August Issue 2009

After enduring the ordeal that is Kambakkht Ishq for about three hours, one wonders what exactly it is about the movie that has broken the previous box office records of Singh is Kinng and Om Shanti Om. It is a movie that has glitz and glamour — with Kareena Kapoor parading in outfits that clearly seem to be the only well-planned aspect of the film — but lacks a plausible storyline, dialogue and even performances.

Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor), also called Bebo in the film, is a super-model who is also a surgeon. She hates all men and cannot understand why her friend Kamini (Amrita Arora) wants to get married, which would mean an end to her career as a lingerie model. Simirta’s character would have been believable had she been portrayed as someone who takes her practice seriously. Instead, she shows up at the hospital wearing dresses absolutely unsuitable for work, accidentally leaves her watch inside Viraj Shergill’s (Akshay Kumar) stomach, and doesn’t spend as much time at the hospital as a resident or surgeon normally would. Later, she is also shown conducting another surgery with a fellow surgeon without any nurses or doctors present — which is impossible, given that she’s working at a well-known hospital in California. How and why a surgeon was wearing a watch during surgery (where were her surgical gloves?), and how none of the other nurses and doctors present noticed, is a glaring loophole — but apparently not one for director Sabir Khan.

Viraj Shergill is a stunt double in Hollywood and a womaniser who refuses to get married. Viraj and Simrita meet during their mutual friends’ wedding, and verbal insults soon ensue. Constantly referring to each other as ‘dog’ and ‘bitch’, neither can stand the other. They meet again when Viraj is taken to the ER after getting injured on the set and Simrita has to operate on him.

The film includes guest appearances by Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh and yet fails to impress. Denise Richards is Viraj’s girlfriend who wants to marry him just so they can have ‘golden babies’ — with his skin tone and her features. Kambakkht Ishq is obviously meant for all those viewers who are looking for a film that basically relies on crass, toilet humour and Kareena Kapoor’s fashion parade. Others will definitely find the characters highly offensive and an absolute waste of time.