KAMBAKKHT ISHQ

Sylvester Stallone has always been a great source of inspiration to me. He reached out through his movies and spoke to me when I needed it most in my teen age years; he inspired and gave me hope. Riveted and wide eyed, I watched movies like shaped ‘Escape’, ‘Over the top’, the ‘Rocky’ series, the ‘Rambo’ series and many others in my formative years.

To me, Stallone was more than a movie star; he was a beacon of hope. I used to blast ‘Eye of the Tiger’ and work out at intensely at home while watching the awe inspiring training sequence in Rocky 3. Believe it or not, I lost over 20 kgs doing just that. Stallone’s philosophies motivated me no end. The 80’s for me were shaped by Stallone.

After a brief lull, he made a formidable come back with two giant hits ‘Rocky Balboa’ and ‘Rambo 4’. Firmly entrenching himself in his well deserved super star status for yet another decade.

So when the news said that an Indian Hindi film was going to feature Sylvester Stallone along with a few other Hollywood biggies, my delight knew no bounds! The icing on the cake was that the Indian star would be Akshay Kumar, a man whose fitness lifestyle I endorse readily!
Unable to make it for the pre-release trial, I went to the theatre to see the film (I owed that much to my idol Stallone). With much ado, I sank into my seat with my ice cream in hand and waited pregnant with anticipation for the film to start.

At the beginning, I sat wide eyed with raised eyebrows and a huge smile plastered across my face but with each passing frame, my eyebrows dipped a little and my wide eyes began to reduce in size. My smile began to invert. As the film progressed, I covered my battered and distorted face to save my senses from more savage punishment but the film was relentless, it bashed on regardless.

Like a well coordinated terror attack, Kambakkth Ishq attacks mercilessly from all fronts and flanks. The film knows no pity, hesitation, regret or remorse. The smarter ones left the cinema hall while a few of us foolishly braved on. When the savagery of the viewer’s senses was finally over (that is, when the film finally ended), a few of crawled out of the theatre on all fours. The rest had to be carted away before rigor mortis set in.

The time spent watching Kambakkth Ishq wasn’t wasted. It was payback to Stallone for all that he had done for me during my growing years. Today, I can finally look at Stallone in the eye (on the cover of my DVD of Rocky 3) and say “Thanks a million Sylvester for all you’ve given me but we are even now.”

So I, Captain Vinod Nair sign off here feeling relieved of baggage and ready for a good nights’ sleep. Thank you Kambakkth Ishq for helping me repay a debt that has weighed on my shoulders for over two long decades :)

Captain Vinod Nair