Say Salaam Namaste to fun and laughter!. Review on Salaam Namaste

I had a lot of expectations from this movie.Of course I would,what with the hi-fi publicity campaign,the awesome locales and the mindblowing clothes.And believe you me,I wasn’t disappointed.

Salaam Namaste is a young movie,in every sense of the term.It tells us about Ambar(Thats an original name!) and Nikhil(Nick)Arora.Two young,independent people living in Melbourne,Australia;far away from home and hearth for their own personal reasons.She’s a radio jockey,studying to be a doctor and he’s a chef,trained to be an architect.A meeting results due to him being invited on one of her radio shows(for which he’s invariably late!).Nick is floored by Ambar’s good looks,sense of humour and vivacious personality.He falls in love with her at first sight and suggests that they should move in together.Ambar takes a bit of persuading but she finally comes around.They find a perfect house big enough for the both of them and they manage to buy it from ‘Crocodile’ Danny(Javed Jaffrey) by scraping together all their savings.They have separate rooms at first(ofcourse!We’re Indians!We can’t seem so totally wanton.)But what’s a wall between rooms when you’re young and in love?All barriers overcome,they have a gala time singing songs,frolicking in the lovely sands of Melbourne’s scenic beaches.All’s hunky-dory for the first three months but everything comes to a crashing halt when Ambar becomes pregnant.Nick is aghast at this unexpected development and tells her to abort the baby.Ambar agrees but chickens out at the last minute.She decides to keep the child and relieves Nick of any responsibility towards her and the baby.However,inspite of their differences,they have to continue living under the same roof because of financial problems.Ambar spends her days experiencing morning sickness and reminiscing about the good times she had with Nick while Nick spends his days feeling confused about his true feelings towards Ambar and their child.Finally,after a whole lot of frantic fights and arguments,Nick realizes that he wants to spend the rest of his life with Ambar and take care of their child.Ambar gives in to his pleas and forgives him.Just before the babies(Did I forget to mention that they were having twins?) are born,she accepts his proposal.And I assume they live happily ever after………………………

I would have loved this movie even more if it wasn’t such a total rip off on the Hollywood(obviously) flick ‘Nine Months’ starring Julianne Moore and Hugh Grant.Most of the scenes after Ambar gets pregnant are same to same.I could have predicted the ending with my eyes closed,having already seen the original.Also what’s with ripping off scenes from Friends?Does the director think he’s the only one to watch the world famous sitcom?But I guess nowadays its too much to ask for a good,original script.Whatever!

Preity Zinta as Ambar is perfect.The character suits her very well.She’s perky and zesty in the first half and appropriately sober and reflective in the second.Once again,she manages to get the audience to fully sympathise with her.My only complaint is that she shouldn’t have been made to yell and shriek so annoyingly in all the arguments.

Saif Ali Khan has perfected the art of showing off his toned body and pulling off a good performance,both at the same time.He is adorable as the forever late Nick and also makes all the women in the audience hate him when he effortlessly washes his hands off Ambar and the relationship.But he wins back their hearts when he realizes his error and oh-so-sweetly goes back to Ambar.Another sure-shot solo hit for the Chotte Nawab.

I’m totally taken aback by the chemistry between these two.Was it just me or was the air literally crackling with it?They look so good together.Another jodi which’ll set the screens on fire.

Arshad Warsi as Ron,Nick’s best friend is hilarious.I think he should stick to sidekick roles.He does them so well!Tania Zaetta is strictly OK.She tends to get a little over enthusiastic at times.Abhishek Bachchan as the forgetful doctor is totally miscast.Slapstick comedy is not his forte.Though he does crack me up when he forgets the names of things.And it’s a welcome change to hear him doing the narrating instead of his father.

But my favourite is definitely Javed Jaffrey.He is exceptionally good in his portrayal of the Indian-turned-Australian ‘who does not trust the Indians’(in his own words!)His English is enough to make one roll in the aisles with laughter.After a long time,it’s a pleasure to see him turn out such a noteworthy performance.

Siddharth Anand has done a good job in his debut film and I look forward to watching more of his films.He’s successfully captured the different phases of Nick and Ambar’s relationship on camera and made it look believable too.

The music is peppy and very ‘today’.I especially love the ‘My dil goes mmmmmm’ track.Vishal and Shekhar have done it again.The cinematography is amazing.Melbourne suddenly feels so enticing.My brand new holiday destination!Does anyone have Surily Goel’s number?Her clothes are so cool.They totally reflect the mood of the film.

So go watch this film,preferably with friends.You’ll have a ball and your paisa will be totally vasool!