Producer: Tips Films (P) Ltd. 
Director: Deepak Sareen 
Cast: Govinda, Aishwarya Rai
Music: Jatin-Lalit

Can a poor journalist frequent trips between frequent Vienna and India at rapid sessions, for a story, specially if they are not company paid? Can tourist guide from a remote place like Malagain Goa afford a luxurious house (two-storied bungalow), even if he refers to his abode as a kholi or jhopdi? Would a girl born and brought up in Autralia come to India and fall in love with a tourist guide,speciall a poor tourist guide?

Questions such as these and many more would remain to be unanswered ones, that defy logic are sure to pop up when you see Tips Films latest release, the Govinda-Aishwarya starrer Albela. But than again which Hindi film in minus loopholes, some have just the loopholes and you have to find the cinema in them, Abela at least stands better, beyond its shortcomings its a total entertainer.

The film is about love stories (oh no not the Mohabbatein type), two love stories run simultaneously through the film. The story of the film is about Sonia, an Indian who lives in Austria and her first visit to India. She bumps into tourist guide Tony, who promptly falls in love with her. They sing and dance, laugh and cry, all the while making Nina intensely jealous. Nina is Tony's childhood friend who is madly in love with Tony, but he doesn't realise it. So she is reduced to cooking and cleaning for him. The second half of the story deals with Prem, a journalist. Sonia and Prem love each other. But Sonia's father doesn't approve of the relationship. Why? Because he hates Indians. Why? Because his wife was an Indian and she deserted him and their one-year old daughter, for no apparent reason.

There starts the tug-of-war between Tony and Prem, with Sonia being the first prize and Nina, the consolation.

Deepak Sareen who has directed this film can't seem to keep track of the fact that Sonia came to Malaga to find her mother's grave -- she never actually does search for it. She is too busy looking good!

The acting couldn't have been worse! This was one of the Aishwarya film pre HDDCS and Taal, rather it was one of the earliest films that Aishwaryahad signed. Aishwarya, as usual, is a visual treat. The film is just another ramp for her to display her exquisite designer clothes. But the acting department, well it remains untammep or rather it had remained untapped till then.

Govinda is overweight and looks sluggish, so also he shows a tendency to mouth his dialogues as if everyone in the theatre had lost their hearing. Namrata Shirodkar is hardly present in the film. When she is, all she does is cry. So making out whether she can act or not is rather tough. Again she had been taken for a ride by Tips who had got her to sign this film as well, along with Jab Pyar Ho Gaya. The one to steal the show is Jackie Shroff, surprisingly he looks much fresher sans the bulging bags under his eyes, his acting prowess have been exploited as well.

The music, by Jatin-Lalit is the saving grace of the film. Haiya hoo kya masti, sung by Kumar Sanu, Udit Narayan and Alka Yagnik is one of the best. Pyaar ka jadoo sung by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan follows suit. Manmohan Singh's cinematography is really good, though one wonders what all the foreign locales are doing in the middle of the film, when it is supposed to be set in Malaga. Deepak Sareen (of Aaina fame) probably didn't think of making anything more than a family entertainer, which is exactly what this film is.