I’ve never done this before and perhaps I’m going out on a limb here but instead of an introduction I’m simply going to tell you, the reader, that Kambakkht Ishq is merely an addition to the numerous time pass films that Bollywood like to produce. Phew! Such a burden off my chest. It completely lives up to what it promised to do though: entertain fashionably. The film starring the ultra slim—and she’s finally rid herself of the size zero nonsense, Kareena Kapoor and Akskay Kumar back in his action avatar also claimed to be a complete battle of the sexes. Sajid Nadiadwala left no stone unturned for his new production directed by Sabhir Khan. Adding to the starry star cast were both Denise Richards and Sylvester Stallone who basically represented Hollywood in this flick. Read on as I divulge more about this one which honestly had me asking myself, “When will this Kambakht film be over already!”
Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar) is Hollywood’s ace stuntman and the local womanizer. When best bud Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani) decides to take the plunge into marriage with Kamini (Amrita Arora), he turns up to convince him to do so otherwise. It is there he meets surgeon and part-time model Dr. Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor) a.k.a. Bebo. After a heated argument, the duo embark on a nasty and treacherous “friendship.” Shergill and Rai constantly meet only to detest each other more by the day. When an accident occurs and Shergill is rushed to the hospital only to be operated by Dr. Rai is when the film takes a sharp twist. From then on, it’s a matter of seduction, partition and love-addiction.
The best parts of the film are as follows: Kareena Kapoor’s absolutely fabulous wardrobe, intricate actions scenes by Akshay Kumar, Kirron Kher and Javed Jaffrey’s individual comical scenes and lastly, the locales. Kambakht Ishq on the hold has no real foundation as a film. From the first scene until the last, Kumar and Kapoor are constantly bashing each other, their lines of work and the opposite sex. While it may initially seem humorous, after a while it was like hitting yourself on the head with a bat. And while we may have developed more recently into a perhaps more modern society, this film contained far too many crude and pun-intended jokes. Sabhir Khan has done justice to film only because he had to play with a script, which he has co-written, that really demanded nothing.
In terms of performances, Akshay Kumar is his usual over-the-top self. However, while he may not be able to adorn the best actor crown, kudos to him for his actually doing every stunt in the film. He was incredible. That said, he really must consider shifting gears now and contemplate more intelligent roles. His action stunts and typical comedy is becoming far too boring now. Kareena Kapoor is slightly better but her expansive clothing—shoes and bags included, stole the show. Her character had no real reason to be so anti-men and was extremely poorly etched out. Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora and Vindu Dara Singh try hard but have little scope. Sylvester Stallone and Denise Richards both look lost in a Hindi film to be quite frank.
But don’t lose heart just yet. Kirron Kher is pretty darn funny in this one. Her portrayal of the wannabe young and looking-to-marry aunt was not only humorous but cute even. Javed Jaffrey, who plays a Sindhi from Ulhasnagar looking for ways to file law suits, is ultra funny. And for all the fashionista’s out there, if you have no reason to watch the film, Kareena Kapoor’s impressive choice of clothing needs to be applauded. She looked a million bucks in every scene courtesy of all the major designers that kindly lent their pieces to her—which she wore with great style and
