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Namastey London

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Namastey London
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVipul Amrutlal Shah
Screenplay bySuresh Nair
Story bySuresh Nair
Dialogue by
Produced byVipul Amrutlal Shah
Starring
CinematographyJonathan Bloom
Dariusz Wolski
Edited byAmitabh Shukla
Music bySongs:
Himesh Reshammiya
Background Score:
Salim-Sulaiman
Distributed byAdlabs Films
Blockbuster Movie Entertainers
Eros International
Release date
  • 23 March 2007 (2007-03-23)
Running time
128 minutes
CountriesIndia
United Kingdom
LanguagesHindi
English
Budget₹210 million[1]
Box office₹714 million[1]

Namastey London (transl. 'Greetings London') is a 2007 Indian romance film, directed and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. It stars Rishi Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Nina Wadia, Javed Sheikh, Upen Patel and Clive Standen. The film is originally based on the real life story of Kumar's friend. Riteish Deshmukh appears in a cameo role in the film.[2]

"Namastey London" was released on March 23, 2007, and it received positive reviews for its direction, screenplay, and soundtrack, particularly Akshay Kumar's performance, which was highly acclaimed, and its music album, composed by Himesh Reshammiya. It was highly acclaimed and performed well on its music charts, with its songs becoming chartbuster hits. It was also a box office success, earning ₹71.40 crore worldwide, thus becoming the ninth-highest grossing Hindi film of 2007.[3] The success of the film ended a long dry spell of box office failures since the release of Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love which was released in January 2007.

At the 53rd Filmfare Awards, Namastey London received 1 nomination – Best Actor (Kumar).[4]

Several critics noted similarities between the film and Manoj Kumar's Purab Aur Paschim (1970),[5][6] though the director denied it being a remake.[7][8][9]

Plot

[edit]

Indian-born Manmohan Malhotra relocated to London to establish himself and return to India, and he married Bebo; after four years, he obtained a visa for her so that she could live with him. Shortly thereafter, she gave birth to Jasmeet. Manmohan was always embarrassed by Bebo, as she could not speak English and hence couldn't mingle with British people. As a result, he always left her out on important occasions while he socialised. Bebo did not want Jasmeet to end up like her, so she got her educated in an English school and encouraged her to mingle with British friends. Jasmeet was transformed into Jazz, a young, beautiful girl modern in looks, talk, habits, and heart. But she is ashamed of her Indian heritage and looks down on it.

Her father had set her to meet a young person, Bobby Bedi, although the date turns out to be a disaster, and Bobby leaves and rejects her. Manmohan thinks that it is impossible to get him an Indian son-in-law, and his best friend, Parvez Khan, is in a similar situation with his son Imran, who has a girlfriend, Susan. Manmohan takes his family on a tour of India and forces Jasmeet to marry Arjun Singh, who does not know how to speak English.

On their return to London, Jasmeet announces that she will marry an Englishman named Charlie Brown, who is well educated and has good friends and connections, even with Prince Charles. She refuses to recognise her marriage to Arjun as there is no legal proof of the wedding. When Jasmeet is introduced to the friends of the Brown family, she is subjected to racial comments from them and feels offended. Arjun notices Jazz is unhappy and goes with her to tell Charlie's family about India, and Jazz translates this for Charlie's family, as they don't understand Hindi. Jazz gets engaged to Charlie Brown, leaving Arjun depressed as he leaves, while Manmohan finds him in the bar. Arjun tells Manmohan that Jazz is going to marry Charlie, and he is in fact heartbroken that she left him for Charlie and realizes that he isn't the right man for her. Arjun also accepts Charlie's challenge of a rugby match despite not knowing how to play. Charlie and his rugby team mates make fun of the Indians and Pakistanis not knowing the game. As Manmohan is tired of playing rugby, he calls Arjun over to defeat the England team, and he wins the rugby match, impressing Jazz. Soon Arjun tells Jazz that when they get old they will meet at the same place they met when they were young. During this period, Jazz becomes close with Arjun and Charlie starts to get irritated with Arjun but Arjun still supports Jazz. Imran is then asked by Susan's parents to leave Islam and to become a Christian and to change his name to Emmanuel or Ian, as well as provide written proof that his family is not associated with terrorists. Jazz goes to Arjun to get a divorce and leaves. Before that, Arjun talks to his family and closes the call before breaking down into tears about this divorce. Jazz sees this and comforts him, and Arjun begins to tell her that when he begins to get old, he will go to London to meet her again next time. The film ends on a happy note when Imran decides not to be a Christian and Susan is accepted by Imran's family. Arjun walks Jazz down the altar to Charlie. Jazz realises that Arjun lied to her about not knowing English. Arjun tells Charlie to become a good husband to Jazz, and he leaves the wedding in tears, not knowing that Jazz is going to cancel her wedding. Jazz realizes this and decides not to marry Charlie Brown as she began to have feelings for Arjun and remembers her marriage with Arjun. She runs away from her wedding to see Arjun, and her family begins to be proud of her going to marry Arjun as it was their true dream, leaving Charlie upset. After the wedding, she goes with Arjun back to India, where they are seen riding Arjun's motorcycle. While they are on the motorcycle, Arjun reveals that all along he knew how to speak English and that he had already dropped the clue when he got offended at Charlie's uncle's derogatory comments on India. He adds that he lied because he was still an Indian at heart, and they smile together.

Cast

[edit]
  • Rishi Kapoor as Manmohan Malhotra Jazz's father and Bebo's husband as he tries to get his daughter to marry Arjun and she disagrees leaving him angry and seeks a plan to tell Arjun to win her heart and marry her.
  • Akshay Kumar as Arjun Ballu Singh is an attractive man who falls in love with Jazz but at first, she begins hating him before recognizing her marriage with him and falls in love with him but rejects him leaving him heartbroken to realize.
  • Katrina Kaif as Jasmeet Malhotra Singh (Jazz) Manmohan's and Bebo's daughter who fell in love with Bobby only to find out he rejected her. Manmohan and Bebo take her to India to marry Arjun Singh, whom she initially hates at first but later she begins to recognize her marriage with Arjun and falls in love with him.
  • Nina Wadia as Bebo Malhotra, Jazz's mother, and Manmohan's wife. She tries to get Jazz married to Arjun but discovers she married Charlie Brown in London leaving Arjun in tears.
  • Upen Patel as Imran Khan (Immi), he falls in love with Susan and his father finds out and begins to hate him.
  • Clive Standen as Charles Brown (Charlie) Jazz's crush, he begins to fall in love with Jazz as he finds out that she fell in love with Arjun and he begins to hate her.
  • Tiffany Mulheron as Susan, Imran's husband, falls in love with Imran, and Imran's father begins to get mad at her.
  • Javed Sheikh as Parvez Khan (Imran's father), Manmohan's best friend who tries to get his son Imran married but his son falls in love with Susan which angers him.
  • Riteish Deshmukh as Bobby Bedi, Jazz's first love who rejected her.
  • Billy Herrington as an exotic dancer at a hen party (guest appearance)
  • Gurpreet Ghuggi as the taxi driver (special appearance)
  • Vir Das as prospective groom no. 2
  • Kunal Kumar as prospective groom no. 3

Production

[edit]

The first half of Namastey London was set in Punjab, while the second half took place in London. Consequently, the movie was filmed across 50 locations in the UK, including Slough, Windsor, Bromley,[10] and various parts of London. Iconic London landmarks featured prominently, such as the London Eye (seen at least nine times), Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge, St Paul’s Cathedral, Greenwich, Buckingham Palace, Canary Wharf, Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, and the National Gallery.[11] The Punjab scenes were shot near Chandigarh.[12]

Soundtrack

[edit]
Namastey London
Soundtrack album by
Himesh Reshammiya
Released27 January 2007
Recorded2006
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length96:47
LanguageHindi
LabelEros Now
Himesh Reshammiya chronology
Red: The Dark Side
(2007) 		Namastey London
(2007) 		Shakalaka Boom Boom
(2007)

The soundtrack album was released on 27 January 2007 and received good reviews.[13] The songs were composed by Himesh Reshammiya. Salim–Sulaiman composed the film score. All songs were penned by Javed Akhtar.[14]

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Chakna Chakna"Himesh Reshammiya5:45
2."Viraaniya"Himesh Reshammiya5:43
3."Main Jahaan Rahoon"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Krishna Beura6:22
4."Yahi Hota Pyaar"Himesh Reshammiya, Sunidhi Chauhan6:23
5."Rafta Rafta"RDB4:42
6."Annan Faanan"Jayesh Gandhi, Akriti Kakkar6:02
7."Dilruba"Zubeen Garg, Alisha Chinai5:31
9."Aanan Faanan" (Mehfil Mix)Jayesh Gandhi, Akriti Kakkar7:19
10."Chakna Chakna" (Remix)Himesh Reshammiya3:53
11."Dilruba" (Remix)Zubeen Garg, Alisha Chinai5:12
12."Main Jahaan Rahoon (Remix)"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan5:09
13."Yahi Hota Pyaar" (Remix)Himesh Reshammiya, Sunidhi Chauhan4:40
14."Aanan Faanan" (Remix)Jayesh Gandhi, Akriti Kakkar4:57
15."Main Jahaan Rahoon"Rahat Fateh Ali Khan7:07
16."Yahi Hota Pyaar" (Mehfil Mix)Himesh Reshammiya, Sunidhi Chauhan6:36
17."Viraaniyan" (Remix)Himesh Reshammiya4:23
18."Rafta Rafta" (Remix)RDB3:47
Total length:96:47

Release and reception

[edit]
Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif on the set of Namastey London

The film was released on 23 March 2007 worldwide.

Shooting for the film began on August 16, 2006, and it ended on Sep 7 2006.

Priyanka Chopra was the original choice for Jazz but was replaced by Katrina Kaif.

Namastey London received positive reviews from critics upon release. Taran Adarsh of indiafm.com wrote, "Namastey London is addictive stuff. You watch it once, you wanna watch it again."[15] Kumar received almost unanimous praise for his portrayal of Arjun Singh, with a critic saying "Kumar certainly leaves his mark throughout the flick. One of the coolest performances of the star."[16] Adarsh said "One of his finest performances so far, Namastey London also marks the coming of age of an actor who was often dubbed as an action hero or a funster. Kumar not only wins the heart of Kaif on-screen, he's sure to win the hearts of millions of moviegoers with a terrific portrayal in this film." On Katrina Kaif's performance he wrote, "she handles the complex part with remarkable ease. The pretty lass is only getting better with every film."[15] Despite the generally favorable reviews, Prachi Singh of Moviewalah panned the film, with a verdict of 2 out of 5 stars.[17]

Box office

[edit]

Namastey London opened to a good response and mainly picked up momentum after the second and third day of its release, a major reason being India's exit from the 2007 Cricket World Cup. The film did extremely well in the northern parts of India, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.[1] It also did well in Mumbai and in the first week of its release collected ₹73,575,657.[18] The film was also received well in other parts of the country. The success of the film ended a long spell of box office failures since the release of Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love which released in January 2007. The film went on to gross ₹714,102,500 worldwide,[1] making it one of the top hits of 2007.[19]

The film was also successful overseas. It debuted at number 9 on the UK charts and similarly debuted within the top 20 in the United States and Australian charts. The film collected £238,841 in the first week of its release.[20] As of 27 July 2007, the movie grossed an estimated $15,273,747 in five territories, which included the United States ($4,149,772), Australia ($197,148), India ($17,267,662), Malaysia ($15,285), and the United Kingdom ($9,021,900).[21]

Remake and sequel

[edit]

The film was unofficially remade in Bengali as Paran Jai Jaliya Re starring Dev and Subhashree Ganguly. The Kolkata High Court in December 2009 banned the screening of the film for plagiarism after a petition was filed by the film's producers.[22]

In March 2011, Shah had announced a sequel, Namaste England.[23] Kumar and Sonakshi Sinha were initially signed to play the leads in the sequel.[24] Namaste England was released in October 2018 with Parineeti Chopra and Arjun Kapoor starring.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d "Namastey London – Movie – Box Office India". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Namastey London". TV Guide. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Katrina wants to do her own dubbing". Hindustan Times. Inter-Asian News Service. 7 July 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Shaking hands with success?: Akshay Kumar has been nominated for Namastey London in 53rd Fair One Filmfare Awards". Indiatimes.com. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  5. ^ Adarsh, Taran (23 March 2007). "Namastey London Review – Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  6. ^ Chopra, Anupama (9 April 2007). "Movie review: Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer Namastey London". India Today. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  7. ^ "Namastey London not inspired by Purab Aur Pachhim". Bollywoodhungama.com. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 14 August 2016.[dead link]
  8. ^ "Vipul Shah to sue Bengali producers for copying Namastey London". Hindustan Times. Inter-Asian News Service. 2 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Review of Namastey London from bollywood-buzz.com.com". bollywood-buzz.com.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  10. ^ Manzoor, Sarfraz (23 March 2007). "Cultural exchange". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Londonist Film Club: Namastey London". Londonist. 26 April 2009.
  12. ^ "The 'Gujju' with penchant for Punjabi in his films". India Forums. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  13. ^ "India FM: Music Review – Namastey London". India FM. Archived from the original on 14 December 2007. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  14. ^ "Namastey London Songs". Bollywoodhungama.com. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  15. ^ a b "Review of Namastey London from Indiafm.com". Indiafm.com. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  16. ^ "Review of Namastey London from bollywood-buzz.com.com". bollywood-buzz.com.com. Archived from the original on 3 July 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  17. ^ "Review of Namastey London from moviewalah.com". moviewalah.com. Archived from the original on 29 March 2007. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  18. ^ "First week collections for Namastey London". Indiafm.com. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  19. ^ "Top Hits 2007 – - Box Office India". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  20. ^ "Overseas response". indiafm.com. Retrieved 5 April 2007.
  21. ^ "Namastey London (2007) | Box Office Earnings". Bollywoodhungama.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  22. ^ "High Court bells the copycat, bans blockbuster Poran Jay Joliya Re". The Indian Express. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  23. ^ "Vipul Shah plans a 'Namastey London' sequel - Indian Express". archive.indianexpress.com. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  24. ^ "Akshay Kumar says 'Namastey London' again!". Zee News. 8 June 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
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