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Namastey London : Movie Review
24th Mar 2007 00.49 IST
By Nikhil Kumar

Akshay Kumar is the lifeline of Vipul Amrutlal Shah’s movie Namastey London . The actor is simply superb not just in his impeccable comic timing, he is highly expressive in emotional scenes as well.

‘Namastey London’ is a wholesome entertainer. It has comedy, romance, good music and some desh bhakti as well. The movie is certainly not a rehash of Manoj Kumar’s ‘Poorab Aur Pashchim’. The East does meet the West in ‘Namastey London’, but the film has its own original storyline and Shah’s own treatment and presentation of the story.

The film begins brilliantly with a bird’s eye view of London. Akshay Kumar steps out of a car and walks hand-in-hand with Katrina Kaif to the altar of a church where she is set to marry another man. Katrina’s eyes convey indecisiveness as Akshay, the Best man, escorts her to her groom-to-be and walks away with a fainting smile on his face.

The story then goes back a few months.

Jasmeet (Katrina) or Jazz, as she prefers to be called, knows well how to get rid of all the suitable boys her Punjabi father Manmohan Singh ( Rishi Kapoor ) finds for her marriage. Having born and brought up in Britain, she loves the western lifestyle. She hangs out at clubs till late night with her Pakistani friend Imran ( Upen Patel ) and his English girlfriend Suzanne. Jazz is attracted towards Charlie Brown (Clive Standen) who has been married and divorced three times before.

Tired of Jazz’s obsession towards everything western, her father Manmohan Singh plans a trip to India. It is during this trip, Jazz and her parents meet Arjun Singh (Akshay Kumar) in a Punjab village. While Arjun falls head-over-heels for Jazz in the very first meeting, she feels nothing for him. She only sees him as a villager who milks cows in his backyard.

Jazz’s father fixes her match with Arjun. Despite her unwillingness, Jazz gets married. But as soon as they return back to London, she refuses to acknowledge the marriage. Her decision shatters Arjun. But the Punjab da puttar decides to play along.

Although Jazz wants to marry Charlie Brown, Arjun’s love for her remains unconditional and he is sure that she will reciprocate his feelings some day.

Keeping this Akshay-Katrina track as the backbone of the story, Vipul Shah brings out a contrast in the meeting of the two cultures. The movie shows how young expatriate Indians are drawn towards western lifestyles, forgetting their own culture and values. Arjun Singh, as a Punjabi in London, triggers a change in the hearts of these characters (Jazz and Imran).

Upen Patel plays Imran, a Pakistani in a live-in relationship with an English girl, much against the wishes of his conservative father Parvez (Javed Sheikh).

‘Namastey London’ has several poignant moments. The most outstanding is the one in which a Briton mocks India and its culture, and Arjun gives him befitting gyan about the greatness of India. Another interesting sequence is the rugby match between the Asian and English teams. Apart from this, the chemistry between Akshay and Katrina is brilliant in many scenes. Be it them dancing hand-in-hand or sightseeing London, Akshay and Katrina share a remarkable chemistry.

Akshay particularly is very impressive in his comedy and expressive in emotional scenes. Katrina is pretty much okay in her solo performance. Rishi Kapoor’s acting is natural while Upen Patel just about manages not to ham. Javed Sheikh overacts in many of his scenes. Clive Standen gives a commendable performance.

‘Namastey London’ also hinges heavily on the music by Himesh Reshammiya . Songs like ‘Takna Takna’, ‘Rafta Rafta’ and ‘Veeraaniyan’ are the best of the lot.

In a nutshell, ‘Namastey London’ is a well-made film that provides all-round entertainment for young moviegoers and family crowds as well. The film is definitely worth a watch.

Rating: ***

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Namastey London
Akshay Kumar
Katrina Kaif
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Upen Patel
Himesh Reshammiya