Namastey London poster

Namastey London

wogma rating: Watch if you have nothing better to do (?)

quick review:

Two hard laughs, two emotional scenes and an attempt to evoke patriotism in the Indian cinema goer. Worked for some, didn't work for the rest of us. Akshay Kumar gives an appreciably controlled performance and while Katrina Kaif gives her best so far, yet leaves loads of room for improvement. The story has way too many holes. Then again, we can't expect anything more in a romantic comedy.

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Director: Vipul Shah
Running time: 135 minutes
More Movie Info

I felt sad while watching this movie…really really sad. No, it had nothing to do with the generally predictable storyline. It was also not because I saw too many genres being mixed to no particular end. It was the songs. Don’t get me wrong, they had awesome lighting! I am certainly not saying I expected better from Himesh Reshammiya. Its not the video album style picturisation either. But, Jaaved Saahab? “Aanan-Faanan”, “Rafta rafta”, “Chakna chakna”? Your poetry has moved me to tears many a time, and this time too, but obviously for all the wrong reasons. I am grieving because it feels like we are losing you Sir, to the inane-word-rhyming competition.

Oh well, coming back to the story. It heavily draws from , Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (the sacrificing husband), Purab Aur Paschim (the patriotism bit). Cinematically, the parts shot in Punjab reminded me of Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jaayenge. One scene particularly reminded me of Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahi - would give away a little more than I like, if I said which one. In that sense then, they were original because they were the ones who thought of the combination! While there are some scenes that go contrary to your predictions, they are so unreal or out-of-place with the characterizations that they would make more sense as dream sequences.

Akshay Kumar almost plays himself – a Punjabi dude who listens to music on an ipod while sporting a pink silk kurta – but with a remarkable amount of restraint. He doesn’t get loud or go over-the-top. The flaw is actually in his character which forgets his Jatt pride because he is head-over-heels in love with the lady of his life. Katrina looks dainty and has her share of expressions. This might very well be her best performance till date. Wait dear, that is not a compliment just yet.

Javed Shaikh (Parvez Khan) could use a lesson or two from Rishi Kapoor and Nina Wadia (his wife) for body language and dialogue delivery. The only reason for Upen Patel’s track to exist is the ‘Western Union’ advertisement. I kid you not, they had to put an advertisement they had shot with Upen Patel and Katrina Kaif in it and that is why they chose this cast. That would also explain why Upen Patel was acting like he was a model – to maintain consistency.

The entertainment in the movie is very sporadic. There are two sequences which really work because of their humor. These are not jokes you could narrate; it’s the way it’s done on screen that makes you laugh your heart out. That I guess makes the movie a comedy. There are a couple of emotional scenes where you really feel sorry for Arjun (Akshay Kumar). There’s the romance for you.

Then there is the routine of a foreigner belittling the capabilities of Indians, and an Indian giving it back to them and rightly so, with a slap across their face but sans violence. The good thing about the dialogue is that it is well delivered and that it doesn’t get preachy about Indian culture and tradition. It just states facts. Soon enough, it digresses into some irrelevant facts and loses all grace.

It’s the reinforced stereotypes that got tiring. The racism - all white people (except one in this case) are mean to Asians and don’t take a breather before ridiculing them. The fight of cultures - all the second generation immigrants do is drink, shop and party. And all first generation Indian immigrants make no attempt to socialize with the natives of the country they migrate into. In fact, they are so desperate to get their daughter an Indian groom, that they take pride when an Indian guy eve-teases her?!? Why is it painted so black and white and inevitably the black turning into white (no pun intended)?

Anyway, shouldn’t patriotism be stimulated more often than the few times an Indian actor gives a mouthful to the side character – who exists for the sole purpose of being whacked verbally anyway– in a movie? Shouldn’t we wait at least until a match starts before bashing our cricket team? Oh, look who is digressing now…

Maybe, its pure bad timing. Two movies released in a day both of which deal with the troubles of NRIs and the cultural disparities. Three in eight days. Too much of the same thing not presented in a very different way?

- meeta, a part of the audience

18 reviewers(?) - 7 yays 4 so-so 7 nays

Warning: clicking on "full review" will take you to an external website that could contain spoilers.

Thumbs up, by Nikhil Kumar, Apun Ka Choice : ...The movie is certainly not a rehash of Manoj Kumar’s ‘Poorab Aur Pashchim’.... full review

Thumbs up, by Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM : ...Writer Suresh Nair’s screenplay is most convincing, the writing is foolproof, with no loose ends.... full review

Thumbs up, by Prachi Singh, MovieWalah : ...The screenplay is neat and has been penned by Suresh Nair and presents an organized story... full review

Thumbs up, musicNmovies.info : ...Its complete family movie with full of laughter, love and of course dollops of tear jerking drama... full review

Thumbs up, by Hanumant Bhansali, Radio Sargam : ...The movie stands out as a winner in involving the audience in various emotional aspects.... full review

Thumbs up, by Subhash K Jha, SantaBanta.com : ...He takes gentle but stinging swipes at the residue of rootlessness that characterizes the torn lives of Indians abroad.... full review

Thumbs up, by Nikhat Kazmi, Times of India : ... Vipul Shah's celebration of this sarson ka saag versus sauce and finger chips potpourri is essentially a fun film which pitches the Purab Paschim metaphor in muted tones.... full review

So-So, by Rachel Fernandes, Bollywood Mantra : ...The film has a well balanced dose of masala in the form of song and dance, romance and even humour... full review

So-So, by Vaibhav Wankhede, M TV : ...the film never takes itself too seriously... full review

So-So, by Lidia Ostepeev, Planet Bollywood : ...Although it’s predictable Namastey London is still entertaining... full review

So-So, by Sukanya Verma, Rediff : ...Seeing as this is a romantic comedy, there is no room for reality... full review

Thumbs down, by Sanjay Ram, Business of Cinema : ...stereotypical representation of Englishmen as those living in Victorian manors sipping tea while the Indians in England are being discriminated…..blah blah... full review

Thumbs down, by Rajeev Masand, IBN Live : ...this film is so caught up being self-congratulatory that it doesn't even realize where its slipping up... full review

Thumbs down, by Gaurav Malani, J.A.M : ...Himesh is as nasal as usual. But what’s disappointing is that the usually dependable Javed Akhtar goes on to write inanities... full review

Thumbs down, by Amit R Agarwal, merinews : ...There are too many issues and none of them have been properly delved into... full review

Thumbs down, by Pankaj Shukla, SmasHits.com : ...The film could have left some effect, had Akshay got support from solid playback signers... full review

Thumbs down, by Naomi Datta, Times Now : ...But all in all, it is a rather predictable film - which rehashes ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and ‘Purab Aur Paschim’, and is not even half as good!... full review

Thumbs down, by Saakshi Juneja, To Each Its Own : ...a film filled with script irregularities, directorial flaws, bucket loads of PJs and last but not the least ancient notions on apna Swades and paraya Inglaaand.... full review

Twitter reviews for this movie are not available.

6 readers - 3 yays 2 so-so 1 nays

Yay! Thumbs Up, by arslan

Yay! Thumbs Up, by sushant kumar : 95

Yay! Thumbs Up, by vinay : superb movie and i watched it 129 times . Still i'm not bored :-)

So-So, by Consumer Goods

So-So, by Durable Goods

Nay! Thumbs Down, by faizan

This page has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review.

Warning: this section has some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie. I strongly recommend reading this only after you have seen the movie or if you have decided not to see it.

Plot Summary

First generation Indian immigrant Rishi Kapoor desperately wants to get his daughter, Jasmeet aka Jazz to get married to a Punjabi guy. She obviously is not interested. How the tug of war takes off and lands is for you to find out if you are interested, that is.

What Worked

  • The lighting of the whole sequence of the India trip.
  • The groom-hunt is hilarious!!!
  • The Arjun-Jazz flash forward scene.

Here are other things that Anurag Anand, a reader, liked -

  • The 'Maori style' Rugby celebrations by Rishi Kapoor.
  • The authentic depiction of Punjab...haven't seen Punjabi locales being captured so well, not even in Veer Zaara or Gadar (Gulzar's Maachis captured it well, but not so colourfully).
  • Thank you Anurag!

What did not

Note: This section simply lists the things that I did not like in this movie. This is not the overall impression about this movie. Please read the full review here

  • Two scenes, one with Katrina Kaif and the other with Rishi Kapoor, have them walking/running straight after they are completely drunk.
  • Did they really have to show Jazz going to work, tapping two keys on the computer keyboard and leaving? That she didn't really need to work because she was seeing her boss was obvious, right?
  • Why was Jazz happily dancing in the farms and churning malai when she intended to run away? The idea of going with the flow was Imran's, not hers.
  • The music that was playing at a Punjabi wedding, just didn't seem right.
  • If Jazz has such an attitude, why is she still living with her parents?
  • Why does Imran go to the mosque when he was just going to change his religion? To say good-bye to his religion just does not make sense.
  • Katrina Kaif's accent - it was more American than British.
  • In the Anurag-Jazz flashforward sequence, Katrina Kaif reminded me of Riteish Deshmukh dressed as woman (Apna Sapna Money Money)

Nitty-Gritty

This section lists things that I think are not important to the overall impact of the movie. In most cases, it could be explained away by something like, "we noticed the glitch after the scene was shot and there were schedule/budget issues and thus we could not re-shoot it". I like giving the makers the benefit of doubt, but I am amused nevertheless. Hopefully, they will tickle you too.

  • There was something wrong with the print quality in the first half hour of the movie (in the theater where I saw it). Everything seemed a little out of focus. I hope it was just this print.
  • Katrina Kaif's dubbing seemed a little off.
  • Upen Patel had a feather-weight suitcase when he moved out of his parents' house.
  • Behold our man of the hour, Arjun, who can charge car batteries without so much as looking at the car, let alone looking at the engine.
  • Why were the girls giggling while giving Jazz lassi? She wasn't even a handsome man for goodness sake!
  • Did they really have to make Rishi Kapoor eating malai, so gross?
  • Not only does Western Union transfer money in a few minutes. You don't need to sign a receipt or show any identification when you take the money.
  • One candle is still burning when Imran cuts his birthday cake.
  • In "Dil-e-beqaraar", were Arjun and Jazz together or not in the "shoe" stanza? The picturization is confusing. In the same song, the guard at the ticket counter allows two people to go on one ticket - in London!

Namastey London - Cast, crew, links

Banner:
Director:
Supporting Cast:
Screenplay:
Dialogues:
Cinematography:
Music Director:
Costume Designer:
Art Direction:
Running time:
135 minutes
Reviewer:
Language:
Country:

Comments (13)

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Aaliyah, you got me all wrong there. I *did not* think the songs in this movie had any poetry whatsoever and that is what I was complaining about. I am talking about being moved by the other poetries that the lyricist, Javed Akhtar has written.

But, please do not let this keep you from renewing your membership. You will surely come across much better products from this industry.

hi i liked this movie,and i loved all the songs of the film

Good but more explaination should be provided ....
some pictures should be showed ....
and a little bit of video.....

i like this and all the songs of the movie gud movie

this movie songs are good. i cannot tell in words about this movie
ok thats all

i like this movie and songs very much. its a vry good M.

rocking movie maaaaaaaan !!

ah ...what can i said abt this movie.... its really a nice movie to watch ...
katrina is looking really a british by her look and by her style ...
and akshay he looks superb in this movie .....
all nd all i can say its on e of my fav movie i have ever watched

"music is good $ himesh is best"
"movie was ok $ katrina does not know the acting"

[...] Namastey London is still entertaining??? See full review: Hanumant Bhansali , Radio Sargam Rating:http://withoutgivingthemovieaway.com/main/namastey-london-to-each-his-own/U Me Aur Hum - Review » without giving the movie awayIt’s the light-hearted scenes that [...]

very sexy movie

Hiii… the punjabi dialogue was..

ishq de meree mitra pehchaan kee
mit javay jadoon zid apnan dee.

English Version:
Being In True Love Means, You Do Not Need To Posses It. (grammer modified a little to make sense in english

i ws inpressed of katrina when i c the movie frst time.
i did.t like movie by name when i had not seen this movie
bt when i c this movie i realised tht i was wrong,
“namastey katrina kaiffffffff”

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