Review of Kambakkht Ishq
July 4, 2009 by TFSJ
On the whole, Kambakkht Ishq has taken a flying start but, considering its high cost, what was needed was also the power to sustain, which the film lacks. Therefore, although exhibitors will smile from ear to ear, the makers/distributors will have reason to worry as collections will drop down after a bountiful weekend (maybe, four days – till Monday). Recovery of the heavy investment seems to be a far cry.
Eros International and Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.’s Kam- bakkht Ishq (UA) is about the battle of the sexes. Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar) is a stuntman of repute, working in Hollywood. Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor) is an aspiring surgeon who pursues modelling to fund her education. Both of them hate the very concept of marriage. Viraj’s brother, Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani), gets married to Simrita’s friend, Kamini (Amrita Arora) in spite of opposition from both, Viraj and Simrita. Obviously then, Viraj and Simrita get to know each other and the closer they come, the more they hate one another.
Simrita’s first patient in the operation theatre happens to be Viraj who has been injured in the abdomen while performing a stunt. Simrita sews up Viraj’s abdomen after surgery but, to her bad luck, her wrist watch gets deposited in the abdomen. Viraj leaves the hospital after surgery. As the watch, which had been gifted to Simrita by her maternal aunt (Kiron Kher), plays a pre-recorded mantra at regular intervals, Viraj starts hearing the mantra every now and then, unaware that it is emanating from with- in himself. Simrita realises her folly and, for obvious reasons, is keen to remove the wrist watch from Viraj’s body.
In the meantime, Viraj and Simrita have succeeded in creating havoc in the married lives of Lucky and Kamini who are now on the verge of a divorce. Seeing Lucky very depressed, Viraj vows to save the marriage and for this, he tries to woo Simrita. But, in the process, he actually falls in love with her. On the other hand, Simrita plays along with Viraj only so long as she is able to remove the watch from his body, dumping him thereafter.
Rejected and dejected, Viraj, who is an incorrigible flirt, decides to marry Hollywood actress Denise Richards (Denise Richards). How Simrita realises her folly, saves Lucky and Kamini’s marriage and ultimately wins over Viraj is what the climax is all about.
The film begins as a racy entertainer with comedy as its high point. Although crude at several places, the humour is entertaining, especially whenever Viraj comes on the scene. Of course, the double-meaning dialogues will not go down too well with the class audience but the masses will lap them up except when the humour is class-appealing. Even some of the innocent humour (like sue, ‘suee’, ‘suer’) will not be understood by the audience in smaller centres.
Post-interval, the film’s comic flavour takes a back seat as screenplay writers Kiran Kotrial, Anvita Dutt Guptan, Ishita Moitra and Sabbir Khan change tracks and bring in the elements of emotions and love. And that is the film’s undoing. For, so long as the drama is nonsensical, the audience does- n’t seem to mind the humour, but the half-baked romance and the equally half-baked emotions don’t strike a chord in the viewers’ hearts. Also, the screenplay has gaping holes in the second half. Viraj promises to save Lucky’s marriage but is shown to give up once Simrita rejects him.
This is not expected of a hero, especially, and also, because he was partly responsible for Lucky’s marriage being on the rocks. Simrita is shown to be impressed by Viraj when he bags the best stuntman award, gifted to him by no less than Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone himself, which is very fine because her presence at the awards function is meant to change her heart. But she reverts to looking down upon Viraj after a few days, once she succeeds in taking out the foreign body from his abdomen.
Again, such a wild change in a heroine’s characterisation will not be easily digested by the audience. Simrita is disgusted after inadvertently spending a night in bed with Viraj, but she doesn’t mind acceding to his request, soon thereafter, to wear a swimming costume and jump into the sea with him. Viraj knew that he would slip a ring in her finger under water, but why was Simrita so keen to go swimming with him, after her night out with him? The outburst of Simrita’s aunt about Simrita being a burden on her, fails to create the emotional impact it was intended to create, if only because it comes like a bolt from the blue.
In other words, the second half works when there’s comedy but dips when serious drama takes precedence. Dialogues (Anvita Dutt Guptan) are very witty and enjoyable.
Akshay Kumar is the life of the film and shines in a power-packed performance. But for him, the film would’ve looked too tame. Kareena Kapoor looks stunningly gorgeous and also acts like a thorough feminist with an attitude. Aftab Shivdasani gets limited scope and is good. Amrita Arora lends able support. Jaaved Jafferi’s comedy is entertaining but it has limited impact for two reasons – one, it has not been integrated well enough with the main story and secondly, some of his jokes have too much of a class appeal. Vindoo Dara Singh is alright. Kiron Kher suffers on account of a sketchy role. Boman Irani leaves a mark in a brief role. Rajesh Khera does well.
The actress playing Kareena Kapoor’s sister is ordinary. Hollywood star Sylvester Stallone, playing himself, doesn’t really add to the drama or to his character. The role could as well have been played by an Indian star, that too, to advantage because Stallone’s presence would not mean much to the audience in small towns. Hollywood actress Denise Richards doesn’t look as sexy and desirable as she ought to have looked. Brandon Routh adds star value for those who are fans of Hollywood stars.
Sabbir Khan’s direction is good, considering that this is his debut-making film, but the weak script does not justify the huge budget of the film (over Rs. 60 crore). Music (Anu Malik and RDB) is very good. The title song, ‘Om Mangalam’, ‘Lakh lakh’ and ‘Bebo main Bebo’ are fast-paced numbers. ‘Kyun’ has melody. Song picturisations (Vaibhavi Merchant) are stylish but ought to have been novel too. Vikas Sivaraman’s camerawork is splendid. Locations of the USA and Italy have been presented so beautifully that they make for a veritable visual treat. Spiro Razatos’ stunts are breathtaking. Production values are grand. Technically, of a high standard.
On the whole, Kambakkht Ishq has taken a flying start but, considering its high cost, what was needed was also the power to sustain, which the film lacks. Therefore, although exhibitors will smile from ear to ear, the makers/distributors will have reason to worry as collections will drop down after a bountiful weekend (maybe, four days – till Monday). Recovery of the heavy investment seems to be a far cry.
Released on 3-7-’09 at Regal (matinee), Eros, New Excelsior, Liberty, Dreamland E-Square (daily 4 shows), Maratha Mandir and 106 other cinemas of Bombay by Eros International Media Pvt. Ltd. Publicity: extraordinary. Opening: bumper. …….Also released all over. Opening was superb everywhere.
Issue dated July 5 – 11, 2009
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