<i>Salaam-E-Ishq</i> - Review
By:
Taran
Adarsh,
IndiaFM
Monday,
January
29,
2007
Six
stories.
Twelve
characters.
Helmed
by
a
supremely
talented
director.
Yet,
Salaam-E-Ishq,
an
ode
to
love,
a
celebration
of
love,
a
film
that
salutes
love,
lacks
the
power
to
make
you
fall
in
love
with
it.
It's
high
on
hype.
But
extremely
low
on
content.
Reason:
Too
many
stories
spoil
the
broth!
Let's
get
to
the
root
of
the
problem
right
away.
Where
does
this
desi
adaptation
of
LOVE
ACTUALLY
falter?
[a]
Barring
two
stories,
the
remaining
stories
are
not
well
etched.
It
looks
like
a
disjointed
effort.
And
also
amateurish
at
times.
More
on
that
later!
[b] The style of narrating the stories is abstract. It takes time to get a hang of things. And when you actually fathom what's going on, you realize that its appeal is restricted to a thin section of moviegoers. For the majority of viewers, especially the masses, absorbing the six stories running simultaneously is as difficult as sipping lassi, sherbet, cola, juice and milk simultaneously.
[c] The film suffers -- and badly at that -- due to its unwarranted length. Either Nikhil Advani fell in love with the film and lost all objectivity or the editor doesn't know his job well and forgot to use the scissors. Or, perhaps, the editor had no say in the matter. What could've been conveyed in a concise format of 2 + hours is stretched to a boring 3.30 hours. The film goes on and on and on endlessly!
Nikhil Advani proved his abilities in his directorial debut Kal Ho Naa Ho, but the problem with Salaam-E-Ishq is that he tries to pack too many stories and too many incidents in one film. Never stretch a rubber band beyond a point. It's bound to give away. Salaam-E-Ishq tests the patience of the viewer for this very reason!
On the brighter side, Nikhil has handled certain sequences remarkably. In fact, he does pull off some amazingly well-tuned moments as well as some funny ones. But as the captain of the ship, he should've ensured that the writing is foolproof. Either he got carried away with the script or he realized he had to do justice to the magnum cast, resulting in this labour of love proving one laborious exercise for the watcher.
To cut a long story short, Salaam-E-Ishq disappoints big time!
Story
1:
Tehzeeb
[Vidya
Balan]
wakes
up
in
the
morning
to
find
a
small
diamond
pendant
by
her
bedside.
It's
an
anniversary
gift
from
her
romantic
husband
Ashu
[John
Abraham].
Things
take
a
turn
when
Tehzeeb
is
involved
in
a
tragic
train
accident.
She
loses
memory!
Story
2:
Raju
[Govinda],
a
cabbie,
meets
his
'dream
girl' Stephanie
[Shanon
Esra],
who's
come
looking
for
Rohit
[Kushal
Punjabi],
her
boyfriend,
in
India.
Rohit
decides
to
marry
an
Indian
girl
of
his
parents'
choice,
while
Stephanie
gradually
falls
in
love
with
Raju.
Story
3:
Vinay
[Anil
Kapoor]
leads
a
perfect
life.
He
has
a
loving
wife
Seema
[Juhi
Chawla]
and
two
kids.
Also,
a
perfect
job
in
London.
But
things
change
when
he
bumps
into
Anjali
[Anjana
Sukhani].
Anjali
comes
from
a
world
that
Vinay
only
dreams
of.
Vinay's
life
undergoes
a
tumultuous
change.
Story
4:
Kamini
[Priyanka
Chopra],
an
item
girl
in
Bollywood,
aspires
for
the
coveted
heroine's
role
in
a
Karan
Johar
film.
She
devises
a
plot
to
change
her
image
by
announcing
that
she's
into
a
serious
relationship
with
a
fictitious
character
Rahul.
Suddenly,
Rahul
[Salman
Khan]
enters
the
scene
from
nowhere!
Story
5:
Shiven
[Akshaye
Khanna],
the
most
eligible
bachelor
in
New
Delhi,
is
engaged
to
get
married
in
the
next
10
days.
But
he
develops
cold
feet.
He
wants
to
break
off
the
engagement.
And
he
does
so
by
hurting
his
fiancÉ
Gia
[Ayesha
Takia]
in
the
bargain.
Gradually,
he
begins
to
realize
that
he
is
incomplete
without
Gia.
Story 6: Ramdayal [Sohail Khan] is a middle class Haryanvi, married to Phoolwati [Isha Koppikar]. No matter how and where Ramdayal tries to fulfill that burning desire, something goes wrong.
Now
let's
dissect
each
of
the
stories...
Salman-Priyanka:
This
one
sends
out
confusing
signals.
The
entire
exercise
--
Priyanka
desperately
wanting
to
star
in
a
Karan
Johar
film
and
Salman
latching
on
to
her
--
is
a
shining
example
of
amateurish
writing.
Salman
loves
Priyanka,
but
she
loves
her
career.
So
how
does
this
ambitious
woman
change
so
suddenly?
Salman
hardly
does
anything
dramatic
to
bring
about
a
revolution
in
her
life.
And
Karan
Johar's
phone
calls
to
Priyanka
make
the
film-maker
sound
so
desperate.
In
fact,
Nikhil
has
belittled
his
mentor
[Karan
Johar]
and
made
him
appear
like
an
opportunistic
film-maker!
Anil-Juhi-Anjana: An interesting concept. Mirrors the truth. But Anil's transformation [shaves off his moustache, wears bizarre outfits and breaks into a dance] takes it away from reality. The rift between Anil-Juhi is brilliant, but Anjana's character gets a hasty exit. Is the other woman always black?
Govinda-Shanon: A thin story that's stretched unnecessarily. Yet, the conversations between the desi babu and videsh mem keep you engrossed. The culmination to this story [at the wedding] is interesting.
John-Vidya: Clearly, the best story of the lot. And what takes it further is the twist in the tale -- Vidya losing her memory and John trying every possible thing to revive her memory. The sequence at Akshaye's residence is outstanding.
Akshaye-Ayesha: Believable. But too verbose to the point of getting boring. Also, the sequences could've been much more convincing. The incident that brings about a change in his life [John-Vidya sequence] is apt.
Sohail-Isha:
Crass.
Tries
so
hard
to
be
funny,
but
isn't.
Perhaps,
the
front
benchers
might
like
it.
This
track
disappears
suddenly.
Kya
hua,
Director
sahab?
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's
music
is
pleasant.
'Dil
Kya
Kare'
[rendered
beautifully
by
Adnan
Sami]
and
the
title
track
are
two
numbers
that
stand
out.
'Babuji
Dheere
Chalna'
[filmed
on
Anjana]
is
another
pertinent
track
that
comes
at
the
right
place.
Piyush
Shah's
cinematography
is
excellent.
The
film
bears
a
consistent
look
all
through.
Of the twelve important characters and the sundry supporting ones, Govinda [suits the role and also does well], Akshaye Khanna [exceptional], John Abraham [dependable], Vidya Balan [wonderful], Shanon Esra [pleasant surprise] and Juhi Chawla [credible] leave a mark.
Salman looks fake. Priyanka hams. Someone should tell her that acting and screeching are two different things. Anil Kapoor looks jaded. Anjana is decent, but her role is half-baked. Ayesha Takia gets minimal scope. Sohail and Isha are hardly there. Amongst supporting actors, Prem Chopra, Tinnu Anand and Vishal Malhotra [Akshaye's friend] are noticeable.
On the whole, Salaam-E-Ishq has one major ace -- its massive star cast, which has translated into tremendous hype. But the deficiencies outweigh everything in this enterprise -- disjointed script, abstract style of narrating the story and excessive length [3.30 hours/23 reels]. At the box-office, the tremendous hype will result in a bountiful first weekend, but Salaam-E-Ishq lacks the power to walk on its feet after the initial euphoria subsides. The business at multiplexes will be strong in the initial days only, but the film will cut a sorry figure at single screens and also at screens dominated by masses. Highly disappointing!
Recent
Stories
Risk
Guru