Ritu's Reviews

Thanks to Shankar-Eshan-Loy, the songs already had you singing aloud in your car and dancing like a fool in your living room…or maybe that’s just me? A tribute it sure is, with not one but SIX love stories! How wonder boy, director, Nikhil Advani pulls it all together…or does he? - Find out!

For cinemagoers that constantly travel back and forth between Hollywood and Bollywood flicks, you may be under the impression that Saalam-E-Ishq is the adaptation of LOVE ACTUALLY. Well, it’s not, so try not to be disappointed. The concept may be similar, but the stories are different. Nikhil Advani along with Saurabh Shukla and Suresh Nair pen an original script. Now whether they should have just copied LOVE ACTUALLY or not, is debatable. Nevertheless Saalam-E-Ishq pulls together a dynamite combo of actors, each with their own story. In an effort to give each story exposure and all the artists fair share of screen time, the film is a lengthy 3 ½ hours long! As can be expected it wasn’t properly paced and it seemed like nothing was developing in the first half hour. It takes time to drive the point home. The stories with the most substance are the Akshaye Khanna/Ayesha Takia track, Anil Kapoor/Juhi Chawla, and John Abraham/Vidya Balan. They hold the most realism. Surprisingly, though a bit off track Sohail/Isha Koppikar provide comic relief rather than deep, trivial thought with their love story. Salman Khan/Priyanka Chopra’s story had too much inconsistency and Govinda/Shannon Esra are like Raja Hindustani meets Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam with a gori. But regardless of who had a weak story, who had a strong story, who’s role was longer, each actor performs with excellence. There are no complaints when it comes to acting. Each has given their best. But if there is any one person that steals the show, it’s Akshaye Khanna who repeatedly proves he can tackle ANY role and deliver it with freshness. His portions brighten the screen and give the film a lively presence. Shannon Esra too deserves special mention for doing a spectacular job, a pure natural sinking her teeth in to the character. A surprise highlight in the film that blows you away is Anjana Sukhani. Part of the Anil Kapoor/Juhi Chawla tale, this girl is absolutely hot and takes your breath away. From the supporting cast, Prem Chopra, Tinnu Anand, and Vishal Malhotra excel.
Without going in to too many details, if you look at Saalam-E-Isqh, on the surface it already has a lot of things going for it.
1) It’s directed by Nikhil Advani who gave us the ever so memorable Kal Ho Na Ho
2) It’s got a stellar starcast, your bound to be a fan of SOMEONE in the film
3) It’s got music by Shankar-Eshan-Loy who make every song worth the purchase
4) And finally it’s got a suave look to it with top-notch cinematography and classy sets.
But with that said, looking at the intricacies, Saalam-E-Ishq is a far cry from a perfect script or even a perfect film for director Nikhil Advani following Kal Ho Naa Ho. Sure he presents himself with the challenge of managing a whirlwind with so many stars and stories, but that’s something he chose. Advani’s script is not nearly as tight or in as much form, he could have easily focused on one or two, maybe three tracks and delivered a far more superior product. As a result it’s slightly disappointing and long – not living up to its entire hype with a lack of depth and definition. Still given he’s tackling 6 stories and 12 stars, what he’s able to do nicely, (which most aren’t) is wrap up and conclude everything in a way that it all makes sense and knits together.

Somehow Nikhil Advani with his all-star cast manages to pull viewers through 3 ½ hours by keeping them entertained with laughter and good music. Certainly a theatrical watch, Saalam-E-Ishq provides moments you can carry out with you, walking away with Ritu Mahindru’s 3 stars.