LOL!!! It looks more like a Hollywood romantic comedy, doesn't it?

Some news on "Salaam Namaste"


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From Mumbai to Melbourne

Sep 01, 2005

Sydney Herald





SALAAM NAMASTE

Director: Siddharth Anand
Stars Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arshad Warsi, Tania Zaetta
Opens September 9

Tania Zaetta doesn't mind showing some of the skin under her sari. However, she strongly objects to becoming Mumbai's resident sex kitten.

"I was told the best way to get work in Bollywood is to dance in an 'item number'," says the former host of defunct reality-TV show Who Dares Wins.

Item numbers are the seductive song-and-dance sequences that feature in many Indian films.

"It's like, the man fights with his girlfriend, storms out of his house, walks into a club, has a drink, looks up and there she is: a sexy babe strutting her stuff," Zaetta says.

It took seven years before the 34-year-old Zaetta landed a role in her first Bollywood flick, Bunty Aur Babli, which was released in May. Now she's set to appear in her second Indian movie, Salaam Namaste. Produced by top Indian production house Yash Raj Films, Salaam Namaste is expected to reach 300 million people when it is released worldwide on September 9.

Zaetta believes Australians will love the film as it's the first Bollywood production to be shot entirely in this country, with more than 450 Aussies on screen.

"The film has a very international theme as it is about cultural differences within relationships," she says. "It follows two love stories from start to end: the first one is between an Indian couple and the second one is between an Indian man and an Australian girl."

And, if the Melbourne-based line producer of Salaam Namaste is to be believed, it is going to be the best advertisement for Victorian tourism.

"Every single piece of Melbourne can be seen in this film," says Marcus Georgiades, who is also the distributor of Bollywood films in Australia.

"It's a wonderful showcase for Australia as it was shot entirely on location, without any studio scenes.

"The buzz in Mumbai is that Salaam Namaste is going to be the biggest Bollywood film of the year and that's why we have decided to distribute 10 prints of this movie across Australia - our biggest-ever Bollywood release."

Georgiades may be thrilled about Bollywood coming Down Under, but the director of Salaam Namaste, Siddharth Anand, is just as excited about taking Australia to India.

"Australia is a country of mind-blowing beauty, but it has rarely been explored by Bollywood directors," says the 27-year-old Anand.

"I love the beaches and the cafe culture here, and the story of my movie fit hand-in-glove with the beautiful vibe of Melbourne."

Cait Taylor, the programs and schedule manager for the World Movies Channel, is a big Bollywood fan.

She promoted a series of Indian films under the banner Bollywood Bonanza on World Movies in July and visited the set of Salaam Namaste.

"I'm a bit obsessed with Bollywood and didn't mind flying all the way to Melbourne to be an extra," she says.

"Bollywood has a rule: if it's a colour, use it. And it was just fabulous to be on the sets of this movie. It was like every colour of the rainbow was there."

Salaam Namaste runs for nearly three hours and packs in four high-energy songs, each of which cover eight to 15 locations in Victoria, but the movie was shot in 95 days.

"Bollywood directors don't believe in wasting any time. That's how they manage to make more than 1000 movies every year," says Mitu Lange, the second Australian line producer of the film and Georgiades's partner.

Salaam Namaste also aims to take Bollywood filmmaking to another level.

"The movie has got a very contemporary, fresh theme as it shows the relationship between an Indian couple based in Australia," he says.

"The story called for a bit of intimacy, a few kisses, which I'm sure is going to be a big deal in India."

Lange is the key person behind the annual Bollywood film festival in Australia, which was attended by more than 40,000 people last year over 87 days.

Review from Rediff, they like it!!!


Salaam Namaste: Great fun

Lindsay Pereira | September 09, 2005 17:33 IST


Ambar Malhotra (Preity Zinta) left Bangalore and nagging parents to come and study medicine in Melbourne, Australia. She wanted to escape marriage and the idea of handling awkward proposals. Now, she works part-time as a radio jockey at a station called 'Salaam Namaste', where she interviews Indians living in Australia.

Nikhil Arora (Saif Ali Khan) is an architect-turned-head chef who works at a restaurant called Nick of Time, in Melbourne. We are told he always loved cooking, preferring it to playing with friends outside. Now, he does what he loves doing, and the fact that he's also paid for it doesn't hurt him in the least.

Ambar is sensible and punctual, which is everything Nick is not. She works hard, is serious about everything she does, and loves her radio show. He loves cooking, partying with friends and living a life free of commitments. When invited to a radio interview with Ambar, he oversleeps, misses the show, and manages to annoy her. She uses her show to exact revenge. They manage to meet, eventually, and soon realise, after a night of partying at a friend's wedding, that they are attracted to each other despite their many differences.

Nick asks Ambar to move in with him, to see if this relationship can stay afloat. She decides to give him a chance, and agrees. They pick an apartment, and then, the fun begins.

Salaam Namaste, directorial debut of Siddharth Raj Anand, is about what happens when Nick and Ambar decide to live-in together. They don't want to rush into anything. They like taking things slowly, and are both occupied with their individual careers. However, as is wont to happen, the situation suddenly demands they take their relationship seriously. They are thrust into an unexpected development, which threatens the little nest they have built together.

There are a whole lot of laughs, and lots of tender moments between the two, but things soon turn sour. Nick begins to realise that relationships aren't always about romantic dinners and walks along the beach. When pushed into a corner, Nick has to choose between his concept of freedom, and his love for Ambar. She, on the other hand, is forced to completely re-evaluate her idea of what marriage and commitment ought to be.

What the film teaches us is that falling in love is easy, but sticking to a commitment isn't. Before the first half, the audience is left wondering whether Nick and Ambar will manage to get over their differences and take their relationship for what it is, whether good or bad. Will Nick manage to get over his bachelor's lifestyle and handle marriage?

As a romantic comedy, this works very well. There's a lot of romance, and a lot of comedy. Saif and Preity are both perfect for comic roles, and their timing proves it throughout the film. Preity manages to handle all situations thrown at her, and makes for a very efficient radio jockey, while Saif even manages to make a convincing chef. Other stars also have an opportunity to shine here, especially Arshad Warsi -- who plays Saif's best friend -- and Javed Jafferi, who plays a landlord wary of Indian tenants. Jafferi's role is, in fact, one of the film's highlights. He manages a strange accent perfectly, and his talent is undeniable.

The other faces include Tania Zaetta, Jugal Hansraj, Ravi Khote, Kunal Vijaykar and Kavita Kapoor. For a debut, this is not bad, and Siddharth Raj Anand deserves a round of applause.

Sunil Patel, the director of photography, also does a commendable job, portraying the city of Melbourne in all its beauty. The Australian extras also deserve a few claps, for managing to do what they do as extras. And yes, Abbas Tyrewala's dialogues hit the mark.

The only downside is the music, by Vishal and Shekhar, which is a bit of a letdown. There aren't too many songs, luckily, so this doesn't affect the film drastically. Also, thanks to the choreography, the music takes a bit of a backseat, which is a good thing.

Still, for an afternoon of laughs, some excellent performances by Saif, Preity and Jafferi, and a well-shot tour of Melbourne, you can't go wrong with Salaam Namaste.

Balle Balle!!hit cho!! release se pehle bhi, release ke baad bhi! yrf, johar, david dhavan rule!

Without going into details I just got back from watching the film and personally did not like it. It was too long, with unneccesary songs. The film could be a lot better if some were to take a scissor and chop off about 20 to 30 minutes from the film including atleast 2 songs.

My rating 5 out of 10. By the way I seriously doubt that this film is going to be a big success.

Really that Bad! Sanju?

Even worse than Hum Tum and BNB???

Did anyone else see this film? Any thoughts?

saw this with my buds last night, its more for the teen crowed since still there are those orthadox indians oversease and esp in india ( no offence) it was different from other indian movies esp yrf, i liked it it was a good movie it entertains you and has a story and drama without the saas bahu or he/she is rich and he/she is poor, or the family hatered stuff going on, this movie is worth seing you will enjoy it but maybe the orthadox crowed wouldnt be ready for it ( btw i dont get it why are they so uncomfertable about talkin about s*x they pop out a milion babies anyway lol and we learned in biology class that indian ppl are the h*rnyest race in the world lol
but back to the movie its worth a watch, but one part that they spoiled it where they could have made it better is the special apperance part of an actor ( i wont say who it is just in case some ppl dont know yet) it was funny but they over did it with the special apperance person, i like the songs more after watching the movie i wont mind having a wedding that they went to where after words all the chicks striped down from dresses to bakinies and started dancin to salam namaste

I heard it is copy of NINE MONTHS!

The special appearance portion of the film is the part that I really found untolerable and which made my opinion of the film far worse than it was upto that part. As for the 'stripping to bikinis after the wedding' I found that quite unrealistic and ridiculous and believe me I am not 'orthodox' by any standards.
It is definately worse than 'Hum Tum', which I liked by the way and yes I even liked 'Bunty Aur Babli' more, which I did not care for much.
It is definately not a copy of 'Nine Months' but it might seem like it towards the end though.
Nope it is not similar to 'Kya Kehna' either, except for the fact that both movies have 'Saif', 'Preity' and a 'Baby' involved.

To sum up the movie a bit more, it is not totally bad and has it's nice moments but they are spoilt by the excessive length, unneccesary songs and atrocious climax. Maybe I was a little harsh in my rating earlier but even then I would still not rate the film more than a 6 out of 10.

who is the special appearance by? you can mention it here. nobody here gives a rats arse about yash raj films anyhoo, except maybe Rita "Special Appearance" has been beaten to death.

my guess:
Big B
SRK
Rani
Kajol
K.Johar??
Rai
all the typical YRF douche bags............I could be wrong

Sanjay, your thoughts on Saif and Preity?

None of the above....the offspring of one in your list.

http://www.indiafm.com/news/2005/08/18/5658/index.html

heh, well, I was thinkin about him, but didn't make the connection despite BnB.....and I forgot that he is in Hum Tum??

either way @ special appearance