Review: Namastey London

Namastey London (romance)

Cast: Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif

Direction: Vipul Shah

We saw it in Humko Deewana Kar Gaye. And we see it in Namastey London too. Yes, there's a certain chemistry between Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif which lends their onscreen romance a redolence which makes even an ordinary romantic film above average.

Maybe, it's their traditional image of Akshay as the retrosexual male (read Punjabi munda) and Katrina as the Xtreme Feminine which strikes a crackling contrast and imbues the wooing game with fireworks.

Whatever! But they look good together and give you a paisa vasool pyar-mohabbat story. Especially here, where brawny Akshay plays the perfect 'Jat yamla pagla deewana' to brattish Jasmeet, all the way from the backwaters of Punjab to good ole Blighty.

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. Troubled by his daughter's wild and videshi ways, dad Rishi Kapoor bundles her off from London to Punjab to find a suitable desi boy for her. And before she can register her protest, he gets her married off to the perfect Punjabi boy who, like all perfect Punjabi boys, drinks milk straight from the udder.

But our gal's quite a shrew and has an ace up her sleeve. She promises her bhola-bhala groom a suhaag raat only in London and brings him to foreign shores to declare he's the persona non grata in her life.

She's going to wed the gora who woos her with vintage wine on a yatch. So what does our never-say-die Indian do? Gives all the goras a tutorial on India and makes everyone realise:

East or West, Bharat is best! Pulp patriotism, popcorn romance, adept performances (specially by Rishi Kapoor), pulsating music (Javed Akhtar-Himesh Reshammiya) and a refreshing lead pair (Akshay-Katrina in great form): Namastey London is a safe bet, despite the World Cup fervour.

SOURCE : THE TIMES OF INDIA