Manish Gajjar of the BBC applauded Irani for revisiting "the same formula ... [adding] freshness and zest", further praising Kapoor for delivering "his best" performance, Zinta for her "superb acting" and Bachchan for "outstanding performance".[51] Derek Elley of Variety declared Bachchan the film's headline, but believed his performance was largely overshadowed by the other leads, adding, "Bollywood watchers should keep an eye out for this well-scripted item." He singled out Zinta's colourful performance noting, "though playing an archetypal bad sort, manages to make the self-obsessed Soniya an almost sympathetic character through the sheer vivaciousness of her part-child, part-vamp playing".[52] Deepa Gahlot wrote, "Anil Kapoor is earnest as always, but looks jaded. Preity Zinta in an awful 'Cleopatra' get-up is irritatingly twittery, and Gracy Singh totally bland." She was disappointed by the casting of Bachchan in what she described as "an insignificant role, [which] getting rid of him and then making him walk around as a ghost."[53] In a review in Stardust magazine, the editor Ram Kamal Mukherjee felt the entire film was "predictable and boring at times", attributing this to the screenplay and Irani's direction.[54]