Kambakkht Ishq
Movie poster for Kambakkht Ishq
Directed by	Sabbir Khan
Produced by	Sajid Nadiadwala
Written by	Anvita Dutt Guptan Ishita Moitra Sabbir Khan
Starring	Akshay Kumar Kareena Kapoor Aftab Shivdasani Amrita Arora
Music by	Anu Malik Anvita Dutt Guptan (lyrics)
Cinematography	Vikas Shivraman
Studio	Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment
Distributed by	Eros Entertainment
Release date(s)	3 July 2009
Running time	135 minutes[1]
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	Rs. 60 crore[2]
Gross revenue	$2,998,940 (Worldwide, excluding India)[3]

Kambakkht Ishq (Hindi: कमबख़्त इश्क़) is an Indian Bollywood film directed by Sabbir Khan and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala. The film, is loosely based on the 2002 Tamil film Pammal K. Sambandam,^[2] features Akshay Kumar and Kareena Kapoor in pivotal roles along with actors Aftab Shivdasani and Amrita Arora in supporting roles. Hollywood actors Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards, Brandon Routh and Holly Valance appear in cameos, playing themselves.^[4] Originally scheduled to release in December 2008,^[5] the film was postponed due to extensive production work and was released on 3 July 2009.^[6]

[edit] Plot

Kambakkht Ishq explores the relationship between two individuals as different from each other as chalk and cheese. Viraj Shergill (Akshay Kumar) is a swashbuckling stuntman in Hollywood who believes that women are only good for two things: "making love" & "making love". Simrita Rai (Kareena Kapoor) is a firebrand who is more than able to stare down the most arrogant male with her caustic wit and sardonic tongue. She firmly believes that there is no such thing as love.

When the two people who hate each other the most meet at Simrita's best friend Kamini's (Amrita Arora) and Viraj's brother Lucky's (Aftab Shivdasani) wedding, the result is a wedding that both Viraj and Simrita are violently opposed to and desperate to stop.

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Cast and characters

• Akshay Kumar as Viraj Shergill - Viraj is a successful Hollywood stuntman who loves women but thinks that commitment and marriage are words that should not exist in his dictionary. He gets paid the big bucks for doing what the heroes can't do and lives a lavish life. Women, parties, and the adrenalin rush during a stunt are the highs in life. In his world, women exist only to have a good time with.
• Kareena Kapoor as Simrita Rai - Simrita is a hardened feminist, part time supermodel and an aspiring surgeon who does not see the need to have a man in her life. She believes that all men are no good losers. Life's experiences have taught her that men are just not worth the effort.
• Aftab Shivdasani as Lucky Doshi ^[7] - Lucky is the genuine and loveable friend of Viraj. He has been protected his entire life by Viraj and isn't as hard and practical as viraj is. Madly in love with Kamini, he wants to marry her. However, that is one thing that Viraj is against.
• Amrita Arora as Kamini Sandu ^[8] - Kamini is Simrita's best friend and is one of the top lingerie models in Hollywood. Her ultimate dream is to get married to a man who loves her.
• Kirron Kher as Dolly Aunty - Dolly aunty has brought up Simrita and Nimrita after their parents divorce and not only is on a search for a groom for Simrita but also for herself.
• Kahkashan Patel as Nimrita Rai
• Vindu Dara Singh as Tiger
• Rajesh Khera as Dr. Ali
• Javed Jaffrey as Keswani
• Boman Irani as ENT specialist doctor
• Ashwin Mushran as Parmeet

[edit] Cameos

• Denise Richards as Herself ^[9]
• Brandon Routh as Himself ^[10]
• Sylvester Stallone as Himself ^[4]
• Holly Valance as Herself

[edit] Production

In November 2007, producer Sajid Nadiadwala signed on actor Akshay Kumar to play the lead role in his film.^[11] Later that month Kareena Kapoor was signed on to play the female lead.^[12] It is the seventh time Kumar and Kapoor are paired together on-screen. Kumar plays a Hollywood stuntman in the film^[13] and Kapoor plays a high-society girl.^[14] According to Nadiadwala, "It will be an international love story on a lavish scale."^[12]

The project was originally expected to commence filming in January 2008 in Los Angeles, California with nine actors from Hollywood^[12] but due to extensive pre-production work on the film, it was later shifted to May 2008.^[15] Reports indicated that actor and politician Arnold Schwarzenegger was signed on to do a cameo and that the film would feature a performance from singer and actress Beyoncé Knowles.^[15] Prashant Shah, line producer of Kambakkht Ishq in L.A. commented, "...We are in talks with Beyoncé and we have also received a letter from Arnold's office...Things will be confirmed shortly and we will be making a formal announcement when that happens."^[13] It was later reported that both of the stars would not be appearing in the film.^[9]

In March 2008, Nadiadwala announced that "this would be the first Indian film to be shot within Universal Studios."^[16] However, when a fire broke out on the backlot of Universal Studios on 1 June 2008, the shooting of the film was expected to be delayed but the producer indicated, "...so far the area where we are supposed to shoot remains unaffected. So for now we are proceeding on schedule."^[17] Later that month, the cast finally began filming for the project in Los Angeles, California, where pivotal scenes were shot at the Kodak Theatre and Universal Studios.^[4] In August 2008, reports had indicated that the film was 50-60% complete and the cast would continue filming for the project in Venice, Italy.^[18] After completing their overseas schedule, the production team later headed to shoot in Mumbai, India.^[19]

During December 2008, reports surfaced indicating that Kumar and Kapoor would appear alongside Carmen Electra in a promotional music video for the film.^[20][21] In February 2009, Nadiadwala announced that Electra wouldn't be appearing in the music video and was replaced by the music group RDB. According to Nadiadwala, "It is not a music video but a song that we will use as an integral part of the film. It will occur close to the film's interval. It will also be the first promotional song."^[22] The first trailer of the film was shown alongside the release of Jehangir Surti's film Aa Dekhen Zara (2009).^[23]

[edit] Release

[edit] Box office

Prior to the film's worldwide release of 3 July 2009, advance bookings for Kambakkht Ishq officially commenced from June 28 onwards to positive response from the public.^[24][25] The film grossed over Rs 1 crore from its 125 advanced paid previews shown on Thursday [2 July 2009] night.^[26] On 3 July 2009, Kambakkht Ishq opened to a bumper response of 90-100% all over India.^[27] Making a first day total of Rs 8.50 crore,^[26] the film emerged as the second biggest opening day gross of all time for a Bollywood film.^[28] For its opening weekend in India, Kambakkht Ishq accumulated a total of Rs 24.50 crore^[28] from 1,400 screens.^[29] The following Monday, it grossed another Rs 4 crore,^[30] and the following Tuesday it grossed Rs 3 crore.^[31] At the end of its first week, Kambakkht Ishq collected a total of Rs 35.95 crore.^[32] During its second week at the box office, the film showed a 70% drop in its collections; the movie was above average overall at the box office.^[33]

Besides being released domestically in India, Eros International also released the film in over 600 screens overseas in a combination of prints and digital format.^[29] For its opening weekend in the United Kingdom, the film debuted at number 8 and grossed £ 299,533 on 56 screens, for an average of £ 5,349 per screen.^[34] Meanwhile, Kambakkht Ishq also opened well in the United States and Australia. Debuting at number 14 and number 11 in these respective places, the film accumulated a total of $ 768,542 from 100 screens in the U.S., and $ 152,626 from 17 screens in Australia, respectively.^[34] During its second week, the film continued to do well overseas and was declared a hit.^[35] As of 29 July 2009, Kambakkht Ishq has grossed a total of £ 681,154 in the U.K. and $ 1,445,739 in the U.S.^[36]

[edit] Critical response

Upon release, the film met with negative reviews. Noyon Jyoti Parasara from AOL India concluded, "The film has nothing going for it. It has a worryingly bad script, horrible screenplay, traumatising dialogues and unpleasant music."^[37] Parasara further explained, "Kambakkht Ishq is a shame when it comes to watching Indian films on the world stage."^[37] Rajeev Masand from CNN-IBN, who gave the film 1 star out of 5, noted that Kambakkht Ishq "is a loud, vulgar and seriously offensive film".^[38]

Taran Adarsh of indiaFM described Kambakkht Ishq as a film that would "strike a chord with the youth and those who relish zany and madcap entertainers".^[39] He praised the performances, direction, and writing, noting that the film would "see an earth-shattering opening weekend and a historic Week 1."^[39] Rachel Saltz from The New York Times concluded that "[the film] has only one frantic desire: to entertain. It spottily succeeds, despite its frequently crude humor, relentless pace and a few unpalatable racial bits."^[40]

[edit] Soundtrack

Kambakkht Ishq
Soundtrack by Anu Malik
Released	12 June 2009 (India)
Genre	Feature film soundtrack
Length	41:03
Label	Eros Music
Producer	Sajid Nadiadwala
Anu Malik chronology
Chal Chala Chal (2009) Kambakkht Ishq (2009) TBA

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website: Kambakkht Ishq
• Kambakkht Ishq at the Internet Movie Database
• Kambakkht Ishq at Box Office Mojo

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