By Taran Adarsh, January 25, 2007 - 16:21 IST

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!

Write your own movie review of Salaam-e-Ishq
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!

1 1/2 out of 5

Salaam-E-Ishq: Stars shine in mediocre film

Sukanya Verma | January 26, 2007 01:35 IST



More is merry. Excess is fun. But the key to it all is balance. Alas, director Nikhil Advani is no juggler. He manages to throw half a dozen balls in the air. But by the end of it, most of them find their way to the floor.


That's too bad, considering Salaam-E-Ishq could have really stood out. Not to say that the star-studded movie doesn't entertain. It does, but only in parts.


There are six storylines (scripted by Advani and Saurabh Shukla), parallel -- not interwoven. Eventually some of them become loosely connected to each other. Every story, however, has its own motive and mood. The switch from one track to another is simultaneous. This jump of sequences from Agra to Delhi to London to Mumbai is at times stylish, at others bumpy.


The movie opens with the most romantic pair of the ensemble -- John Abraham and Vidya Balan. They play Ashutosh and Tehzeeb --a happily married Hindu-Muslim couple working in the same news channel. They share an incredible chemistry and enormous love for each other. But a tragedy proves to be a dent on their blissful existence.


Then there's Raju (Govinda), the quintessential Bollywood cabbie -- eloquent, lyrical, golden-hearted dreamer. His lifelong fantasy involves a gori mem (white woman) walking into his taxi and them living happily ever after. One such fair female (Shannon Esra as Stephanie) does land in Delhi, but only in search of her pampered Indian boyfriend.


Meanwhile, London suburbanite Vinay Malhotra (Anil Kapoor) finds himself lusting after a pretty young thing (Anjana Sukhani), who conducts Bollywood dance classes. Obviously, dutiful wife Seema (Juhi Chawla) is not too glad about her hubby's naughty-at-forty ways.


Neither are we. Imagine AK, sans his moustache, in camouflage jackets and cargo pants, breakdancing in a nightclub.


High society young 'uns Shiven (Akshaye Khanna) and Gia (Ayesha Takia) are just engaged. Already their wedding seems in jeopardy thanks to Shiven's acute commitment-phobia. He tries every trick in the book, to hilarious effect, to push Gia towards a break-up. He succeeds, but is that what he really wants?


We all know the answer to that one.


What we don't know is why Rahul or Raoul (as Salman Khan pronounces his name in the movie) beats around the bush so much. He courts ambitious item girl Kamini (Priyanka Chopra) for her popularity. After she falls for him, he asks her to choose between him and a Karan Johar (making a telephonic guest appearance) film. As if!

Also, there's some lame mystery angle to his character's past which doesn't really make any difference to the plot. Except making Salaam-E-Ishq three-and-half hours long.


In this lengthy scheme of things, Advani incorporates a track featuring Sohail Khan and Isha Koppikar (at their over-the-top best), playing a newlywed perpetually in the mood couple from Haryana. The consistent mishaps foiling their attempts to be alone together are supposed to evoke laughs. But they leave you cringing. Humour at its worst.


Strange, considering Advani's debut flick Kal Ho Naa Ho was pretty amusing and chilled out in that sense.


This one makes silly gay jokes and contradicts itself by showing the television press as sensitive romantics and merciless hounds at the same time. Not to forget the relentless advertising of a jewellery brand, a movie magazine, a news channel and Karan Johar.


That's the problem with Salaam-E-Ishq. It's like a patchily stitched quilt; elegant in few places and tattered in others. It starts off slowly, picks up post-interval and then goes ballistic in the climax.


Even if Advani's execution is a letdown, most of the cast its job really well. Akshaye, John and Vidya emerge as the clear winners in this star-studded fare. Akshaye is mind-blowing. He plays a boyish, confused brat with a Calvin-esque (of Hobbes fame) flavour that is both endearing and entertaining. With Akshaye around, there isn't much scope for reel sweetheart Ayesha Takia. Yet the cute-faced actress infuses perky enthusiasm to an otherwise run-of-the-mill part.


John Abraham's body language is amazingly thoughtful and sensitive. He makes a wonderful romantic and bowls you with his uninhibited charm and compassionate aura. Also, he gets to say the best lines-- his chapter having shades of Fifty First Dates. Vidya Balan romances him back with equal fervour. Her transformation from a self-assured working woman to a helpless, vulnerable person is superb. They look lovely together and ought to team up more frequently.


With not too much to rely on in terms of characterisation, Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla rely on their own sensibilities and experience as actors to deliver touching performances. Their subtle gestures render layers to otherwise one-dimensional roles.


Priyanka Chopra showcases her flair for comedy, especially when she does take-offs on legendary tragedy queens -- Meena Kumari, Nargis and Madhubala. Plus, Priyanka looks like a million bucks in her chic designer wear and shiny make up. There's an interesting pub scene between her and Anil Kapoor towards the end -- quite confidently tackled by the young actress, holding her own against the veteran.


Her co-star Salman Khan's services are surprisingly underused. He plays the kind of lover-boy that made stars out of Biswajeet and Joy Mukherjee. Besides pronouncing his name with a funny twang and parading in fancy blazers, Sallu doesn't get to do anything substantial. Though he does a terrific job in an equally terrific song, Tainu leke (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy), strutting the streets of London with his trademark swagger and orange sherwani.

Govinda gets a good deal of footage and does an adequate job. Except his Raju is super-corny and gets overbearing after a while. His co-star Shannon Esra has an attractive screen presence, but cannot act.


Technically, Salaam-E-Ishq boasts of impressive camera angles (Piyush Shah) replete with Advani's penchant for the multiple-screen effect. On the flipside, Priya Raghunath's art design seems shoddy, discordant and Aarti Bajaj's editing could really do with a lot of help.


Did I mention the film is too long? Trust me, it is.


Finally, while it borrows the theme, format and even three plots (the ones featuring Alan Rickman, Colin Firth and Martin Freeman) from Richard Curtis's Love Actually, Salaam-E-Ishq never really celebrates the madness or magnitude of love. It merely skims the surface of the vagaries of its characters.


As a result, you feel neither involved nor sympathetic.


If only Salaam-E-Ishq had got its priority right. It is an ode to mediocrity, not love or cinema.



Rediff Rating: 3.5

If you've got FOUR HOURS of your life to kill, go watch this movie at the theaters. It's 3.75 hours long.....no intermission!

If you liked KHNH, this movie is far superior compared to that joke of a movie, so watch it!

I didn't like any of the songs, and especially hated the melodramatic ones. background score is sufficient. all that actors did justice to their roles, but it's hard to like sallu. would've been better with someone else. sohail was fantastic though in his comic role.


Although I didn't care for the results of any of the love stories, everything that lead up to it is worthy of your time. Good comedy flick overall.

If you've got FOUR HOURS of your life to kill, go watch this movie at the theaters. It's 3.75 hours long.....no intermission!

we've already established that Adarsh is a moron, but never hurts to mention it again: Adarsh is a moron^^^ Rediff review is accurate, no spoilers, not that it would matter

Bad movie to sum it up. The only worthwhile portions are Govinda, Akshaye Khanna and the Sohail Khan(which is frankly just a filler) episodes. I wish Advani had the brains to restrict the movie to just these characters and he might have had a winner. Jeez what the hell is wrong with Anil Kapoor. This guy actually hammed and he's quite a decent actor....man the things people sign on to do these days !

Gaarghhh... I think I'll give this a miss then.

actually, I felt even in theatric previews that haggred Govinda looked/act better here than his main re debut Bhagam Bhag!

actually, I felt even in theatric previews that haggred Govinda looked/act better here than his main re debut Bhagam Bhag!

yeah, this is exactly why it's worth watching. So avoid theaters, get DVD, skip everyone else's parts

I agree!! the rest it looked like saccharine coated Ghulami or any of old multistarrer JP flicks

Salaam-e-Ishq
(India)
By DEREK ELLEY
VARIETY

An Orion Pictures, MAD Entertainment production. Produced by Mukesh Talreja, Sunil Manchanda. Executive producer, Jitender Bagga. Directed by Nikhil Advani. Screenplay, Advani, Saurabh Shukla, Suresh Nair, Rahul Awate.

Tehzeeb Hussain Raina - Vidya Balan
Ashutosh Raina - John Abraham
Raju ("Taxiwala") - Govinda
Vinay Malhotra - Anil Kapoor
Anjali - Anjana Sukhani
Seema Bakshi Malhotra - Juhi Chawla
Stephanie - Shannon Esrechowitz
Kkamini - Priyanka Chopra
Rahul - Salman Khan
Shiven Dungarpur - Akshaye Khanna
Gia Bakshi - Ayesha Takia
Ramdayal - Sohail Khan
Phoolwati - Isha Koppikar

Six yarns of love, infatuation, longing and desire twist and turn across two continents and over 3½ hours in epic dramedy "Salaam-e-Ishq," which raises the Bollywood bar in a single stroke. Think "Love Actually" (Urdu title means "Hail, Love") but on a much larger emotional and physical canvas, and you're halfway there -- even without the catchy musical numbers. Strongly cast pic opened well in Indian plexes and overseas, though its extreme length (only a few minutes shy of "Lagaan") and general air of urbanized sophistication could hinder it in the long run with mass auds.
Director Nikhil Advani was schooled under helmer Karan Johar ("Kabhi khushi kabhie gham ... ") in slick, New Age Bollywood masalas, and repays his debt here with a running gag about Johar. "Salaam" is sometimes too knowing in its show-off editing and use of visual f/x and dateline intertitles but, as in his impressive, Gotham-set "Kal ho naa ho" (2003), Advani has a talent for drawing out performances that, at the end of the day, carry the emotions.

Six stories are intercut, with multiscreen sections occasionally reminding the audience where each is at. It's an extremely elaborate juggling act over such a long span, and one of the pic's triumphs is that it manages to bring all the different strands satisfyingly to a boil in the final reels, as well as interlocking most of them together.

Stories mostly hinge on crises in relationships that are sorted out in some way. Though it takes a while to click, one of the best vignettes centers on Raju (Govinda), a cab driver at New Delhi airport who fantasizes about his blonde dream girl coming out the doors one day. When she does, it turns out to be Stephanie (South African thesp Shannon Esrechowitz), a hard-assed Canadian who ends up going with him on an epic journey to Udaipur to track down her errant Indian b.f.

With each hardly speaking the other's language, a lot of the comedy and dialogue spins on verbal snafus in the early stages. But as mutual understanding blooms, the relationship (well played by both actors) morphs into a surprisingly touching interracial love story that forms the backbone of the whole movie.

With popular comic Govinda as the cabbie, strand is clearly designed to appeal to less sophisticated Indian auds -- as is the least developed story, a comic tale of a horny groom (Sohail Khan) who keeps getting stymied from getting it on with his bride (Isha Koppikar). Story does, however, provide the movie with a witty capper.

Flashiest tale is that between birdbrain Bollywood actress Kkamini (Priyanka Chopra), who wants to change her image, and self-confident opportunist Rahul (Salman Khan), who takes advantage of the fact. Both thesps have conspicuous fun sending up their own images and show terrific onscreen chemistry. Relationship also provides pic with its biggest musical set pieces, including one jaw-dropping eight-minute number prior to the intermission.

As it fans out to include all the other stories, set piece equals the "Say Shava Shava" birthday number in "Kabhi khushi kabhie gham ... " as a breathtaking demo of Bollywood musical-dramatic staging at its best.

Equally good chemistry propels the yarn between confirmed ladies' man Shiven (Akshaye Khanna, in fine comedic form) and the bride, Gia (Ayesha Takia), he's having major doubts about marrying. Strand in some ways complements the more serious one between Ashutosh (John Abraham) and his Muslim wife, Tehzeeb (Vidya Balan), whose love is tested when TV journo Tehzeeb goes missing in a train crash.

Linking many of the tales together, however, is middle-aged, London-based PR manager Vinay (Anil Kapoor), married with kids to devoted Seema (Juhi Chawla, very good), who falls for a beautiful young dance teacher, Anjali (Anjana Sukhani). Pic's basically conservative, middle-class values come to the fore here, but also provide some of the meatiest dramatic scenes.

Production values are top-drawer on all levels, and during part two, as the stories develop some emotional depth, Advani thankfully eases up on the visual trickery.

Camera (color, widescreen), Piyush Shah; editor, Arti Bajaj; background music, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Indrajit Sharma; song music, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy; lyrics, Sameer; production designer, Priya Raghunath; art director, Kiran K. Khanna; costume designer, Vikram Padnis; sound (Dolby Digital/DTS), Manoj Sikka, Anup Dev; choreographers, Bosco-Caesar; special effects supervisor, Merzin Tavaria; assistant director, Devang Desai. Reviewed at Odeon Wimbledon 10, London, Jan. 25, 2007. Running time: 217 MIN. (I: 101 MIN.; II: 116 MIN.)



With: Aroon Bakshi, Prem Chopra, Mangal Kenkre, Kamini Khanna, Manoj Pahwa, Atul Parchure, Kushal Punjabi, Deepak Qazir, Saurabh Shukla, Karan Johar (voice).
(Hindi dialogue)

From LA Weekly:

SALAAM-E-ISHQ: A SALUTE TO LOVE Writer-director Nikhil Advani (Kal Ho Naa Ho) cuts with crisp elegance between six passionate love stories in this master-class, South Asian extreme version of a tear-streaked Bollywood music drama. The nominal leads, Priyanka Chopra and Salman Khan, are as sleek and sexy as they’ve ever been (which is saying a lot) in the screwball-comedy anchor plot about a spoiled Mumbai movie star and the mysterious stranger who is pursuing her. The playfulness of that storyline frees the movie to track some much darker emotions in the various subplots, the most engaging of which feature the deep-welled ’80s leading man Anil Kapoor (1942: A Love Story) as a catatonically depressed London TV producer contemplating an affair; heartthrob John Abraham (Water) as a devastated husband nursing his wife after an accident; and comedy star Govinda (Coolie No. 1) as a motor-mouth Delhi tax driver whose faith in romance is rewarded by the seemingly magical appearance of the leggy blond foreign woman of his dreams. With so many chances to burrow under our defenses, Salaam-e-Ishq should be a delirious wallow, but it isn’t quite, although the musical sequences in particular evoke an impressive variety of moods. The celebratory air of a midfilm production number in which the protagonists of all six stories, in as many different locations, sing and dance to the soaring title tune, contrasts sharply with a later interlude in which the affairs all hit a bad patch and the music becomes a wailed prayer: “Oh God, is this love or punishment?” In a Bollywood movie, scenes like these aren’t one-off stunts, as they can be in American movies such as Magnolia. Here, they express a deep-rooted sense that all these lovers, and many more besides, are all dancing to the same cosmic tune. (Fallbrook 7; Naz 8; Laguna Hills 3) (David Chute)

Saw S E I at Silver City.

Film is OK. It sure is long film but this can be expec ted if it's 6 films in one (Recall Mera Naam Joker was just 3 films in one and was 4.5 hrs long). It's light entertainment film.

Sound was directional surround in few instances only. End credits showed DD and DTS logos.

Film length was 3 hrs 36 min plus 1 min for partnership acknowledgements. Is this the original uncut length that was reported to be aprox 3 hrs 45 min long or is this the 10-15 min cut version where they removed one song?? If a song was cut, it's not a good choice. The more songs the better for this kind of Music Video type light entertainment film.

------------------------

BTW, in the 1940s and 1950s films often the message was 'Arranged Marriage'. Later, the message always was 'Marriage for Love'.
This film's message: Marry not for love but marry some one you spend time with'.

I saw the film here in Manhattan at the AMC Village 7. I thought it was fantastic...definitely one of the best films I've seen in awhile. Advani has definitely paid tribute to his mentor, Karan Johar, and yet at the same time proved that he's able to seamlessly blend all 6 stories into a convincing whole. Not an easy feat. I also didn't mind the length at all...in fact, I have no clue what they'd be able to cut! The dance numbers were superb to watch, the performances were great (this is the best performance that Salman has given in a film in many years, perfectly using his sarcasm and charm). There were at least a handful of fantastic sequences (I loved the one where John Abraham's character was trying to get Vidya Balan to remember their love story....great usage of effects there at the house) This is a total must see in my book. I think it's even better than "Love Actually," the film that was its obvious inspiration.