The Story:

Kambakkht Ishq is the story of an ace stuntman, Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar), and a part time ultra-swish model-turned-surgeon, Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor), who are invaded by the most elusive of all emotions - love.

The battle of the sexes begins when Viraj and Sim outrageously storm into the altar to stop the marriage of Viraj's brother, Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani), and Sim's best friend, Kamini (Amrita Arora). After Viraj and Sim rampage Lucky and Kamini's bizarre wedding reception - where Viagra is mixed into protein shakes and cake is tossed around, - all hell breaks loose between the two rivals. Where Viraj is out to prove that 'women are only good for two things,' Sim is stuck in a rut where 'men are good for nothing losers.' In countless encounters, including the one in Venice where they work on the same set - Viraj as a stuntman and Sim as the model, an assignment she takes up to pay for her medical degree, - their clashing egos lead to one trying to upstage the other.

Low and behold, when Sim walks into the operation room to perform her first surgery, she finds a semi-sedated Viraj. During the operation, Sim's supreme medical mishap occurs when her mantric heart-shaped watch pendant is stitched away inside Viraj. From this point onwards, Viraj begins to hear the 'Om Mangalam' mantra at the top of every hour. What leads to this accident and what becomes of it, all surfaces alongside a series of circus-like scenes with clowns including the deaf Doctor (Boman Irani) who leaves Viraj helpless, Keswani (Javed Jaffrey) as an immigrant looking to hit the jackpot by suing people, and Dolly Aunty (Kirron Kher) as Sim's lovable, gift-giving care-taker, who is the root of Sim's anti-marriage ideal, as well as the glitch in the operation.

In an effort to save her medical career, Sim puts on an act to seduce Viraj and get him back in the operation room to remove the pendant. What love games are played between Viraj and Sim, and who takes the beating in this love-hate relationship, is revealed through a dramatic twist of fate.

The Cast:

Akshay Kumar as Viraj Shergill - a sexy Hollywood stuntman who lives by one mantra: 'women are good for only two things: making love and making love!' The word 'marriage' does not exist in his dictionary as he leads a commitment-free lifestyle revolving around women and pool parties.

Kareena Kapoor as Simrita Rai - conveniently called Bebo, is a hotheaded supermodel and aspiring surgeon who believes that "all men are dogs." She bares her hotness only to pay her way through med school but spends more time frolicking around Los Angeles in designer wear.

Aftab Shivdasani as Lucky Shergill - is the loving younger brother of Viraj and love-struck by his hot sizzler wife Kamini. Unfortunately, Viraj's anti-marriage attitude works against the married couple and leaves Lucky with many unlucky nights without Kamini.

Amrita Arora as Kamini - a leading lingerie model who marries the love of her life, Lucky, but is often manipulated by her best friend Simrita, who talks her out of marriage.

The Crew:

Director: Sabbir Khan
Producer: Sajid Nadiadwala
Production House: Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Distributor: Eros Entertainment
Music Label: Eros
Screenplay: Kiran Kotrial, Anvita Dutt Gupta, Ishita Mohitra, Sabbir Khan
Story: Anvita Dutt Gupta, Ishita Mohitra, Sabbir Khan
Cinematography: Vikas Shivraman
Choreography: Vaibhavi Merchant
Music Director: RDB, Anu Malik, Salim-Sulaiman
Lyricist: RDB, Anvita Dutt Gupta, Sabbir Khan
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Arora, Aftab Shivdasani, Javed Jaffrey, Kirron Kher, Boman Irani

The Soundtrack:

Anu Malik, RDB and Salim-Sulaiman have created the most upbeat soundtrack of the summer. All of the songs well-placed in the story and the best ones are 'Om Mangalam,' 'Lakh Lakh', 'Bebo', and 'Kambakkht Ishq.' You definitely walk away chanting 'Om Mangalam.

What Works:

Hollywood meets Bollywood no more. This time, Bollywood invades Hollywood. This star-studded film has a lot to rave about, especially the performances. Although Akshay seems to have repeated his Casanova act he played in 'Hey Babyy', he manages to deliver one of his most humorous roles. Akki's on-screen interaction with the Hollywood stars are genuine and truly put him on top of his career!

The scenes with Boman, Javed and Kirron are the high point of the film. In all of the masti, the Hollywood stars including a droopy-eyed Sylvester Stallone who fights the bad guys Bollywood-style and presents an award to our original stuntman (Akshay), Brandon Routh, as well as Denise Richards who out-shines our size-zero Bebo in the sequenced bikini, are a refreshing watch. This doesn't mean Kareena doesn't steal the screen - Aki Narula's world-class styling has Kareena prancing around in Chanel, Prada and the sexy black Valentino swimsuit.

Cinematographer Vikram Sivaraman scores high by giving an international feel to the film. The action (Spiro Razatos) sequences really stand out. Choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant is superb.

What Doesn't:

Unfortunately, with four scriptwriters, the plot still falls flat. Although a laugh-fest, the film has a predictable nature, clichéd climax and repetitive dialogues. The constant foul language sound awkward coming from Akshay and Kareena.

The pace of the film does well the first half but drags post-interval. Kareena looks glamorous but fails to perform. Her poor characterization has her acting hysterical and a bit over the top at times.

The viewer can't help but ask 'how does a stuntman live so lavishly and how does a surgeon/supermodel have time to lounge around town?

Slated or Rated:

The expensively mounted Kambakkht Ishq is contemporary, yet traditional at heart. It's everything a demanding audience wants: a full-on masala entertainer. At the box-office, fireworks go off for this Independence Day release.