The movie revolves around Jazz aka Jasmeet(Katrina Kaif) who has been born and raised in London. She considers herself “British” and doesn’t like to be associated with her Indian heritage at all. Right into her drinking, smoking and clubbing lifestyle she wants as little to do with her Indian background as possible. Jasmeets doting father Manmohan(Rishi Kapoor) brings her to India to marry her off to an Indian boy with the hope this will reconnect her to her culture and settle her life. The chosen boy in question is Arjun Singh(Akshay Kumar), a happy-go-lucky farmer with a heart of gold. However Jasmeet already has her future husband in mind Charlie Brown (Clyde Stenden) a British businessman cum playboy who has already been married three times. She takes advice from her friend Imran (Upen Patel) in London and goes through with the marriage. However upon reaching India she rejects Arjun and makes it very clear that she doesn’t believe in this marriage at all. Arjun is heartbroken as he truly loves Jasmeet, and instead of packing his bags and going back to London he decides to stay in London and slowly win back her heart knowing well that she doesn’t love him. How Arjun manages to win her heart over forms the crux of the story.
Firstly to clear the rumours, the movie is NOT a remake or copy of Manoj Kumars PURAB AUR PASCHIM, yes there are similarities in the theme and also the principal however the similarities are only on surface level, though it’s evident that PURAB AUR PASCHIM was definitely a source of inspiration as Akshay Kumar includes it smartly in one of his dialogues.
The story by Suresh Nair is well written for the most. Nair tackled a number of themes including the clash of cultures, generation gap between parents and children, racism, as well as incorporating a love story which bears more than a passing resemblance to Sanjay Leela Bhansalis HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM. However one just wishes that the British characters in the movie weren’t so clichéd and developed further. Most of the British characters in the movie are portrayed in a negative light while the Indians and Pakistanis are shown in the favourable light. No doubt the movie is one that is made in true Bollywood fashion; however it does come across as jingoistic on the whole despite the patriotism factor working rather well here. Those who expected on a smarter level like Ashutosh Gowarikers SWADES will be letdown as the movies aim is simply to make the British look bad and Indians look good and it works quiet rather well at that. This is very much an “Indian girl gets corrupted by bad British and Indian boy has to bring her back to the right path as well as spouting a few patriotic lines along the way” but it’s done in a rather appealing manner.
The screenplay of the movie is balanced and once again well written…for the most! The first half does well in establishing the character of Jasmeet and her surroundings and family and the movie moves at a brisk pace. The scenes in India right up to and after the marriage are also a fun watch and there is plenty of comic and light moments scattered throughout. The pace does drop in the second half, though there is enough happening on screen to ensure the viewer doesn’t get bored. The movie builds it self up to the climax rather well, though the climax is slightly disappointing. It comes across as a tad too rushed, and completely clichéd. Offcourse we know the boy is going to get the girl in the end, but one wishes that Vipul Shah had used a hint of originality when presenting the climax to the viewer. Another flaw which I found quiet annoying was that the entire angle of Imraan wasn’t quiet developed as well as it could’ve been. There was immense room here to properly develop the story and the characters of Upen Patel and Javed Shehikh, however only a couple of crucial scenes have been dedicated to this side of the story which I thought had quiet a lot of room to explore and touch upon some interesting angles.
Director Vipul Shah impressed a lot with his debut AANKHEN, and was a letdown in WAQT (though the Box-office response to WAQT was very favourable as the movie went onto become a sound hit). NAMASTEY LONDON is again a family film along the lines of his last release WAQT, however it isn’t over-melodramatic or over-the-top with it’s emotions like WAQT. It’s quiet evident that Shah is a director who knows his traditional Bollywood masala quiet well, and he is a able and efficient story teller who is able to tell a simple story in a rather formatted way in a enjoyable manner, however one does wonder what happened to the highly inventive and creative director of AANKHEN?
Nonetheless Vipul Shah has made an entertaining yarn with NAMASTEY LONDON; one just wishes that he had concentrated on the screenplay a little more as that would’ve definitely catapulted NAMASTEY LONDON to something else. As proven earlier, Shah is able to handle both comedy and emotions quiet well and this is again on display here. Yes the emotional sequences at times don’t work as well as they should, mainly because the exaggerated emotions of the “perfect Indian parents” worrying about their kids being corrupted by the “bad British” comes across as a bit farcical, however once you get into the movie it only gets better. The initial scenes with Katrina and Rishi have been extremely well captured and sets the scene for what’s to follow. The scenes in India too have undercurrent of energy and zest running through it which keeps the proceedings alive. The love story too has been handled quiet well here, and though it’s one that is completely predictable to the core, it is rather sweet and in the context of the movie works quiet well. I did think that Vipul Shah played it “too safe” here at times as he had the opportunity here to add quiet a bit of new stuff rather than just follow clichés. There is also a “feel good” factor in NAMASTEY LONDON which ultimately pushes the movie a few notches higher than it would be, and also increases the enjoyability factor by a large margin, these include..
•The opening credits with the beautiful “Main Jahan Rahoon” •Akshay Kumars massy introduction •The scene where Akshay gives a good mouthful to the racist Englishmen who used to be a part of the East India Company. The scene is one that starts off in a rather cheesy manner, however as Akshay gets into the scene more and more, it turns very much into a “seeti/taali” moments and you can’t help but smile. The dialogues are superbly written and Akshay delivers them extremely well. •The game of Rugby with the Indian/Pakistanis versus the British which again is a LOT of fun, and one that had the entire theatre in uproar. Completely mass-appealing the game manages to involve the viewer quiet well, and once Akshay starts playing….it’s all ON! A magic moment by all means! •The scene between Akshay and Upen at the mosque
Mr Shah is by all means a talented director, it’s clear that he is quiet an able story-teller though one just wishes that he didn’t play it so safe, specially when there is room to explore.
The dialogues by Suresh Nair and Ritiesh Shah range from totally crowd-pleasing to evoke a few claps and whistles to quiet clichéd at times.
The performances in the movie are well done.
King Kumar strikes again! Just when he is being typecast into comedy roles, he strikes back with a performance that is bound to win him a few extra fans along the way. The character of Arjun Singh allows him to do comedy and romance in equal doses and Akshay performs them both with remarkable conviction and admirable ease. I was actually expecting a louder performance from Akshay here, but this is a rather controlled and subtle performance and that comes across as a surprise at times. No doubt Akshay is in top notch form in his comic scenes as always, and truly outstanding in the Rugby game, however it’s scenes like when he talks back to the Englishman or his romantic scenes that catch the viewer off guard. Heck Akshay is even rather subdued and controlled in the emotional scenes here which came across as a huge surprise. That has been my one grouch with Akshay since WAQT and JAAN-E-MAN, he complete overdid the emotional scenes and came across hamming worse than ever in those two movies. However in NAMASTEY LONDON he performs the emotional and crying scenes with a touch of subtly which comes across rather well, though he could still do with a touch of polish on his facial expressions. First labelled an action hero with the “Khiladi” series, then a “drama” hero with the “Dharshan” type movies and finally a “comedy king” with the Priyadarshan films, however it’s evident that Akshay has become the “jack of all trades” and is able to perform all those parts with equal ease, one can’t help but admire the man! And with Rohan Sippys next directed by Sriram Raghavan, Yashraj’s TASHAN, Priyadarshans BHUL BHULAIYA, Anees Bazmees WELCOME and Sajid Nadiadwalas HEYY BABYY things are certainly looking up!
Katrina Kaif gives another neat performance after HUMKO DEEWANA KAR GAYEE. Her confidence so far has surprised me be it SARKAR, MAINE PYAAR KYUN KIYA or HUMKO DEEWANA KAR GAYEE, and now with NAMASTEY LONDON she delivers her finest performance to date. She plays her part with completely understanding of her characters and taps into the psyche of a British girl who doesn’t want to be “indian” quiet well. She looks absolutely stunning on-screen with her smouldering presence and her delivery and diction too has improved quiet a bit. Katrina is definitely one to watch out for.
Rishi Kapoor is simply terrific here, and this is no doubt his best performance since his comeback! He plays the part of a doting Indian father who wants her daughter to marry an Indian with absolute conviction and comes out flying colours. This would’ve been a total cliché of a character, but Rishi Kapoor gives it the much needed humane touch which in turn makes the character work very very well, and one that is surprisingly effective when you least expect it. He is looking well on-screen and shares superb chemistry with rest of the cast. Just witness him in the scenes he shares with his daughter at the start or the Rugby game in the second half. Good too see you back in form Rishi Sir, and fingers crossed this isn’t the last of it!
Upen Patel is better than his debut performance in 36, CHINATOWN. I know that doesn’t say much, however the actor does actually manage to strike the right notes in a couple of crucial scenes. In saying that he has a long way to go. Though he looks dashing on-screen, he definitely needs to improve on his monotone delivery and wooden expressions which stick out like a sore thumb at times. Also it seems like Upen is bitten by the Salman Khan bug as he seems to take his top off at flex at every given occasion here. I also felt that a more competent actor in the role of Imraan would’ve actually bought a different level of depth to the character which was needed for Imraan(though the fault is also with the director here for not developing this properly).
Nina Wadia who plays Katrinas mother is simply fantastic, and leaves her mark. Clyde Stenden who plays Katrinas fiancé is excellent and hits all the right notes. He has a good screen presence and plays his part with panache and style. Javed Shehikh leaves a mark in the few scenes he has despite a poorly etched character. Tiffany Mulheron who plays Upens girlfriend is stunning, but doesn’t have much to do acting wise. Ritiesh Deshmukh is perfect in his guest appearance.
Himmesh Reshamiyas music in the movie is truly excellent, and this is no doubt one of Himmeshs best scores to date! The songs have all been merged into the narrative quiet well and none of the songs felt out of place. The MAIN JAHAN BHI RAHOON track is soothing, and has a mesmerising affect on the viewer. The song has been shown at various intervals throughout the movie including the start credits, and the movie washes the viewer over with it’s rather mellow patriotic flavour-definetly the pick of the lot. VIRAANIYA, AANAN FAANAN, DILROOBA and RAFTA RAFTA are all melodious to the core and leave their mark when they appear in the movie. The songs liven the proceedings and came just at the right time. CHAKNA CHAKNA is simply outstanding, and the choreography is ace. Note that some of the songs only appear in the background and not fully in the movie. Salim-Sulaimans background score is really good as expected.
Technically too the movie is well done. Jonathan Blooms camerawork is simply superb, and the stunning locales of the U.K have been captured with passion and aplomb. The movie has a crisp look throughout. The Indian locales and village sequences in Punjab too have been shot with flair. Editing by Amitabh Shukla could’ve been tighter in parts of the second half though on the whole it’s a job well done.
On the whole NAMASTEY LONDON is by no means a great movie, the movie has its fair share of flaws, however that doesn’t stop the movie from being an entertaining one by any means. There is enough here to ensure that the movie is PAISA VASOOL!
Final Rating: * * * ½
