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What happens when a girl who has been raised in Britain is made to marry a rustic guy from Punjab? And how long will such a marriage between two very different people last?

"Namastey London" opening in NRI theatres on 23rd March

London, March 23, 2007
Reena Sharma

Namastey London opened in theatres across the country on Friday, the controversy over a shot in which actress Katrina Kaif allegedly wears a short skirt inside Ajmer Dargah continues to dog the Vipul Shah film.

This movie is a family entertaining film, with a north Indian punjabi flavor especially because Akshay Kumar's character in the film belongs to Punjab. Akshay, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, Upen Patel and Pakistani actor Javed Sheikh are in the lead role.......Full Story

Punjabi boy Akshay woos NRI audiences in "Namaste London"

Namaste London (2007)

London, Jan 04, 2007
Ram ji Tandon

• "Namaste London" was shot all over London.
• Entire crew, including spot boys, was British.
• Also shoot in Punjab
• It is all about the NRIs
• Estimated budget of around 25 crores.
• It is a movie about a punjabi "Larka" and a "pardesi larkii". Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif played the roles . People who don't speak punjabi or hindi, it's about a Punjabi guy who gets married to a Indian girl who loves Britain more than her home country. The guy, played by Akshay Kumar, got married in India and found love in Britain. His wife, played by Katrina Kaif, believes in Christmas more than Karwa Chauth

Namaste London film is about a Punjabi boy trying to win over an NRI girl's heart. It was shot in London for over three months. It’s a love story about how today’s Indian youth both in India and England perceive love. The film will star Vipul’s lucky mascot, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, newcomer Upen Patel and six British actors.

"Namaste, London is me. You can take me out of Punjab but you can't take Punjab out of Akshay, says Akshay, Punjabi actor.The film that set a precedent for bollywood films to enlist Hollywood actors was ‘Mangal Pandey’. In the film British actor, Toby Stephens played a prominent role, alongside Aamir Khan. Also, many Hollywood actresses have been seen in character roles and item songs in bollywood films.

Vipul Shah said that there is a genuine interest and high awareness of the Hindi film industry and its works among Hollywood actors. Upen Patel has been cast as a Pakistani dude craving to marry a British girl.

Director Vipul Shah might be full of praises for his international crew while shooting for his film, but there's one person he's very likely to keep desi in the future — the designer. As his crew for Namastey London was from the UK, the director had also arranged for a British designer to design Katrina and Akshay's look in the film. But after getting to London, Shah realised that he would have to scrap the costumes the designer had made for his lead pair. He says, "Since Katrina plays a girl who lives in London, we had chosen a London-based designer for her look. However, after seeing the costumes she'd made for Katrina, we realised they would never work. She had given Katrina a very simple look, but we wanted her to be very glamorous."

"The way designers in UK work is very different. They go deep in to the character and give clothes to suit the nuances in every shot," he adds. "But ultimately we are catering to an Indian audience, so we had to go with what works with them."

Year of Release : 2007
Producer : Vipul Amrutlal Shah
Cast : Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Rishi Kapoor, Upen Patel, Javed Shaikh
Music Director : Himesh Reshammiya
Story Writer : Suresh Nair

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