Real-life lovers Abhishek Bachchan and Karisma Kapoor are seen playing reel-life lovers for the first time on screen in Dharmesh Darshan's complex love drama titled “Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya”.
Akshay Kumar, a favorite in Darshan camp, forms the jagged edge of the love triangle in a cameo performance.
Pooja (Karisma) and Shiv (Abhishek) are two people in need of a good job to make their ends meet. At a job interview for the post of the executive manager they both run into each other. To avoid competition Pooja fools Shiv into thinking that she is the Boss's daughter. Gullible Shiv hands her his curriculum vitae. So while Shiv's CV lands into the trash can, clever Pooja gets the job.
But Shiv is not the one to throw in the towel so easily. He follows Pooja wherever she goes pleading her to cajole her father into giving him a job in his company. Soon lady luck smiles on hapless Shiv as he gets the job of General Manager in the same company.
Now Pooja cannot keep her secret any longer. And when Shiv comes to know that she has cheated him, instead of getting angry, he speaks his heart out and asks Pooja to marry him. She consents.
Post marriage, the couple flies to Switzerland. Here Shiv bumps into his old time college friend (Simone Singh). An unexpected twist of events force the two to spend a night together. Yielding to that momentary passion, Shiv forgets his lifelong commitments towards his marriage and indulges in adultery. This breaks the delicate thread of trust between Pooja and Shiv putting their marriage in jeopardy.
Shiv and Pooja part ways. Soon Pooja gets a new job as the secretary to film star Raj Malhotra (Akshay Kumar). Raj is smitten by Pooja's innocence and begins to weave the dreams of marrying her.
During one of the shoots, when both Raj and Pooja go to Naini Hills, she runs into Shiv once again. Shiv works as the manager of the hotel. Shiv and Raj become good friends. Raj also confesses his love for Pooja to Shiv, not knowing that he is her ex-husband. Their relationships further entangle until Pooja's reality dawns on Raj. And then Dharmesh Darshan draws the movie to its expected end.
“HMBPK” bears the stamp of a typical Darshan movie: the emotions in the film are mushy and the dialogues syrupy. In fact, there is nothing novel in the story. The songs as usual are ill placed. Abhishek Bachchan once again disappoints with his impassive performance.
On the other hand, Karisma Kapoor impresses with her emotive range. Akshay Kumar too looks a convincing film star. However, his role in the film seems to have been reduced to the margins. In the light-hearted roles, Kader Khan, Shakti Kapoor and Himani Shivpuri hardly evoke any laughter.
