|
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]
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.
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]
|
