Film Review: KAMBAKKHT ISHQ

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Akshay Kumar, Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora, Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards, Javed Jaffrey, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani
Director: Sabbir Khan
What Kambakkht Ishq is all about: Viraj (Akshay Kumar) is a stuntman in Hollywood and is a regular stud. His brother Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani) gets married to Kamini (Amrita Arora) much to her friend Simrita’s (Kareena Kapoor) disgust. Viraj does not approve of Lucky’s wedding either. He believes in the motto ‘love them and leave them’. The rest of the film is about the sparks flying between Viraj and Simrita. You need not exactly watch this Bollywood flick to find out whether they get together.
What we liked about Kambakkht Ishq: Akshay gets hotter and better as he gets older. The stunt scenes that he is taking part in have been shot excellently. And the actor has done very well. Comedy, emotion, flirting, whatever – Akshay walks through with total ease.
What we did not like about Kambakht Ishq: The first thing that caught my attention is that the film is a straight rip-off from Kamal Haasan’s Tamil film Pammal K. Sambandam. I only wish that the comedy was as good, but no such luck. Taking a basic outline and working a new story around it is even understandable. But the whole story is a copy.
Kareena – well, the actress looks HOT! But besides that even as she has performed her role well, she is just too intense. Subtlety is definitely not her forte.
Javed Jaffrey has two and a half scenes and he has performed very well. They could have definitely made better use of him. Boman Irani is in a ‘blink and miss’ role. What’s happening? I can’t but recall Akshay Kumar and his editing scissors – may be they are not a joke after all. Again, Kirron Kher – such a versatile actress as she has proved over and over again – is in such a small role that has no impact at all. It gives her no chance to test her acting skills. Just anybody could have done an Aunt Dolly. Come on, this is Kirron Kher – what a waste!
If you want to go ‘gaga’ over Hollywood, the Star Walk of Fame, Beverly Hills, etc. this may not be the film for you. They show very small glimpses of these. There is one award function for stunt actors and the scenes showing the Hollywood stars are obvious video shots from Oscars and other award shows. I only wish they had taken shots from older award functions as Angelina Jolie’s huge emerald earrings from the latest Oscars are still to be erased from people’s memories.
Sylvester Stallone looks old, ugly and sags all over. I don’t understand what the excitement is all about. Denise Richards also looks too old and not quite second heroine material. Makes one wonder whether these Hollywood one-time biggies paid to be a part of this Bollywood flick.
The Censor Board has become quite lax or had gone to sleep while certifying this film. The amount of bad language used is tremendous – bitch, bastard, balls, etc. We still watch late night TV shows with words lesser than this silenced.
Verdict: If you are an Akshay Kumar fan, go for it.
Rating: **

* Silly
** Shaky
*** Smart
**** Snazzy
***** Super