Salaam this ishq. Review on Salaam-E-Ishq

This review is probably coming a little late since the movie has come and gone, the DVD is already available in stores.

I am not going into the nitty gritty details of what happens in the movie and who is doing what and who is romancing who. Those who have watched it either have loved or hated it.

Well for me it was a pleasant time pass movie. At times it was too long but I guess the pace picked up in the end. Some directors fall flat directing a movie with a single storyline so think about Nikhil advani doing it with 6 stories, 6 different storylines, 12 stars and different locations and trying to bring it together at the same location at the end. Whew!even before the film was released, I was thinking how on earth is he goin to achieve that? I haven’t seen love actually so I didn’t have any pre-concieved notions on how the film should be. But I do give him credit for braving it out and coming out with such a movie. Not a masterpiece but not a bad movie too.

There were plenty of scenes and plenty actors that stood out for me. I do think that having acting experience and talent is essential for the long run in the industry. Showing off your pecs(upen patel) or your boobs( Celina jaitley, payal, rakhi, tanushree and many other blond bimbettes whose idea of acting is wearing the smallest pieces of clothes available and getting wet either on the beach or under a shower) is not acting.

That’s why for me actors such as govinda, anil, juhi and akshaye stole my ishq.

Govinda is a complete natural. His indianess and accent is so accurate, I feel like I have met taxi drivers in Mumbai or Delhi that sounded like him. A road trip with a English madam is a lovable clash of cultures and language. The landscape, the taj and the sign language is adorable. The gori is cool too, surprisingly. She blends in very well with govinda but stands her ground with her performance.

Akshaye as a commitment scared bachelor is soooo funny. A little of over acting and some really elastic facial expressions keep his segment alive. I don’t like his moping around in his weird bachelor pad though and doesn’t he work? but he is seriously a fantastic actor. Hmmmmm, his friend is so so funny, he has done so many films and serials but I can never remember his name. Ayesha as his girlfriend is cool collected cat and she suits him perfectly. She was incredible in dor ditto gul panag.

Anil kapoor- which actor can actually boast of a career like him? He has been in the industry for 2 decades, done excellent roles and has formed a niche for himself as a character hero. His dance in the disco to impress anjana( who didn’t impress me at all, I would rather have an affair with juhi, more on that later) was mind-blowing, to really lose himself like that, takes a lot of guts. His scenes with juhi were awesome, that loss, the vulnerability, that excitement, it was all there. I am sure all bored 40- plus husbands out there agreed to every word he was saying. I also loved the café scene with priyanka. Cool, understated, very modern.

Last of the great actors, I come to juhi chawla. Those of you that actually follow my reviews will know I have a very tender spot for juhi. To me, she is just out of this world. I wish she hadn’t done this role yet at the same time I applaud her whenever she comes onscreen. The role is the smallest in the whole movie yet it holds its own weight. She combines a sense of despair and strength into her character and wears it like a crown. She lights up the screen whenever she comes onscreen and her confrontation with anil is nothing short of magic. That love, the sacrifices, the hope it just flashes in her eyes. And I think every married woman in the audience definitely identified with juhi and her hopelessness with the situation. Where does she go? What does she do? To whom does she go? Her husband didn’t even think of her when he goes around with a girl half his age. Marriage has definitely brought out the best in her, she is cool, collected, contented yet her steely determination to prove her best still shines through in whatever roles she does.

I am not saying that the rest of the cast were bad. Salman khan and priyanka were let down with a ridiculous storyline which not even good actors like them could salvage. Put them in good roles and these 2 do deliver. “aitraaz” and “tere naam” are good examples.

I didn’t see the spark between vidya and john either. Most of the time vidya was lying on a bed and john was running all over with his rebonded hair flying in the wind. Good actors again not in a good story. But I like the scene where john brings her to his father’s home and the montage of past and present collide. Well done.

Sohail khan and isha were hilarious in their tiny roles as the comic fillers. The accent and their dialogues were funny but way too short. why? Their characters were based on the squirrel and the nut in ice age but even the squirrel had a bigger role than them.

The music was noteworthy but I didn’t care much about the way it was picturised. There was way too much water in saiyaan re and too much of London in tenu leke. The title song was picturised well.

Again a lengthy review that went way out of the short and sweet version I was planning, but hell, who cares? Drop in your comments and suggestions. Thank you