Movie Review:Salaam-e-Ishq

Cast:Salman Khan, Priyanka Chopra, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Akshaye Khanna, John Abraham, Sohail Khan, Juhi Chawla, Ayesha Takia, Vidya Balan, Ishaa Koppikar, Shannon Esra
rating-**1/2
review-:Six loves stories woven into one and director Nikhil Advani falls flat while trying to hold the script together. It’s no easy task to tell a story convincingly on a canvass as big as 70mm and when it involves six individual stories one has to have the finesse of a master story teller and the editing skills like Edward Scissorhands. Since none of these are happening, the film goes haywire and clocks three-and-a-half hours. Not done. It only goes to prove once again that a big star cast alone does not necessarily guarantee you a hit.Clearly no one has control over the proceedings as the film moves into its first few reels in the first half. The characters are meandering in and out leaving the viewer in a daze and when songs are interjected without any rhyme or reason you wonder what’s happening to your senses. It was a trip back in time for me, to the early nineties when the audience would walk out of the theatres during a song and if you were watching at home, you would fast forward the song.After the interval, the script does get a little tighter though but then again, one is expected to leave your brains behind. Like for example, how on earth Salman Khan lands at Ayesha Takia’s wedding, which incidentally is the grand finale? It was a typical scene like in the good Ol Hindi movies when the entire cast would assemble along with the cops who would always be late! Salman is neither Ayesha’s brother nor friend nor a relation of any of her relations!!! But he is there because it makes it easier for the director to have them all under one roof.To hear Salman speak one has to strain his ears. Govinda as the taxi driver along with his phirang co-star Shannon Esra packs a punch. Clearly it’s Shanon who steals a march over the much touted and much acclaimed Bollywood actresses, Ayesha Takia and Priyanka Chopra. She portrays her simplicity and vulnerability with such graceful charm that your heart reaches out to her. Akshaye Khanna proves that he needs a brilliant author-backed role to get the best of him. He shines in patches. Clearly this is one actor who has not gotten his due. One longs to see the Arjun of Vijay, (1988) and Mahesh Deshmukh, Munna of Tezaab. But I guess, Anil Kapoor will have to be satisfied with bit roles like these.All and all,a mediocre 3 hours 45 minutes spent ..not to mention the cash.....