Salaam-e-Ishq - A Review

Went to watch Salaam-e-Ishq at Regal yesterday to see what the hype was all about. Huge starcast, nice songs, catchy promos. But, somehow, to me, it didn't live up to expectations. Read on to find out why.

The movie is about 6 couples. About how they go about their respective lives and how love supposedly keeps them connected. Err...make that 5 couples. Coz the Sohail Khan - Isha Koppikar pair seems to have been picked straight out of your local porn movie. There is nothing much in terms of a storyline. But, 3 couples seem to have a justified presence here. The first one, Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla, leads a very boring city life in London. But, Mr. Corporate is bored coz he wants "more"!!! Enter the bimbo who, expectedly, falls for him, and even goes to the extent of asking him to elope with her!!! All this when wifey dear is at the door. Whoopsy daisy!!! An argument, a night at the coffee shop and a scene in a plane later, Mr. Corporate gets wifey dear back. Sniff!!!

Then, we have Akshaye Khanna and Ayesha Takia making up the second pair. Mr. Monkey is confused and panics at the thought of marriage. Ms. Goody Two Shoes wants marriage at any cost. Result? Breakup, loneliness, a scene at another marriage, and our lovebirds are together again. No questions asked!!!

In both the above cases, the acting is pretty good. Anil Kapoor and Juhi Chawla maintain the high standards expected of them, but there really isn't much for them to do. However, there is damn good chemistry that sparkles between the two. Also, the bimbo (Anjana Sukhani) does a really good job, and certainly deserves a mention. Akshaye Khanna tries really hard to do justice to a Chandler Bing-like character, and does a pretty commendable job of it. Some of the expressions this guy can give are really funny. Ayesha Takia seems to be improving as an actress with every film, but I still think Dor was her best performance so far.

All this is fine, but the third couple is what makes the film really worth watching. Govinda, as a happy-go-lucky taxi driver and Shannon Esra as the American in search of her boyfriend, come across as a made for each other couple. This movie is like a second innings for Govinda and he certainly proves himself here, a la Sourav 'Dada' Ganguly. This role is tailor-made for him and not once does he overact like he did earlier in the David Dhawan movies. It makes you realise that this veteran is actually capable of acting!!! Shannon Esra does a brilliant job here. Full marks to her for her efforts. She looks and sounds really cute pouting out those Hindi dialogues in her firangee accent. The two share a brilliant camaraderie on screen.

Now, this leaves John Abraham-Vidya Balan and Salman Khan-Priyanka Chopra. God knows what they are doing in this movie. I certainly have no idea!!! One gets the feeling that their individual storylines could have been spun into movies on their own. And the acting isn't much to talk about either!!! John Abraham, Vidya Balan and Priyanka Chopra are strictly OK. And Salman Khan looks really old and deprived of sleep!!! Don't even get me started on Sohail Khan and Isha Koppikar!!!

All in all, a true Bollywood style masala movie. But, with its long running length of around three and a half hours, it tends to drag on endlessly. So should you watch it? Yeah, go for the night show if you have lots of time to spare and dont have to catch the last train home from Churchgate!!!