Salaam-E-Ishq (2007) User Reviews

Too Long and boring

[silvan-desouza · 4/10 · 19 February 2009]

OK the director remakes LOVE ACTUALLY The director Nikhil Advani after debuting with KHNH does his second half and wait

He makes a 3:30 hours + film which loses on patience, time.etc The viewer seems like a 3 hrs sleep watching this film

OK they had 6 stories so it was necessary but why? 6 stories?

We have the Anil- Juhi story convincing but boring don't TV serials show such stories?

We have Govinda- Shannon story which is funny and works well

We have Akshaye-Ayesha story again believable but gets boring soon and the focus is on comedy more and that too slapstick boring comedy

We have Salman- Priyanka story which is the worst, not just acting terms, it makes no sense at all

We have Sohail- Isha story to make you laugh and the trick works at times thanks to the boredom set by most of other stories

We have John- Vidya story a good story in all respects

But then by the time all stories come in bits n pieces the viewer gets bored and sleepy The climax isn't appealing though especially The climax of Salman- Priyanka story Nikhil Advani's handling is alright at places, some stories are well handled but weak at places Music(SEL)is good, but too many songs Cinematography is nice, every story is given a different look, texture and it works

Actors Govinda rocks, after a dismissal comeback with BB he actually makes you laugh and love him in this film despite his age and weight Anil Kapoor acts his part well, though he looks out of shape and tired John excels in his part, Akshaye Khanna overacts for a change

Sohail Khan is too over- the - top and Isha has nothing to do Anjana Suknani is dismissal

Priyanka and Salman deserve an award for this film you are shocked?

Salman Khan doesn't act only, just talks like he is in his sleep and that fake accent oh god Priyanka overacts to such a standard you feel like throwing something on her, she does get better towards the end Vidya Balan is good, Juhi Chawla is okay Shannon is okay

Disappointing

[sapna_oo7 · 6/10 · 26 January 2007]

I was really looking forward to this movie,watched all the promos, knew the songs by heart, had my tickets booked, seats reserved, 2nd show first day.

It started off well, it starts off with John and Vidya. For once I liked John, he even looked cute. But as the movie dragged on, it got too emotional, but I couldn't find a emotional connection with the stories.

They make a sweet pair. Akshaye and Ayeshas story was funny. Sohail n Isha only get 3 scenes...they don't have much to say...I thought sohail was funny...a extension to his Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya character.

Salman for once doesn't look tired, he doesn't have dark eyes. he light up the screen, he's looking awesome. He doesn't have a loud annoying character, and he doesn't give that 'giggle' in this movie either. A good performance from him, though he didn't have much to do.

Anil Kapoors character seemed odd. he shaves off his mustache, and he looks disgusting sorry to say. his dance sequence (whats that about?) And i'm disappointed Juhi forgave him. Be strong woman! say no. Once a cheater, always a cheater.

Govindas character was so sweet. And shannon was pretty. They made a good pair. Usually foreigners are annoying in Indian movies, but not her. What ruined this movie for me was it got boring. The dialogue's too lengthy towards the end. The whole scene with Anil and Priyanka wasn't necessary and the dot-com Punjabi guy was just annoying. Priyankas character, Khamini, was a little too similar to Aishwaryas in Dhoom2. Only in the sense they refer to themselves by their name, in 2nd person (or is it 3rd?)

The songs were well picturised, but one of my favourite songs was missing. I saw the promos of it and it was looking cute. "mera dil" wasn't in the movie.

Watch it for the stars, not for the characters, watch it for the songs. But if you were as excited as I was, than a disappointment awaits you.

A Tribute to Love Sans Emotion

[apant · 4/10 · 30 January 2007]

The problems with Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq are many. A one-line concept that looks good on paper (which also worked in an earlier English film - Love Actually) goes terribly wrong thanks to inept and shallow writing. A well-intentioned idea gets crushed to smithereens under the weight of its own gargantuan ambition. A director so completely besotted by his own much applauded first film goes overboard with the devices that worked in his earlier film (Kal Ho Na Ho) - try counting the number of times the device of split screens is used in this flick. The problem is - what worked fabulously in Kal Ho Na Ho were the emotional excesses of the Karan Johar school of film-making, but here, 'emotion' doesn't quite grace us with its appearance on the screen - no, not even cursorily. The writer/ director gives us 'six relationships with one common problem - love', but where is the intensity, where is the depth, where is the 'emotion'? A 'tribute to love' sans emotion? And one that goes on and on and on...... Nah, it just cannot work!

In my opinion, the basic requirement for a portmanteau film like this to work is that not only should each individual story be 'complete', it should - in some way or the other - follow the graph of the traditional three-act structure (screen writing guru, Syd Field's Paradigm). That's the real reason why Salaam-e-Ishq didn't work for me. None of the stories had any depth or a roller-coaster ride of emotional ups and downs one expects in mainstream Hindi cinema. Also, the linkage between some of the stories seemed tenuous and very forced. It's not clear what Salman Khan is doing at Ayesha Takia's wedding. If he was required to be present at the wedding scene for a neat wrap-up, why not conjure a few more coincidences and bring the other two couples also to the wedding? That would be neater.

But yes, some of the stories did have a lot of promise. For one, the Anil Kapoor-Juhee Chawla story tries to address a very real situation - mid-life crisis, but its journey is so linear that you're left wondering if it was really an issue. Similarly, the problem of commitment in the Akshaye Khanna-Ayesha Takia story is also true to life. If only it was developed a little better. I felt that the more promising stories in this mish-mash were told from the male point of view, which is fine, but it brings down the emotional quotient of these stories because the female characters - Juhee Chawla and Ayesh Takia in particular - have all the depth of a half-filled bath tub. Wasn't this film supposed to be about '12 different lives'? Now the actors. John Abraham still needs to learn acting, while Vidya Balan is dependable and endearing as ever. Anil Kapoor gets a role written just for him but sometimes overplay the boredom of his character. Since she didn't get a meaty character to portray, Juhee Chawla uses her charming smile and natural acting style to cover up for it. Akshaye Khanna is fine despite going a trifle over-the-top in a few scenes. Ayesha Takia has nothing much to do, but she does remind us that she's the same girl who surprised us with her bravura performance in Dor. Govinda tries to make up for that HUGE mistake called Bhagam Bhag, and succeeds to a large extent.

That brings me the most irritating track of the film (which unpardonably ends up hogging the maximum screen time) - Salman Khan and Priyanka Chopra. The track is irritating mainly because of them. But I must credit them for their consistency. They're consistently BAD all through the film. Priyanka could well be the next queen of hamming - I don't buy the crap that her role (that of an 'item girl') required her to act over-the-top. Somebody should tell her the difference between being flamboyant because the character demands it and downright hamming. If you've seen Rakhi Sawant (who seems to be the inspiration behind this role) in her interviews and Bigg Boss you'll know what I mean. I strongly feel that if Nikhil Advani had taken Rakhi Sawant in this role rather than a bigger star like Priyanka, the story would have worked better. Salman Khan's phony accent is.....well, Shannon Esra's Hindi is less accented than Salman's.

To be fair to the director, he does manage to add some good directorial touches to the film. I particularly liked the use of grey as the predominant color in the Anil Kapoor-Juhee Chawla story as a metaphor for their boring existence, and the bright colors that come into the story with the arrival of the other woman. But will anyone choose to paint their house in varying, depressing shades of grey? That's acceptable cinematic license I would say. But when the film runs almost for 4 hours, it almost feels like the director is trying too hard to give the audience a glimpse of his 'touch' in an endlessly meandering montage of uninspiring sequences.

Maybe Nikhil Advani wants us to sit in the theatre for as long as is humanly possible- pata nahin, kal ho na ho.

A complete waste of time, watch it only if you want to test your patience

[shreerajca · 1/10 · 27 January 2007]

We all have seen some unending epics in our times, but this one really tops them all! The movie is so long and so slow, that, just to put things in perspective, i felt a lot older when i left movie hall, than I entered it. At almost 4 hours length, it could have rather been made into a tele-serial.

What starts as a promising comedy slowly loses its pace. Nikhil advani has woven the plot around 6 love stories and he cant make justice to any one of them... There is no interconnection between them to start with, and links shown in last 20 minutes just seem to be forced to connect the story.

Situation is made worse by Silly dialogues (most of them repeated in Hindi cinema over years)and stupid cinematography.

Priyanka doesn't realise that she actually needs to play her role rather than just looking glam on screen... An utter waste of beauty without acting skills.

And then there is loud-is-humorous Govinda & my-face-twists-better-than-jim-carrey Akshay Khanna who keep belching at the top of their lungs to irritate already tired viewers.

Only good part in movie is John & Vidya's love story & nice acting/comedy by sohail & Isha. But they are so good at their roles that just these two couples could have justified the movie without jumbling it with other bunch of characters. Their brilliance gets lost in the midst of other substandard plot lines.

My guess - Director was making two separate movies(may be more!) and some beginner assistant mixed up all the records, beyond a point of sorting them out, so director was left with no choice to show it all as a single movie...

Watch it only if you want to test your patience!!!

Salaam-e-...Ah forget it...

[Dingataca · 6 January 2008]

(**Some Spoilers**)

I think Nikhil Advani tried to be too clever with this one, and it backfired on him. He did everything right with Kal Ho Naa Ho, unfortunately this one does not live up to the standard he left. I have to say I expected a lot more from this movie, being a Kal Ho Naa Ho lover, I thought this would be of the same level, unfortunately not.

Salaam-e-Ishq is a poor Love Actually ripoff. Love Actually isn't the best film ever made I admit, but it is better than this and it isn't a friggin' 3 and a half hours long! And Love Actually had EIGHT couples/story lines, and managed to be much shorter than Salaam-e-Ishq, whereas Salaam-e-Ishq has SIX couples/story lines, and is SO much longer. Then again, trust Bollywood to add in like a million song and dance sequences.

The stories: Tehzeeb and Ashutosh (Vidya Balan, John Abraham) are a young couple in love and cannot keep their hands off each other, when Tehzeeb loses her memory, she forgets him and their love, and Ashutosh must get it back. Vinay (Anil Kapoor) and Seema (Juhi Chawla) who have been married for a long time. They live in London, have 2 children, and a large house. However Vinay is not content with this and his relationship with his family breaks when he gets involved with a much younger woman named Anjali. Shiven (Akshaye Khanna) and Seema's sister Gia (Ayesha Takia) are engaged, but Shiven has a commitment phobia and gets cold feet very easily. Gia loves him deeply but when she realises his cold feet she leaves him. And Shiven has to get her back somehow. Kkamini (Priyanka Chopra) is an item girl in the Film Industry but craves to be a full-blown heroine, unfortunately the media won't take her seriously and neither will film directors. Kkamini creates a phony lover named Rahul to push her into the media spotlight, but when a Rahul (Salman Khan) comes along she is forced to go with it and her lie becomes a reality. Raju (played by Govinda) is a taxi driver with big dreams of love. He believes one day his blonde, blue-eyed dream girl will step through the airport doors and into his taxi. One day it happens, but not in the way he expects. Sohail Khan and Ishaa Koppikar make small appearances every now and then as Couple Six, who want to spice up their personal life.

The performances seemed very forced, and I was not impressed. Juhi Chawla, was the only one who acted in the whole film. She was practically screaming "I am the only decent performer" throughout the whole 3 and a half hours, and I wish she had been given a bigger part. She was so wasted. Anil Kapoor, her on screen husband didn't impress me. He was so wooden and did nothing but look stoned in his scenes, which was meant to be 'love'. He also fell in love with a young girl who I found extremely unattractive, and the scenes with Juhi and Anil's kids was seriously exaggerated. But I liked the Juhi-Anil story best and found it the story which was the most real.

Priyanka Chopra looked strangely gorgeous, but her storyline with Salman was utter rubbish. Since when do publicity stunts come true? Their plot was a load of b.s and the performances of both of them were just as bad. They had the worst storyline but the most screen time in the movie, I wonder why (hint hint, director was scared of Salman)

Another story that was very well done was the Gia-Shiven story. Akshaye Khanna is a really good actor. I haven't seen many of his films but I saw Dil Chahta Hai and I loved him in it, and he was just as good here. He was in a very Chandler-Bing-from-Friends mode, but he did it well and his on screen chemistry with Ayesha Takia is memorable. They didn't have too much time together but I really liked their story.

Vidya Balan and John Abraham's try on Tehzeeb and Ashutosh was cute but not perfect. Vidya played her part well but John did not seem to match up to her. Not only did he seem very fake all through the movie but his performance was really over-the-top. He needed to tone it down a little and be more natural.

Govinda was extremely good as Raju but I didn't like his partner Shannon Esrechowitz. Her attempt to speak Hindi was an a poor attempt to be like Alice Patten from Rang De Basanti. On the other hand she had a good chemistry with Govinda and some of their scenes together are the most memorable in the film. Ishaa Koppikar and Sohail Khan just embarrassed themselves throughout and made me cringe every time they came on screen. Since when people get intimate like that I do not know. Thank God their parts weren't big or I would have been extremely irritated.

Salaam-e-Ishq is commercially successful but there is barely any substance. This would have been a great film if it had been executed correctly.

worst and longest movie of the decade

[writetoneha · 1/10 · 25 January 2007]

My sincere advice to all: don't watch the movie.

Don't even go near to the theater where this movie is being played!! even a glimpse of it is bad for health. serious. no jokes. it's 3.30 am in the morning. and i returned from this crappiest movie on this universe. FOUR HOURS DAMN!!! I am proud that i survived after all of it! If this is called survival.

i am highly frustrated. annoyed. disappointed. it was sheer waste of time! money went in drain! no plot. Hope i wake up tomorrow sane and with no memories of this night!! RUBBISH MOVIE.

Happy Republic day to one and all :)

spend those 4 hours elsewhere

[liju-jm · 2/10 · 26 January 2007]

5 OK stories(the Sohail-Isha track ain't a story!!),a never before seen combo of stars, an awful screenplay and a director who thinks he's got it all right. That's how I'd sum this "tribute to LOVE".

Salman Khan - Usual ROCK STAR act but unfortunately lesser footage, his fans would still enjoy his presence(well i did ;)) John Abraham - Gaveit a sincere shot Akshaye Khanna - The best thing about the movie but over the top at occasions Anil Kapoor - Hmmmmmm.....OK....but dude whatever happens never do the clean shaven look ever again. Govinda-HERo No 1's an ol time thing mate Sohail Khan - while his brother's doing the ROCKSTAR routine, SOHAIL's done the family proud by trying hard to be PORNSTAR thruout the flick...Im glad he finally gets laid.

Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Takia, Priyanka Chopra, The Firangi babe and Isha Koppikar - sorry ladies Bollywood's an all male carnival you're all destined to be eye candies and they've done a good job that ways.

4 hours and a 150 rupees later all I'm left with is a sore back :(

Good stuff, over-stretched

[yuliya-alexa · 7/10 · 26 January 2007]

Salaam-e-Ishq is the second new Indian movie i have ever seen, and so I speak from a western view point. This movie is quite good, especially the first 2 hours. The characters are diverse, and so are their stories. Many dialogs are absolutely hilarious. Passages from comedy to drama episodes are done carefully, and the movie rolls by in a dynamic, entertaining way. However, towards the end of the second hour the movie starts to stretch. Some scenes are unnecessary, and some songs are too long and could have been saved for the ending. As a result, by the time the conclusion comes, one starts gazing at the watch. Also,towards the end, the drama is in some cases exaggerated and not every actor and actress manage to pull it off well. For the rest of the movie, performances range from excellent to satisfactory. This movie should have been edited down to about two and a half hours and would have been perfect. Still, it's a good one to see with your friends, or someone you love. The great comedy and the diverse issues make it worth it.

Third degree torture

[nipun-mehra · 1/10 · 27 January 2007]

I know the subject line sounds extreme but to be honest its been 15 hours since I saw the movie and I am trying to find a worse movie that I have seen at the cinemas.

Much hyped, much awaited, this three hour forty minute multi starer becomes quite a dud with a poor script, inconsistent story line and poor editing. Towards the end the entire hall of people was actually laughing and clapping at the stupidity of the drama. The most entertaining couple of the six happens to be Sohail and Isha who have no role or story to speak I'd suggest giving this movie a miss. If you really do want to see it, wait for the DVD but that too would be a terrible waste of time and money.

Salaam-e-Ishq: Snippety-snappety

[tonytharakan · 7/10 · 5 February 2007]

Ya, ya - I've heard all about how long this movie is. But then a monumental epic never hurt anyone - as long as it's entertaining. Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq has all the right ingredients - an incredible cast, rocking music and six delightful stories about love. The Problem? When the theatrewallah gets into scissorhands mode, viewers are in for some trying times.

How did Anil Kapoor get his arm in a sling? Apparently, he fell down (a colleague informs me). But shouldn't I see it on screen instead of wondering why Kapoor is sling-free in one frame and sling-full in the next. Media reports suggest that Advani, bombarded with complaints of the film being unbearably long, decided to make a few cuts himself. Bad move cos there's nothing worse than bad editing.

Anyway, that's not the only problem. Advani also has problems weaving in the six love stories together - the stitches are quite visible in some cases.

My favourite couple - Govinda and Shannon. The taxi-driver falling for an American was quite an original concept. Can't say the same for the Haryanvi combo of Sohail-Ishaa though. That track could have been safely edited out.

John Abraham and Vidya Balan have done some good work too and so have most of the others (including Priyanka Chopra). But Advani lacks the finesse of Karan Johar (who btw has a phone-in cameo in the film). In Johar's hands, Salaam-e-Ishq would have been gold. In his protégé's hands, the film is not the blockbuster it could have been.

Watch out for Kailash Kher's 'Ya Rabba' number. It left several in the audience teary-eyed and is easily the best song of the film.

Love Actually

[BiswajitSince2005 · 4/10 · 1 February 2007]

Six different couples. Six different love stories. Six different love angles. Eighty numbers of audience in the movie theater. Looking at the eighty different parts of the silver screen.

I am sitting in somewhere between them looking at the center of the screen to find out what's going on in the movie. All stories have got no link with each other, but somewhere down the line Nikhil Advani trying to show some relation between them. I tried to find out a few lines I could write as review but at the end of 3 hours 15 minutes found nothing to write. The movie is a poor copy of Hollywood blockbuster LOVE ACTUALLY.

My suggestion. Don't watch the movie if you really want to watch a nice movie.

Salute to love - Quality viewing

[ikky_k · 9/10 · 17 January 2007]

Salaam-E-Ishq tells an epic tale of six couples. Oblivious to one another and separated by miles of distance, they are tested by life's two eyes: Tribulation and Success. Yet somehow, through destiny and fate, these six couples are brought together by the phenomenon of love…

Shah Rukh may be the greatest start since Amitabh and Amir may be Bollywood's most authentic "actor/performer" but love him or hate him, Salman Khan has some magical element that no other ever has. His pairing with Priyanka is spot on....hopefully they do more projects together.

This is one long movie...goes over 3 hours but it is not laborous and if anything, it is needed to tell the tale of 6 couples coming together from different parts of the globe.

You would have to be mad to walk awaywith the feeling of contentment after watching this. Any movie that hasSalman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Sohail Khan,John Abraham and Vidya Balan will ensure a top viewing just by theirpresence alone. Nikhil Advani does a great job putting it all together.

The movie has everything...heart break and tears and laughter. John Abraham, Govinda and Akshay Khanna I'd have to say have given the performance of their careers. Vidaya Balan is not dolled up and the viewer can truly appreciate her acting talent here. Sohail Khan, while not having a major role, will make you laugh just with his facial expressions alone.

Guaranteed this one will have you back for more. Not a candy floss date movie but one to watch to really appreciate the good points of life and take some lessons out of it.

No "Salaam" to this one!!

[subbigio · 6/10 · 29 January 2007]

Its been quite a few years since the release of " Kal Ho Na Ho", the movie which had completed the troika of hits for Dharma Productions and had launched Karan Johan's assistant Nikhil Advani in the director's seat. This time around Nikhil is back with "Salaam-e-Ishq" (which incidentally is his first movie out of Dharma Productions) which lets us know that he is all set to run his own show.

As this movie is the second release of Nikhil Advani as a director and as it also flaunts of a multi star studded star-cast they are many expectations in the minds of the audiences as they expect a movie which is supposed to re-create the "movie magic" displayed in the director's previous work. But on the contrary, what we get to witness is a movie which has nothing new in it and has employed exhausted story lines most of which a normal Indian movie-goer has already witnessed on screen over and over a zillion times.

The movie keeps moving back and forth between five main story tracks (Yes!! five and not six) each of which try to portray a different shade of love. The characters of each story try to depict everyday characters who are either in love, waiting to fall in love or running away from it. Each of the stories move around in different paths in their own respective circles until fate makes them cross paths at the end.

The movie falls short in many aspects be it the script, the story telling or the pace which just never seems to be fast enough throughout the movie. Though the movie makers have taken pains to provide the movie a good cinematography and have even taken care to polish their product with new graphical techniques, they have missed out upon one of the basic building blocks i.e. the screenplay on which the progress of the entire plot and hence the movie depends upon. The end result: a three and a half hour long movie with a story which has more than a dozen characters, most of whose roles aren't well figured out

The actors and actresses have tried to put up their best for their respective roles: Govinda as the happy-go-lucky taxi driver who is waiting for his "dream girl" to materialize, John who plays the role of a concerned husband as his wife is suffering from amnesia, Akshaye as the man who gets quirky before his marriage and decides to runaway from it, Priyanka who plays the role of an item-girl dreaming to make it big one day and Anil Kapoor the middle-aged family guy who is tired of his "boring" married life.

During the movie there are certain times when the audiences gets to laugh and this helps them get rid of some of the boredom they are burdened with and thus keeps them awake. Also the main song sequences are well pictorised and choreographed, so the audiences get to see the the makers aren't amateurs and are capable of delivering quality entertainment.

But despite this in the end the movie fails to gain the approval of the audiences who find no ingenuity and uniqueness in the movie and are mostly not impressed (if not disappointed) by the poor quality of the product which the director and the story writers have created. If only the right kind of treatment would have been given to the script and the roles of the characters were better framed, the movie could have done wonders.

No good

[upen7 · 4/10 · 26 January 2007]

this movie has lot of downsides and thats all i could see. it is painfully long and awfully directed. i could see whole audience getting impatient and waiting for it to end. run time is way over 3 hrs which could have been edited to less then 2 hrs.

transition between stories is average. most people confessed being on seating expecting something better to come out.

its funny only in pockets. ambitious project and a below par execution. govinda does a fair job, anil kapoor disappointed me, rest we as expected. if u r expecting anything close to babel or love actually then its no where close.

Bollywood Bloat

[Buddy-51 · 4/10 · 7 February 2009]

Clocking in at an interminable three hours and twenty minutes, "Salaam-e-Ishq" is a pretty but superficial comic soap opera from India that regales us with six interwoven tales of romantic love (which is at least four tales too many in my estimation).

Filmed like a cross between an MTV music video and a Super Bowl beer commercial, the movie is a sprawling mishmash of exotic settings, dazzling colors, sexy showgirls, high-stepping song-and-dance numbers, dream and fantasy sequences, winking character asides, corny dialogue and way-over-the-top comical performances - all pretty much standard-issue stuff when it comes to Bollywood happenings these days. It's an exhausting chore just trying to keep all the characters straight as they dance, prance and preen their way through the incomprehensible storyline.

There's plenty for the viewer to feast his eyes on here - not least of all all the drop dead gorgeous women - but he'll need the patience of Job to get him all the way through it.

...

[artibabbar1810 · 3/10 · 30 January 2007]

OK soo.. salaam-e-ishq.... quite frankly... a waste of 4 hours... you know sometimes you see a movie that well over 3 hours long and you don't even realize it cuz the movie was so good?.. well not in this case... I must have looked at the time about 150 times and really every time I would look at it.. only 5 minuted would have gone by... and I was bored more and more with each passing minute! It starts off with Vidya Balan and John Abraham who are really the only two worth watching characters in the movie, they actually have a bit of a story going oh.. and Govinda and the girl hes with.. they were the only other people who had interesting characters... Priyanka Chopra acts/look/dresses the SAME in every single movie.. Salman Khan is really nice to look at but doesn't know how to utilize the talent he has... Sohail Khan and Isha Koppikar had no REAL purpose of being in the movie.. Akshay Khanna and Ayeshia Takia.. were not too great.. she looks really pretty and wears some awesome out fits but thats about it.. and Anil Kapoor was just straight up annoying.. Juhi Chawla as always looked graceful and acted some what real... The music was what ever... the acting was what ever the story was what ever... and it went on for MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH MUCH longer than it needed too... So do I recommend this movie to anyone else?... emm sure.. if you have nothing better to do with your life for 4 hours... go for it!

boring theme, few jokes and it's too long

[pearl1729 · 29 January 2007]

i won't vote. i am shocked to see the rating: 8.6/10 whereas movies like rdb and lrmb got 8.5 and 8.8. this movie is hopeless, it has no theme and the story/scripting is weak. it entertains you in parts: for example the jokes and few songs. akshaye and givinda's stories are the + points of the movie. priyanka and salman's pair is the most boring one. priyanka's acting is pathetic. akshaye did a good job. his character will entertain you. esha and sohail will entertain you with their jokes, i call it honeymoon jokes. but i thought there will be a surprise: how do they merge the 6 stories into one. but there's no such thing. it was boring, i don't know why they didn't think of it ? with 6 love stories they could have made much better story and script. now a days most of the bollywood movies bore me except few:

you may watch it if you are too bored, otherwise go for happy feet.

conclusion: boring theme, few jokes and it's too long.

Crap's Sweet Salute!

[Sherazade · 1/10 · 13 April 2007]

Salaaaaaaaaaaaaam-e-crap! Oh my goodness, I hope IMDb grants me four hours to tell you how awful this film is! I spent FOUR precious hours of my life enduring this crap-fest! FOUR WHOLE HOURS and then some that I can't get back. Please IMDb, don't cut me off, let me finish this review I'm begging you.

Slaaaam-the-crap, is a not even a movie it's a FAUX spoof trying to be the nightmare of a clunker. The story revolves around six couples, their relationships and how love impacts them. But trust me, I am making it seem intelligible. The script, of course you know like most of all the other copied nonsense revolving around Bollywood is a bad knock-off of the equally awful British drama 'Love Actually' or as I like to call it, 'Crap-Actually.' In the Emma Thompson role, we have Juhi Chawla (the best part of the film by the way and the only person who actually ACTED in the whole movie) a mother of two whose husband(played by a very good looking Anil Kapoor, well good looking until his mid-life crisis gets the better of him) does the same thing Alan Rickman's Harry does. Anjana Sukhani plays Anjali the Britney Spears-like character Kapoor's Vinay falls for. It's lucky for Ms. Sukhani that there isn't enough space in this review for me to properly DISS her representation of this bimbo character.

Poor Rakhi Sawant has been forever immortalised in this film by Priyanka Chopra who spoofs herself in an attempt to spoof Ms. Sawant. It's obvious that Chopra attended the Naomi Campbell University of Tantrums to play the role anyway. She along with a morbidly stiff and annoying Salman Khan make up couple #2 in the film.

Vidya Balan, a recent graduate of the Rani Mukherji School of over-emoting & sucking-up-to-the-audience, tries to sizzle with John Abraham as couple #3 but it's too bad that John does all the work. If you get irritated by their Lovey-Dovey relationship in the beginning of the movie, don't worry they pay for all of that later on.

Perhaps to most horrid part of the film was the surprise presence of Salman's brother Sohail Khan in full Rowan Atkinson's Mr. Bean mode along with his bride, trying their best to replicate the porn star roles from the original film. To me, this was more than the intended funny they were trying to get at. These two made up annoying couple #4.

Govinda has received rave reviews for his turn in this but he failed to impress me. He along with Shannon Esrechowitz make up couple #5. Esrechowitz plays a British woman named Stephanie who comes to India to find her boyfriend but ends up with Govinda's Raju instead. Raju was just too obnoxiously loud and Stephanie was too self-consciously ridiculous! Maybe she should have spent more time in drama school, I don't know, your guess is as good as mine.

Ayesha Takia in full Shaadi Barbie mode tries her best possible to break out of her Priyanka-Chopra-look-alike trance but she is so saccharin sweet that you forgive her even if she doesn't succeed. She plays Gia, a young bride-to-be whose groom has developed cold feet before their wedding day. His name is Siven and he's played by Akshaye Khanna in full Matthew Perry's Chandler from FRIENDS mode. Together they make up couple #6.

There, you have your couples and 4 hours of major buttock-ulcer burn to watch their stories unwind. In the end, you're left with more questions than answers and a sour taste in your mouth. Like why was it that when Kameeni (Chopra's) character woke up in a bed in the middle of a field, she had a full face of make-up on? What happened to all the Tralfagar Square pigeons during the scene that followed? Why were both Ashutosh and Tehzeeb flying through traffic on a motorbike without any helmets on? What the heck was Rahul doing at Gia's wedding? Why was Ashutosh flooding Tehzeeb with memories? Did he not know her brain could start bleeding from all the pressure? Why was this film more than 4 hours long? Just to mention a few of my questions.

The music was so-so, except for the opening version of the title song and perhaps that song from when Kameeni woke up in the field. The product placements were ridiculous. I mean I actually brought out a pen and paper to start taking notes after a while and trust me I missed some. From your Apple Lap tops to your Bebes, Armanis, Starbucks, Filmfare Magazine, Motorola Razors, Pantene, Coca Cola etc. etc. Then you've got your unnecessary movie spoofs and shout outs: from your Veer-Zaara, to your K3G, Chupke Chupke, Kal Ho Na Ho, Chalte Chalte, Dhoom, Mohabbattein, Fanaa, this and that and the third! Just to mention a few. And don't even get me started on Karan Johar Kiss-up and the Diss-up of Yash Chopra. Plus, crown it all up, they copied the ending to 'TITANIC' which made it all the more tacky! It was all much too much and resulted in a very very very very super long and crappy movie! Salaam-e-crap! Crap's sweet salute!

having to agree with almost everything already commented

[AInK · 6/10 · 28 January 2007]

this might contain spoilers - not really - but just wanted it said...

I have to agree with a lot of what has been commented already:

• yes, there barely is any main story-line

• yes, the movie was too long

• yes, they should have cut some stuff between 2:20h and 3:40h as it drags along; maybe indeed some of the "song"-parts (if you can call them that) that were just basically slide-shows between the different couples

• yes, this wasn't Salman Khans best performance

BUT:

• yes, this was a great Tribute to Love!

• and yes, Govinda, Akshay, John and Anil were a pleasure to watch

Let me explain: the reason why there was hardly any storyline was, that the only purpose of the main-storyline was, to bind the various sub-stories together! The whole idea of the movie was to show the various aspects of Love, the various shades of Love and also the various emotions of Love. With it a whole barrage of decisions in life in regards to Love:

• am I going for my career, or am I going for a lifetime-partner?

• am I going to leave my wife, because marriage has gotten stale?

• am I going to marry, albeit that I enjoy being a bachelor?

• am I going to stay unmarried, if my partner doesn't want to marry?

• am I going to chase after my partner, when (s)he decides to marry someone else?

• am I going to help someone I love, to get married to someone else?

• am I going to let go, when my partner has amnesia and doesn't remember me anymore?

• AND: am I going to get laid after the wedding? ;-)

the last one being more of a joke, but how could you leave out "making love" when you do a Tribute to Love? and after all they will be in the Tunnel of Love.

a lot of the scenes ended up being very symbolic: How many bridges do you have to cross in life?

What really comes out from Thazeebs story is the pain and anguish that one can go thru because of love... when it seems that there neither is a tomorrow nor today without the one you truly love.

In the end all that comes to mind is: - does love pay off?

It turns out that Love always finds a way, and to that: Salaam e Ishq!

What a disappointment!

[virindra · 1/10 · 26 March 2007]

I have been waiting for this movie a long time. Especially because Juhi Chawla is in this, she's a great actress.

This movie contains six stories. It's a new concept flew over from Hollywood. So it's not a new item.

1. Khamini (priyanka chopra) is a dancer. She wants to get famous and makes up a boyfriend to let news reporters be interested in her. But then Rahul (Salman Khan) appears and he claims to be her boyfriend.

Priyanka Chopra is still not a good actress. When she yells, I get annoyed. Salman khan cannot play comic roles. But in his serious parts he is marvelous.

2. Vinay (Anil Kapoor) is married to Seema (Juhi Chawla). He gets in a midlife crisis and gets attracted to a much younger woman, with forgetting what he really has in life; his wife and kids.

Anil kapoor en Juhi are natural born actors / actresses. They are great. But this story is to thin for them.

3. Shiven (Akshaye Khanna) is going to get married to Gia (Ayesha Takia), but he gets cold feet and blows the wedding off.

4. Ashutosh (Joh Abraham) is married to Tehzeeb (Vidya Balan). She gets an accident and suffers a memory loss. Now she doesn't know that she loves her husband anymore.

5. Raju (Govinda) is a cab driver. He meets Stephani (Shannon Esrechowitz) who is a white woman who is in love with an Indian male but he is about to get married with an Indian woman. Raju has to bring Staphani to that man, but falls in love with her.

I never liked Govinda's movies. He is very annoying, not funny. But in this movie I liked him very much, like he has been growing up the last years.

6. Oh yes! There is Sohail Khan! He plays Ram Dayal who is just married to Phoolwati (Isha Koppikar). He want to get some serious action with her, but every time her family comes in between.

Sohail Khan is not a handsome actor, but he is funny! I like his movies.

Now here's the problem. All these stories aren't interesting. To make one story from six not interesting stories does not make the whole movie interesting! Here and there the stories touch each other, but is not significant for the characters.

My conclusion; Priyanka cannot act! Loose that woman in the bollywood industry. Sohail Khan should make more movies, this role for him was too small. Salman Khan cannot act comic roles, but real serious movies. That's written on his life as an actor. This movie sucks, and is a waste of a cast of good actors and actresses like Anil Kapoor, Juhi Chawla, Akshaya Khanna and John Abraham.

It's just like you have the ability to make a movie with Amitabh Bachchan, and you only let him sing a lullaby.

fair fun, but little chaos...

[imthebest_rt · 6/10 · 4 February 2007]

The movie is fun to watch. It is an entertainer too. However some chaos erupted due to the huge star cast & mix up of stories. But it had to happen. 6 couples and more than 3.5 hrs is not an easy task after all.

Govinda's story is sweet & fun to watch & so is Akshay & Aisha's. Salman Khan again went over the top with Priyanka, need to work on it. Anil Kapur & Juhi are gud but nt much to do though. Similar was the case with John & Vidya. Sohail & Isha had just 4 scenes but of course there story ws nice & fun. Sohail seems to working gr8 on his comedy skills.

The transition between stories and scenes are good. And the song & music is just amazing. Cinematography is real gud too. But Nikhil needs to come up with a nice story to tell with similarly gud presentation. He needs to come out of shadow of Karan.

But still a nice attempt & a fair treat ;-)

'Never Judge a Film By It's Trailer'

[cool-bhargava · 2/10 · 3 May 2009]

It's amazing to see how Nikhil Advani manages to attract people to the theater till the very day of the release. I mean..... look at the cast here , the promotion is superb, good enough songs and the trailers are fine. This makes it a house full on the first day, but it's only when people go and see the film they realize that there is no way their money is refundable. House full the first day , the movie is out the next week.

This film, inspired by 'Love Actually' is what they say, didn't manage to handle the whole cast well. They tried to put in big stars but ended up by not even managing to bring out even an average performance by any one. The stories are hollow and cheesy, so the audience can't connect with any single one of them. It's a big disappointment to all those who like big stars or for that matter Nikhil Advani after his big success of 'Kal Ho Na Ho'.

Salaam-e-Wonderful

[springsunnywinter · 10/10 · 14 March 2007]

A very nice heart touching film that I really enjoyed although I'm not very keen in romantic comedies especially in Hollywood.

The film has six stories about six couples they are all told bit by bit all at the same time not one by one (like in Darna Mana/Zaroori Hai) and they are all linked to each other. My favourite story is Govinda's & Shannon's and the funniest story is Sohail Khan's & Isha Kopikar's. The best couple has to be John Abraham & Vida Balan. In each story the couple have their own major problem that are:

Couple 1

John Abraham Vidya Balan

Problem: Commitment but not together

Couple 2

Salman Khan Priyanka Chopra

Problem: Together but no commitment

Couple 3

Anil Kapoor Juhi Chawla

Problem: Married but boring life

Couple 4

Akshaye Khanna Ayesha Takia

Problem: Afraid to marry

Couple 5

Govinda Shannon Esrechowitz

Problem: Communication

Couple 6

Sohail Khan Isha Koppikar

Problem: Married but still virgins

But they all have one common problem LOVE!

About nearly 4 hours but all that time was worth it and I never knew that it went by & 4 hours of good stuff is better 1.5 hour of rubbish. It is said to be inspired by Love, Actually starring Hugh Grant. I've not seen it but I know that Salaam-e-Ishq is a 1000 times better than Love, Actually.

The best songs are Salaam-e-Ishq and Dil Kya Kare.

"Nikhil Advani" lost it somehow

[ank_jabberwocky1 · 7/10 · 29 January 2007]

A promising star cast, a star studded cast great music Salaam e ishq looked like a perfect recipe of a mega hit. But then when after 3 hours when u walk out of the hall you feel like something was missing. Nikhil advani took a difficult task of telling 6 love stories in one go. Love actually was amazing coz of excellent screenplay where the transition from one story to another was smooth and lovely.

S-E-I lost it on this ground many times ... at times the transition is amazing but sometimes you just feel like the story is left in between. "Nikhil" tried to connect all the couples towards the end which was a nice idea but poorly executed. Everybody just ends up there somehow which is so mechanical. Some love stories lack the depth of love and the passion. "Anil kapoor's n juhi chawla's" relation is so superficial. A guy walking out of a marriage and then coming back to his wife that calls for a deep enthralling love. The show stopper is definitely "john abrahim" and "vidya balan".The chemistry is natural and the emotional bondage is most deeply rooted in that story.

Worst performance is by yes you guessed it rite " Salman Khan". He pronounced "Rahul" as "RAUL" and sometimes you just feel like he is talking about "Spain's" striker. "Govinda" was too loud in the movie but still their love story is both cute and loving and it brings a smile on your face. "Suhail khan" and "isha kopikkar" had little scope but gave few moments of joy.

Music is superb and the choreography is even better. The title track stands out . "Kailash kher's" voice is moving and touching. Except the useless remix "babuji" every song is justified .

Overall watch the movie Worth very little expectations and u can avoid it too

six for the price of one

[sandhirflora · 3/10 · 25 February 2007]

Six for the price of one! So it is a bonanza time for Cinegoers. Isn't it? Here it is not one, not two but all SIX-love stories, an ensemble cast of top stars of bollywood, plus all stories in the genre of your favorite top directors Johar, Bhansali, Chopra et al. You will get to see every damn type of love story that you enjoyed or rather tolerated for years now. So no big deal for you. Do you need anything more than this? No sir, thank you. Why sir? Enough is enough. Please spare us. They signed every top star that they manage to sign, whether required or not, so they end up making a circus of stars, believe it or not. Too crowded Every thing depicted here is exactly how it is prescribed in bollywood textbook of romances. Plus you have to justify the length given to each story, as each has stars. Therefore, it is too long-three hours plus. The gags are filmy. Characters are filmy. Problems, Barriers, situations, resolution … yes you guessed it right, again…. filmy-tried and tested. Same hundreds of dancers dancing in colorful costumes in background. Why they have no other work to do? All couples are sugary-sweet, fairy tale type, Picture perfect. All are good looking. Each story beginning in a perfect way and therefore should ends also in that impossible perfect manner? Too haphazard. You can't connect to a single story. Here you have everything that you already seen a million times. Bloody fake, unreal, escapist abnormal stories considered normal for more than hundred years since evolution of this Indian cinema. What a mockery of sensibilities of today's audience? Yes it could have worked as a parody if he just paid tribute to love-stories of yesteryear but alas even that thing is not explored. At least, Director Nikhil Advani should have attempted one unconventional, offbeat love story but then what will happen to the tradition of living up to the mark of commercial bollwood potboiler brigade? Oh! Somebody has to carry on, no. Imagine on one hand audience finds it difficult to sit through one such love story and here we have six times the pain. I mean six damn stories. I mean double the fun of chopra's Mohabbatein (Year 2000) In this age and time, get something real, guys. We are now desperate to see some not so colorful people and not so bright stories Oh, What have you said just now- come on, that is entertainment. My advice, please don't waste your time henceforth reading such reviews. Go instead, have some more such entertainment! Thank you.