Namastey London (Vipul Shah, 2007)

[sandeep]

I didn't expect much from this movie, but I didn't expect it to be bad either... it turned out quite ok, with some very funny parts... some nice issues handled in the movie, like inter-race marriage, relationship with parents, attitude towards an independent life, etc etc...

It could have been made better with fewer songs, but was a decent watch anyway...

Performances:
- Katrina Kaif can actually act a bit! I think she has dubbed for the movie this time, accent sounds warped but at least its real...
- Akshay Kumar is his usual cool and funny self
- Rishi Kapoor is excellent, and so is his wife...
- Upen patel is ok, the British actors actually upstage him in terms of performance

All in all a pleasant surprise!

2.5/5

[kaytee]

Katrina Kaif is HOT!

[sandeep]

She is a total doll! looks very nice in the movie...

[kaytee]

Watched this too, and I have to say that Akshay Kumar has very little role in the movie, barely any dialogue either. Katrina Kaif was a revelation, damn she looks cute in those Indian outfits and can actually act if given the oppurtunity. The songs are brilliant, though the story has been done before many a times but still the actors pull the movie to the finish line.

[sandeep]

Akshay Kumar, Vipul Shah to sue Bengali producers for plagiarism

This one comes straight from Ripley's believe-it-or-nuts books of blatant copyright infringement.

Co-producers, business partners and fast friends Akshay Kumar and Vipul Shah discovered to their amused horror that a new Bengali blockbuster Poran Jay Joliya Re (PJJR) has blatantly lifted the plot, scenes, even frames and costumes from Namastey London, without a by-your-leave from the producers.

Says Vipul, "I had no clue about this Bengali film until I read an interview with the film's producers blatantly admitting to the fact that there were similarities between their Bengali film and our Namastey London. I took into confidence a large number of friends and advisers in Kolkata who saw the film repeatedly and made a report on the similarities. The copied scenes ran into 5-6 pages in the report!"

Now Vipul flies to Kolkata on Sunday to initiate legal action. "Our legal advisers in Kolkata are confident that we've ample evidence of the Bengali film being copied from Namastey London. Even the Bengali hero (Dev) makes his entry wearing a kurta and kadha. You tell me why a film set in Bengal has its hero in a Punjabi get-up like Namastey London."

The film is strewn with what Vipul sees as blatant examples of plagiarism, enough to initiate legal action against the Bengali producers Sri Venkatesh Films early this week.

Says Vipul, "We don't want monetary compensation. The Bengali film is a big blockbuster. It has made huge amounts of money. A compensation of 5-10 lakhs means nothing to them. Other filmmakers would be encouraged to plagiarize knowing all they've to do is shell out a small compensation. We want to make an example of this case, so that regional filmmakers would think twice before lifting Hindi films. The penalty should be severe."

Ironically, Namastey London on release was said to be inspired by Manoj Kumar's Purab Aur Pachim. "That was not correct. There were no similarities between the two films except for the fact that in both cases, the innocent hero goes to England and confronts the cultural diasporas. Namastey London was inspired by a friend of Akshay's who underwent a similar experience."

More recently, Vipul Shah's new under-production film Action Replay was said to be inspired by The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button. Says Vipul, "That was a very irresponsible piece of reporting. It prompted Warner Brothers to issue a statement. But the fact is Action Replay is about going back in time whereas Benjamin Button is about age reversal. Let them find one similarity between my film and Benjamin Button and we're ready to face the consequences. I disapprove of plagiarism in any form or language. And by taking on the people who've copied my Namastey London in Bengali, I'm actually making sure none of us in Bollywood ever falls for the temptation of taking the easy way out to success by simply borrowing a successful film."

[shariqq]

I saw this movie yesterday (one of three) - and it surprised me. I hadn't watched it yet because it was for me just another Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif movie that is there just for the music and marketing, to cash in on the good pairing. But it was a decent movie! Akshay Kumar comes in only a little before midway through the movie, and does none of his now tiresome antics of smart-alec comedy or his melodramatic puppy-dog look. Instead, he plays his punjabi boy straight, and so does Katrina as a British-Indian (a role that actually suits her). Vipul Shah handles the alienating culture plot well.

A decent afternoon watch.