Bollywood extravaganza

Hollywood's stars share centrestage with Indian superstars, writes Abdulla Mahmood.

Kambakkht ishq
Cast Kareena Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Aftab Shivdasani, Amrita Arora, Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh
Director Sabir Khan
Rating G

Sajid Nadiadwala's Kambakkht Ishq, undoubtedly the season's biggest Bollywood release, stars some of the biggest names in Bollywood and Hollywood.

The plot

Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar) is one of Hollywood's top stuntmen and lives a flamboyant life. He doesn't believe in marriage. Simrita Raj (Kareena Kapoor), a successful supermodel, is a feminist firebrand and doesn't advocate the idea of love and long-term relationships. But destiny has another plan for those two when it leads them to cross paths. Viraj's brother Lucky (Aftab Shivdasani) wants to marry Simrita's best friend Kamini (Amrita Arora) but Viraj and Simrita don't approve of their decision to get married.

The two constantly find themselves at loggerheads, but find themselves falling in love in true Bollywood style.

Bollywood's stuntman

Long before Kumar became a superstar, he was known for performing death-defying stunts without using a double. "Performing my own stunts gives me an adrenaline rush and although I'm aware of the risks involved, I take all the necessary precautions," says Kumar. In Kambakkht Ishq, Kumar performs stunts for Hollywood characters Rambo and Superman. "While shooting in Universal Studio, I was allowed to perform stunts only after I took enough safety measures and this was unlike Bollywood, where we take a lot of risk," he explains.

Beauty queen

The glamorous character of an independent model was tailormade role for Kapoor. "Kambakkht Ishq is Bollywood masala at its grandest and I hope the audience enjoys the chemistry between Akshay and me," she says.

There's been a lot written about Kapoor's swimsuit act in the film. The actress defends her choice of costume.

"What I wear depends on the character, script and the scene. You don't expect people to be fully-clothed when they go swimming," she claims.

Marriage of East and West

Nadiadwala has also roped in Hollywood heavyweights like Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh to star in his film. This is probably the first time several Hollywood actors star in a Bollywood flick. "I have been a huge Stallone fan and it's an honour for me to share screen space with him," says Kumar. Routh, who became an international celebrity after his portrayal of Superman in Superman Returns also shares scenes with Kumar.

It is believed that Nadiawala had approached Arnold Schwarzenegger and Beyoncé Knowles for the film but it didn't work out. For now, Kambakkht Ishq has enough reasons to attract audiences but it remains to be seen if it has enough substance to back all the hype.

Filmfile