Jaan-e-Mann

Let me clarify before I start with this review; that I had gone with zero expectations for this movie. I was expecting a rehash of Mujhse Shaadi Karogi which I had hated.
The movie commenced and I got a few thrills from the stylish and non-traditional execution of scenes by debutant director Shirish Kunder.

Story in brief
Suhan (Salman Khan) receives a notice for paying alimony and is supposed to shell out Rs. 50 lacs to his wife Piya (Preity Zinta), who lives in NY. His Chachu (Anupam Kher) is a lawyer, and they both start thinking of ways to avoid the payment, especially since Salman is penniless.

This is when Agastya Rao (Akshay Kumar, trying hard to look the role of a geek and failing); a NASA astronaut; comes over, searching for Preity. Grumble grumble... why does the picture of a geek always evoke spectacles for any storyteller.
He was a bespectacled guy with teeth braces in his college days, and was madly in love with Preity. But she was infatuated with Salman, and eloped with him (Akshay doesn't know that Salman is the guy she married).

To escape paying alimony; Salman and Anupam come up with an idea. They decide to help Akshay woo Preity and get her to marry him. Salman has to hide himself from Preity while coaching Akshay; which results in a quite a few funny situations. A few scenes inspired from Addicted to Love are put in to get a cute quotient.

A melodramatic pre-climax has just about taken your patience away when the funny climax makes you forgive the writer/director.

Technicians
The first half of the movie has some great visuals and loads of gimmicks. In the second half, the scene transitions get in to the normal movie mode. That's not to say the gimmicks are not enjoyable. Quite a few of them leave a smile on your lips; a kind of kind of smile.How creative of the director. The first half an hour almost seems a tribute to Chicago.
Shirish Kunder ends up editing the movie too, and must say he does not measure up to his standards of direction and writing (script as well as dialogues).
Most of the songs are brought in in a non-offensive manner, which is great. They also usually help move the story forward.

Cast
It's Salman's show all the way as he is the focal point of the story. He has the maximum scenes, and for once, he doesn't grate on your nerves. Akshay Kumar does a mediocre job, and he hardly has any memorable lines except for his distinctive laughter.
Preity Zinta does a decent job.
Aman Verma has a funny role where he ends up being the butt of all jokes.

Trivia

1. Shirish Kunder was known as the Mercedeswaala editor in his Editor days because he was the only editor who drove a Mercedes to work.
2. Farah Khan gave the producer Sajid Nadiadwala a one line narration on behalf of Shirish during a completion party for Farah's Main Hoon Na.
3. Before becoming an editor, Shirish worked as an Electronics Engineer with Motorola.
4. Sajid Nadiadwala, the producer, launched the music of this movie on September 9, which happens to be Akshay Kumar's birthday. Two years before; he had released his previous movie Mujhse Shaadi Karogi on September 9th.
5. The shooting for the movie was postponed a number of times. The first time it was done due to the Salman-Aishwarya Rai tapes controversy, in which Salman had supposedly mentioned Preity's name in derogatory terms. The second time it was due to Salman's hair-weaving job going haywire; after which he had to shave his head to recover from it.

Opinion
Definitely worth a watch. A good time-pass movie.