Ishq

Salaam-e-Ishq is the second new Indian movie i have ever seen, and so I speak from a western view point. This movie is quite good, especially the first 2 hours. The characters are diverse, and so are their stories. Many dialogs are absolutely hilarious. Passages from comedy to drama episodes are done carefully, and the movie rolls by in a dynamic, entertaining way. However, towards the end of the second hour the movie starts to stretch. Some scenes are unnecessary, and some songs are too long and could have been saved for the ending. As a result, by the time the conclusion comes, one starts gazing at the watch. Also,towards the end, the drama is in some cases exaggerated and not every actor and actress manage to pull it off well. For the rest of the movie, performances range from excellent to satisfactory. This movie should have been edited down to about two and a half hours and would have been perfect. Still, it's a good one to see with your friends, or someone you love. The great comedy and the diverse issues make it worth it.

Ya, ya - I've heard all about how long this movie is. But then a monumental epic never hurt anyone - as long as it's entertaining. Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq has all the right ingredients - an incredible cast, rocking music and six delightful stories about love. The Problem? When the theatrewallah gets into scissorhands mode, viewers are in for some trying times.

How did Anil Kapoor get his arm in a sling? Apparently, he fell down (a colleague informs me). But shouldn't I see it on screen instead of wondering why Kapoor is sling-free in one frame and sling-full in the next. Media reports suggest that Advani, bombarded with complaints of the film being unbearably long, decided to make a few cuts himself. Bad move cos there's nothing worse than bad editing.

Anyway, that's not the only problem. Advani also has problems weaving in the six love stories together - the stitches are quite visible in some cases.

My favourite couple - Govinda and Shannon. The taxi-driver falling for an American was quite an original concept. Can't say the same for the Haryanvi combo of Sohail-Ishaa though. That track could have been safely edited out.

John Abraham and Vidya Balan have done some good work too and so have most of the others (including Priyanka Chopra). But Advani lacks the finesse of Karan Johar (who btw has a phone-in cameo in the film). In Johar's hands, Salaam-e-Ishq would have been gold. In his protégé's hands, the film is not the blockbuster it could have been.

Watch out for Kailash Kher's 'Ya Rabba' number. It left several in the audience teary-eyed and is easily the best song of the film.

OK the director remakes LOVE ACTUALLY The director Nikhil Advani after debuting with KHNH does his second half and wait

He makes a 3:30 hours + film which loses on patience, time.etc The viewer seems like a 3 hrs sleep watching this film

OK they had 6 stories so it was necessary but why? 6 stories?

We have the Anil- Juhi story convincing but boring don't TV serials show such stories?

We have Govinda- Shannon story which is funny and works well

We have Akshaye-Ayesha story again believable but gets boring soon and the focus is on comedy more and that too slapstick boring comedy

We have Salman- Priyanka story which is the worst, not just acting terms, it makes no sense at all

We have Sohail- Isha story to make you laugh and the trick works at times thanks to the boredom set by most of other stories

We have John- Vidya story a good story in all respects

But then by the time all stories come in bits n pieces the viewer gets bored and sleepy The climax isn't appealing though especially The climax of Salman- Priyanka story Nikhil Advani's handling is alright at places, some stories are well handled but weak at places Music(SEL)is good, but too many songs Cinematography is nice, every story is given a different look, texture and it works

Actors Govinda rocks, after a dismissal comeback with BB he actually makes you laugh and love him in this film despite his age and weight Anil Kapoor acts his part well, though he looks out of shape and tired John excels in his part, Akshaye Khanna overacts for a change

Sohail Khan is too over- the - top and Isha has nothing to do Anjana Suknani is dismissal

Priyanka and Salman deserve an award for this film you are shocked?

Salman Khan doesn't act only, just talks like he is in his sleep and that fake accent oh god Priyanka overacts to such a standard you feel like throwing something on her, she does get better towards the end Vidya Balan is good, Juhi Chawla is okay Shannon is okay

What annoys me about this movie is that it could have been a classic. I mean come on this movie had so many stars in it and they couldn't afford a decent editor. I watched on a movie channel recently and with the adverts put in it was over 4 hours. I could see that the director was aiming for an epic love story on the lines of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai and Hum Aapke Hain Koun, which were long movies but he went too far.

Another problem with Salaam e Isnq is that there were so many stories and not all of them are good, I mean what was the point of the Sohail Khan storyline. They could have cut that part out and concentrated on the decent stories. The Salman Khan- Priyanka Chopra, Akshaye Khanna- Ayesha Takia story lines were an improvement but were still quite weak Amongst the good ones were the John Abraham-Vidya Balan, Govinda storyline and the Anil Kapoor- Juhi Chawla storyline.

The climax could have been thrilling but instead was a bore (I mean come on spending over 15 minutes on the climax you have got to be kidding me). On the other hand it is definitely not the worst film of the year and there were a lot of entertaining moments. The songs also were very good, especially the title song and Tenu Leke. If you have a couple of hours on your hands then you should give it a go. Could have been another Kuch Kuch Hota Hai instead becomes a Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

this movie has lot of downsides and thats all i could see. it is painfully long and awfully directed. i could see whole audience getting impatient and waiting for it to end. run time is way over 3 hrs which could have been edited to less then 2 hrs.

transition between stories is average. most people confessed being on seating expecting something better to come out.

its funny only in pockets. ambitious project and a below par execution. govinda does a fair job, anil kapoor disappointed me, rest we as expected. if u r expecting anything close to babel or love actually then its no where close.