Prem (Salman Khan) and Pooja (Karisma Kapoor) lead a life of wealth and wedded bliss, complete with two adorable little kids and Mother dearest (Himani Shivpuri) in tow. Of course, all is not well when gorgeous Roopali (Sushmita Sen) enters Prem's life. She becomes his advertising agency's exclusive model and Prem looses sight of sanity. Scheming and lieing to both Roopali and Pooja, Mr. Moneybags leads a double life of lecherous fun!?!? Add best friend Lakhan (Anil Kapoor) and his wife Lovely (Tabu) to the mix, and Pooja eventually discovers that her husband's Parisian trip was not business-focused as he depicted. A wife-given ultimatum later, Prem moves out of one house (Pooja's) and in to another (Roopali's). For good, you ask? Heavens, no! Pooja, with Lakhan's encouragement and help, is determined to get hubby-dearest to recognize his error and return home. She is, after all, Biwi No.1!

Sounds like a preposterous plot, but remember this is a David Dhawan flick. We're not in reality here. (Or are we? More on that later.) Comedy and entertainment are the key focus here, and we are given heaping loads of both. The film's stars dispense with their vanity to allow the witty dialogue writer make digs about their heights (Salman's lack and Sushmita Sen's ample, thereof). And there aren't even any superfluous characters. What, no unnecessary mega-villains or buffoonish side-kicks? Heck, if the film is about infidelity, it also demonstrates that the problem is not present in every home. Watching Lakhan and Lovely's 100% devotedness to one another, we are reminded there are also some perfect marriages in the world. (Can anyone find me a Lovely?)

An important, but serious sidebar: Dhawan's dealt with a pretty serious topic, and though I found the story-line somewhat regressive, my mother decided to share her own wordly intelligence with me. Why, I argue, do films always depict it as desirable for a woman or man to accept her/his unfaithful spouse? After commitment/marriage, one should not tolerate or try to win back an untrustworthy love, no matter how much it hurts. Mom shot down my Western-society based logic and arguments. She indicated that one of the major strengths of our strong Eastern culture is the great importance given to family and kids. In South East Asian culture, when a man and woman commit their lives to one another, it is taken very seriously. (At times, I think, too seriously.) We are humans who make mistakes, and if we cannot work (within reason) to make our marriages and families work, we will end up with many more of Western society's problems. (Nice dig, Mom.) Point conceded though. Make that 1-0 in favour of Mom. (Okay, it is more like 1,000-5 in favour of Mom, but who's counting?)