'The Girl Fro m Monaco' fizzles out too soon

Akshay Kumar's Viraj is a ruggedly handsome and charismatic Hollywood stuntman, an enormously successful playboy who thinks his brother (Aftab Shivdasani) is crazy to want to get married. Even more vehemently opposed to his marriage is the sister, Simitra (Kareena Kapoor) of the bride-to-be (Amitra Arora). Viraj and Simitra experience an avalanche of such intense mutual antipathy that the film telegraphs that ultimately they will fall madly in love. Simitra is a drop-dead gorgeous model turned medical student who doesn't believe in love because she mistakenly believes her late father was a relentless womanizer. Her aunt inexplicably doesn't tell her that this is untrue until very late in the film. Had this occurred earlier Simitra wouldn't seem so unsympathetic, and Khan could have more effectively cut to the heart of the matter, which is the challenge of two people of exceptional looks, sexual allure and enormous ego daring to surrender to love.

The film's three Hollywood guest stars, Sylvester Stallone, Denise Richards and Brandon Routh, are relaxed and genial, and spared the histrionics genre convention demands of Kumar and Kapoor, seem natural and effective. Even so, Kumar and Kapoor, of the illustrious four-generation Kapoor acting clan and granddaughter of the celebrated actor-director Raj Kapoor, are talented, authentic stars. "Kambakkht Ishq" is glitzy, noisy -- but short on crossover appeal.

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Kevin Thomas --

"Kambakkht Ishq." Unrated. Some sensuality. In Hindi and English, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours, 22 minutes (plus intermission). At selected theaters.