After a hard hitting debut with Shool, E. Niwas returns with his next venture, the crime comedy Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega. In the tradition of Ram Gopal Varma protégé productions (Shool and PTKK) this one also promises to be different. But while the two aforementioned films were different, yet entertaining, Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega falls short of expectations, but manages to entertain mildly.

The story revolves around 5 people. We have Sapna (Sonali Bendre), the spoilt daughter of a rich industrialist Rajiv Kapoor (Dalip Tahil). She has fallen in love and married Prakash (Saif Ali Khan) a greedy man who seems to have married Sapna mostly for her money. On the other hand there is Rahul (Fardeen Khan) who is looking for a decent job so that he can marry his landlords daughter Anjali (Twinkle Khanna). Hiralal or Harry (Aftaab), as he is affectionately called, lives with Rahul and dreams of having it all. Now that the introductions are out of the way here´s what forms the main part of the story. Prakash, who is upset by the way his father-in-law treats him, hatches a plan to have his wife kidnapped by Rahul and Harry, and gather ransom money to start his own business. Everyone benefits out of the plan. Prakash will be able to move out of his father-in-laws house and start up his company. Rahul will be able to leave his house and have Anjali to himself, who he can only marry after he pays his rent to Anjali´s father and show him that he has money. Finally Harry can buy a new car, treat his various girlfriends to elaborate gifts and pay his debts off to his friend Aslam Bhai (Jonny Lever) a local underworld goon who aspires to be a filmi hero. With twist and turns along the way we begin the story.........

The film is well directed. E. Niwas handles the subject well and the nararative pace is believable. It´s not like Ek Rishta where Juhi married Monish after one crossword puzzle. Here we are nararated the story of how Sapna and Prakash met and married. The nararation in the beginning of the film (done by Paresh Rawal) was a good idea. The characters were introduced quickly with no elaborate entrances and we already have their characterizations established. However the director does take a while to actually introduce the story. While we wait for the story to begin, there are a few laughs along the way, but E. Niwas makes the one mistake of taking too long to introduce the actual crux of the plot. Another factor which goes against the film is that the comedy, which I found to be hilarious, doesn´t go down well with everyone. Most of the times when i was laughing others where just smiling. However this is the type of comedy which appeals more to the classes, like Hera Pheri, and would be considered ´intelligent comedy´. There is no wacky music in the background to prepare you for a laugh, there are no loud characters, there aren´t silly physical gags. It´s fun humor, and although I personally felt that this film was a laugh riot, other´s like my family found themselves searching for humor in certain scenes. That´s not to say that the humor is hard to find, there are some clearly hilarious sequences in the film. Notable among them are scenes such as; Sonali´s kidnap scene, when Saif tells his father-in-law about the kidnapping, Aslam Bhai showing Harry the mechanics of acting, and Saif´s first encounter with Rahul and Harry.

Performances are also well done. Saif Ali Khan is at home with comedy, his comic timing is admirable and he´s proved it to audiences before. His expressions in the scene where he tells his father-in-law about his wife´s kidnapping is hilarious and the credit goes to him. Fardeen is comfortable in this comic role, it surprising to see him do a good job for his first try. Although his facial expressions still need work in some parts, he does a good job overall. The film belongs to Aftaab, who steals the show in each of his scenes. He and Fardeen make a good team, but they work well because of Aftaab. His voice modulation, facial expressions and comic timing are impeccable. Jonny Lever also does a good job, his scenes with the agent Aaj Kapoor are notable. However some of his comic scenes suffer from bad editing and as a result they take too long to end, long after the laughter is over. Of the actresses Sonali Bendre gets more screen time (although that isn´t saying much) and shows a flare for comedy. Her kidnapping scene and her parting scene with Fardeen and Aftaab are funny. Twinkle does not have many dialogues, but gets to dance more than Sonali. Twinkle and Fardeen make a good looking pair, as do Sonali and Saif. Either way both girls look fantastic, and help with the visual appeal of the film. The supporting cast also does a good job.

Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega could have been better had the director taken less time to get into the story. With mediocre choreography and cinematography, the audience doesn´t have much to do but wait for the film to actually get exciting. Song picturizations pop out of nowhere and interrupt the flow of the film (which is a problem), however you must admit that they are fun to watch. Dialogues are written very well and help with the entertainment value of the film. Overall the film is a fun romp, with some exciting moments, good performances, and decent direction. However with comedy which will fly over some peoples heads, and an uneven pace, the film looses some appeal. Naturally the film is running very well in the cities, and not so well in other territories, as for overseas, it´s hard to say. None of the stars are huge pulls overseas as of yet, but they all fit the bill. All said and done Love Ke Liye Kuch Bhi Karega is worth the peek, it comes as a relief from hard hitting, serious flicks like Lagaan and Gadar, although nowhere near their brilliance.