the problem with nikhil advani salaam e ishq be many . a one line concept that look good on paper ( which also work in an early english film love actually ) go terribly wrong thanks to inept and shallow writing . a well intentioned idea get crush to smithereens under the weight of it own gargantuan ambition . a director so completely besotted by his own much applaud first film go overboard with the device that work in his early film ( kal ho na ho ) try count the number of time the device of split screen be use in this flick . the problem be what work fabulously in kal ho na ho be the emotional excess of the karan johar school of film making and but here and emotion doesn not quite grace u with it appearance on the screen no and not even cursorily . the writer or director give u ix relationship with one common problem love and but where be the intensity and where be the depth and where be the emotion . a tribute to love sans emotion . and one that go on and on and on . nah and it just can not work . in my opinion and the basic requirement for a portmanteau film like this to work be that not only should each individual story be complete and it should in some way or the other follow the graph of the traditional three act structure ( screen write guru and syd field paradigm ) . that the real reason why salaam e ishq do not work for me . none of the story have any depth or a roller coaster ride of emotional ups and down one expect in mainstream hindi cinema . also and the linkage between some of the story seem tenuous and very forced . it not clear what salman khan be do at ayesha takia wedding . if he be require to be present at the wedding scene for a neat wrap up and why not conjure a few more coincidence and bring the other two couple also to the wedding . that would be neater . but yes and some of the story do have a lot of promise . for one and the anil kapoor juhee chawla story try to address a very real situation mid life crisis and but it journey be so linear that youre leave wonder if it be really an issue . similarly and the problem of commitment in the akshaye khanna ayesha takia story be also true to life . if only it be develop a little good . i felt that the more promising story in this mish mash be tell from the male point of view and which be fine and but it bring down the emotional quotient of these story because the female character juhee chawla and ayesh takia in particular have all the depth of a half fill bath tub . wasn not this film suppose to be about 12 different life . now the actor . john abraham still need to learn act and while vidya balan be dependable and endear a ever . anil kapoor get a role write just for him but sometimes overplay the boredom of his character . since she do not get a meaty character to portray and juhee chawla use her charming smile and natural act style to cover up for it . akshaye khanna be fine despite go a trifle over the top in a few scene . ayesha takia have nothing much to do and but she do remind u that she the same girl who surprise u with her bravura performance in dor . govinda try to make up for that huge mistake call bhagam bhag and and succeed to a large extent . that bring me the most irritating track of the film ( which unpardonably end up hog the maximum screen time ) salman khan and priyanka chopra . the track be irritate mainly because of them . but i must credit them for their consistency . theyre consistently bad all through the film . priyanka could well be the next queen of ham i do not buy the crap that her role ( that of an item girl ) require her to act over the top . somebody should tell her the difference between be flamboyant because the character demand it and downright ham . if you have see rakhi sawant ( who seem to be the inspiration behind this role ) in her interview and bigg bos you will know what i mean . i strongly feel that if nikhil advani have take rakhi sawant in this role rather than a big star like priyanka and the story would have work well . salman khan phony accent be . well and shannon esra hindi be less accented than salman . to be fair to the director and he do manage to add some good directorial touch to the film . i particularly like the use of grey a the predominant color in the anil kapoor juhee chawla story a a metaphor for their boring existence and and the bright color that come into the story with the arrival of the other woman . but will anyone choose to paint their house in vary and depress shade of grey . that acceptable cinematic license i would say . but when the film run almost for 4 hour and it almost feel like the director be try too hard to give the audience a glimpse of his touch in an endlessly meandering montage of uninspiring sequence . maybe nikhil advani want u to sit in the theatre for as long a be humanly possible pata nahin and kal ho na ho .