Kambakkht Ishq
wogma rating: Switch channels if it's on cable (?)
The story got left behind, far behind. What story, you may ask? And a good question it would be. I can't find a single nice thing to say about a film. Not a line, not one joke. What can you do when the maker's aim is to make an awful film? It runs literally dead slow and has not as much as an iota to savor.
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An auspicious red and golden cloth flies across the bright blue Los Angeles sky. It is intercut between shots of the source and the destination - Sim's (Kareena Kapoor's) purse on to Viraj's (Akshay Kumar's) face. Creativity of the 50s-90s reproduces itself in Kambakkht Ishq. What were they thinking? Sorry, "thinking" is way too big a word.
Usually, even if it's a bad film, I end up saying, "at least it put some money in the flow, good for the economy." But, I cannot stop hurting at the crores and crores of Rupees drowning from the drain to the core of the earth. What is it that prompted the supposed top-of-the-line stars of the country to entertain this no-line (ouch...just can't make myself call it a plot) and expect the film-starved country to be entertained?
Unless the definition of entertainment has changed to - slo-mo entries, cake fight at a wedding, slap-a-thing-slap-it-again, leching, disgusting innuendos, and so on and so forth. The loud-louder-loudest, loud-louder-loudest contest between Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora, Jaaved Jaffrey, Kirron Kher and basically the entire cast is insufferable. Kirron Kher and Jaaved Jaffrey should now retire from this genre. For that matter Akshay and Kareena will do themselves AND US good too by not allowing such projects to find its way on the screen. Kareena looks good but she almost always does. So, what's the value-addition made by this particular set of makers?
Having the stalwarts of Hindi films cameo for your film is passé. Hollywood is the new trend. So, we have what looks like stock-footage of Bruce Willis to Angelina Jolie attending a "Stuntman's award ceremony". Then we have Denise Richards, Sylvester Stallone and Brandon do small gigs. And just in case you miss them, or don't recognize them, their name is repeated at every appearance. So, much for creative dialogue. The creativity actually lie in giving credits - Pooja Batra was credited for "acquiring foreign stars". Wonder who "acquired the Bollywood ones"?
The lines were bad, the jokes were lousy and needless to say predictable. The overall film cannot be called obvious because before you say the word "film" you know how it's going to end. Little did I know that the "establishing characters" bit was going to go on for the next 2.5 hours! I was wondering if the constant comments between Akshay and Kareena about each other's IQ was actually a hint at the audience who was still watching the film after the first 10 minutes.
More often than not, movies of this scale have good songs and choreography with an aesthetic sense. Not here. Music is typical Anu Malik stuff. The lyrics although are a bit more interesting than usual.
I don't remember ever having remembered my mom so often while watching a film. The brain went into a rhythmic pattern of internally yelling "MUMMMMY!!!" every couple minutes. The monsoon has set in guys. Go watch the leaves caress each other in the cool air. Certainly beats the awkward Akshay-Kareena lip-locks lip-pecks.
- meeta, a part of the audience
Thumbs up, by Manish Gajjar, BBC : ...The other high points of Kambakkht Ishq are its exotic colourful dance sequences, the film’s musical score and the appearance of Hollywood cameos.... full review
Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, Bollywood Hungama : ...To sum up, KAMBAKKHT ISHQ offers you value for time and also, value for money.... full review
Thumbs up, desi hits : ...Cinematographer Vikram Sivaraman scores high by giving an international feel to the film... full review
Thumbs up, by Gohar Iqbal Punn, Radio Sargam : ...The focus of the film is on entertainment and you really take a complete joy-ride with this outing... full review
So-So, by Nita, A Wide Angle View of India : ...Javed Jaffrey is good. He plays a small comic role as a bystander who cons people into thinking that they have done him harm just so that he can sue them.... full review
So-So, by Vedvyasa Bhat, DearCinema : ...The film fails mainly because of its lack of consistency in characterization and storyline. ... full review
So-So, Movie Talkies : ...Kareena too fits into her role very well. She is apt as the arrogant manhater who has a soft vulnerbale side to her.... full review
So-So, by Lidia Ostepeev, Planet Bollywood : ...Kareena Kapoor pouts and struts while Akshay Kumar swaggers and blusters. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Noyon Jyoti Parasara, AOL INDIA : ...what a royal disappointment! ... full review
Thumbs down, by Naresh Kumar Deoshi, Apun Ka Choice : ...Director Sabbir Khan and his band of writers (Kiran Kotrial, Anvita Dutt Gupta, Ishita Mohitra) seem clearly clueless where to take the story so they keep spinning it in circles and throw in a couple of Hollywood faces... full review
Thumbs down, by Baradwaj Rangan, Blogical Conclusion, The New Sunday Express : ...The tragedy of this comedy is that it could have delivered genuine laughs had it merely followed up on its battle-of-the-sexes premise.... full review
Thumbs down, by Roshni Mulchandani, Bolly Spice : ...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.... full review
Thumbs down, by Daliya Ghose, Bollywood Mantra : ...Almost half hours dealt with Viraj and Simrita’s teasing one another and their rivalry. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Anand Vaishnav, Buzz18 : ...Brandon Routh and Denise Richards make compete fools of themselves.... full review
Thumbs down, by Deep, Deep's Home : ...Each and every scene in the movie is predictable, infact, from the start of the movie, you can easily predict what’s gonna happen in the end..... full review
Thumbs down, by Aniruddha Guha, DNA : ...If making a bad film would have a course dedicated to it, Kambakkht Ishq would make for ideal textbook reading.... full review
Thumbs down, fullhyd.com : ...What the Hindi version does is make it an Akshay Kumar movie - viz. remove any traces of depth or creativity, put in an au courant heroine who shows a lot of skin, force comedy in, and generally take twice the time needed to narrate a story.... full review
Thumbs down, by Marin D'Souza, Glamsham.com : ...The first 15 minutes or so are palatable, after that, it gets monotonous and you wonder when this nightmare will end... full review
Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...What is inexcusable is the consistently crude tone of the film. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Kaveree Bamzai, india today : ...But this one falls to a new low, where he even manages to pass gas in Amrita Arora's face.... full review
Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, indiatimes : ...Kareena Kapoor exaggerates and for god’s sake why does she have to reprise the dreadful ‘ Yeh Mera Dil ’ act in a self-spoof song ( Bebo Main Bebo, Dil Mera Lelo ).... full review
Thumbs down, Indicine : ...By the time, the only decent song in the film ‘Kyun’ begins, the restlessness amongst the audience is clear. Some get up to leave, clearly disappointed.... full review
Thumbs down, by Amrita, Indiequill : ...for those of you who wanted a review of Kambakkht Ishq, here’s mine: Barf.... full review
Thumbs down, by Vandana K Mittal, merinews : ...Storyline: Does not exist Music: Discordant, jarring and forgettable Direction: Unmitigated disaster Acting: Non existent ... full review
Thumbs down, by Mr. Inketi, Mr. Inketis Weblog : ...homosexuality, gender bashing etc including a scene which shows a big fat black woman wearing gloves and putting it deep in to Akshay Kumar’s ass to search for drugs!... full review
Thumbs down, by Minty Tejpal, Mumbai Mirror : ...Not funny, dude, it’s just gross.... full review
Thumbs down, by Mayank Shekhar, NDTV : ...Even after reading this, you by any chance go and watch the movie, you'll realise that the film is infinitely more ridiculous. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Ashok Nayak, Now Running.com : ...I know questions are not to be asked from Akshay Kumar film, but just can't help but ask these. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Sethu Madhavan, Passion for Cinema : ...In fact exaggeration is too weak a word to describe the happenings in the movie as virtually everything is over the top.... full review
Thumbs down, by Kshitijm, Passion for Cinema : ...If there are two things that can be considered as positives for the movie, they are the beautiful locations & the high production values.... full review
Thumbs down, by Sampurn, real bollywoood : ...Akshay Kumar is back in terrific form as a performer. He is simply superb in his award acceptance speech.... full review
Thumbs down, by Raja Sen , Rediff : ...Personally, my heart goes out to Kareena. The woman is strikingly attractive and one of the few leading ladies who can actually act...even she has to resort to role this demeaning, in a film this stupid?... full review
Thumbs down, by Chandrima Pal, Rediff : ...Kareena asks Akshay in a scene, 'How low can you go?' This film is the answer. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Sonia Chopra, Sify Movies : ...why would, and how can, a person of sound mind, which Kareena’s character apparently is, voluntarily want to be with a foul-mouthed Casanova?... full review
Thumbs down, by Janhvi Patel, StarBoxOffice : ...The plot is convoluted. The comedy is crude, slapstick. ... full review
Thumbs down, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ... Never has a Hindi film script ever been so derogatory towards women.... full review
Thumbs down, by The ThirdMan, Upper Stall : ...Akshay tries to breathe life into the film and does create some genuinely funny moments but he's unable to rise above the shitty script.... full review
Thumbs down, Zee News : ...Amongst the Hollywood stars, Sylvester Stallone commands great screen presence but Denise Richards looks too old and fails to deliver a good performance.... full review
Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.
This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.
Plot Summary
Boy (Akshay Kumar) hates girls. Girl (Kareena) hates boys. You really want me to say more?
What did not
- Power of the "Kareena"! She clinks her champagne flute and the crowd which was at each others' throats stop the random fistfights.
- The editing in general, but especiall in the slap scenes. Very amateur - not only the slaps, the cuts too.
- The lingering of the camera at the most improper times, not to mention unnecessary.
- Okay, enough. Don't make me live through the experience again. Please...
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: Tons of stunts
- Language: A few sex-related jokes.
- Nudity & Sexual content: The complete theme of the movie revolves around having sex.
![[Facebook page of Kambakkht Ishq]](/static/images/icons/facebook_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Wikipedia page of Kambakkht Ishq]](/static/images/icons/wiki_small.png){kind=icon}
![[IMDB Page of Kambakkht Ishq]](/static/images/icons/imdb_small.png){kind=icon}
![[Akshay Kumar twitter account]](/static/images/icons/twitter_small.png){kind=icon}
Comments (8)
It is totally bakwaas movie.. totally wastage of money..
@TimELiebe whatever works! Only hope you get to see the better films too. :D
you HAVE to watch Sholay and Chupke Chupke from 1975. They are my all time favorites. The Sholay DVD i own has very good subtitles too!
@TimELiebe Jaya Bachchan was also seen in Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Ghum, but she's no where close to the charming girl she's been in the movies from the 70s. You should catch the two Bachchan's in Abhimaan (1971 i think)
Sholay - well, there have been a couple of people who saw Sholay for this first time recently, and they weren't impressed. Maybe it doesn't appeal to EVERYONE and at ALL TIMES. But for me it is a timeless masterpiece
Meetu - answering you two years later! ;)
Yes, we did and we have -along with some even worse ones. :)
@TimELiebe which worse ones?
Because of some glitch in your MySQL database, I'm guessing, my original comments keep vanishing but your responses don't, @Meetu.
Did I ever answer this? If not, here's a partial list of far worse movies than Kambakkht Ishq:
God Tussi Great Ho
Vivah
Toh Baat Pakki
We Are Family
Dum Maro Dum
Mehbooba
Dil Bole Hadippa
@TimELiebe So sorry, no idea what's going on. Will try to fix it.
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