Salaam Namaste (2005)

Salaam Namaste is about two Indians who have left their houses to make a life on their own, and how they meet and how they tackle their own relationships and problems and overcome them themselves without their families.

Director:

Siddharth Anand

Writers:

Siddharth Anand (screenplay), Abbas Tyrewala (dialogue)

Stars:

Saif Ali Khan, Preity Zinta, Arshad Warsi

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Saif Ali Khan	...	Nikhil 'Nick' Arora
Preity Zinta	...	Ambar "Ambi" Malhotra
Arshad Warsi	...	Ranjan "Ron" Mathur
Tania Zaetta	...	Cathy R. Mathur
Jugal Hansraj	...	Jignesh Pandya
Javed Jaffrey	...	Jaggu (as Javed Jafferi)
Kunal Vijaykar
Ravi Khote
Kavita Kapoor
Maria Goretti	...	Cameo Appearance
Siddhant Ashar
Zeke Zidaan
Azaan Ali Khan	...	(as Azaan Khan)
Padam Bhushan	...	Chef
Bonnie Hill

Storyline

The new millennium has begun and one must accept the reality that East Indians have immigrated everywhere on Earth. One such place where a number of Indians have made their new homes is Australia's Melbourne. A doctor, who does have problems translating some words into Hindi; Jignesh Pandya, who has come from Surat, India, where his parents operate and run "Archana Sarees" and has become a doctor; Ranjan Mathur who has recently immigrated, is now on the look-out for a wife, and does find one, after many hilarious misadventures, including one with a gorgeous hooker, Lisa; Then there is Ambar Malhotra or Ambi, who lived in Bangalore with her parents, quarreled with them because she did not want to marry someone of their choice, ended up coming to Australia on a student exchange program, studies medicine, but lands a job as a radio announcer with 101.5 FM "Salaam Namaste"; and finally there is Nikhil Arora alias Nicki, who came here to become an Architect, did get his qualifications, but...

---

Plot Keywords:

chef | childbirth | ice cream | radio station | premarital sex | 

---

Taglines:

Let's get to know each other

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Details

Country:

India

Language:

English Hindi

Release Date:

9 September 2005 (India)

Also Known As:

Cuori in onda

Filming Locations:

Aamandi bungalow, Madh Island, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£208,365 (UK) (9 September 2005)

Gross:

$1,411,065 (USA) (28 October 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Yash Raj Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

158 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Siddharth Anand:  the taxi driver at the end of the movie.

---

Goofs

When Arshad Warsi and Tania Zaetta get married and run into their wedding car, the reflection of the crane above is visible in the car's windscreen.

---

Quotes

[repeated line]
Nikhil Arora: Crap!

---

Connections

References Crocodile Dundee (1986)

---

Soundtracks

"Tu Jahan"
Written by Jaideep Sahni
Composed by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Ravjiani
Performed by Sonu Nigam and Mahalakshmi Iyer
Courtesy of Yash Raj Music

User Reviews

Hindi Romantic Comedy

This Hindi film is said to be a remake of 'Nine Months' and to be derivative of certain Hindi films, but not having seen any of them I am not entitled to comment on that. (I felt an undertone of 'Sleepless in Seattle', not a bad choice to emulate). In 'Salaam Namaste' practically everyone is young and successful and gorgeous, so it is admittedly an escapist fantasy. One could criticize that but on the other hand it's a hard film to dislike. The stars are wonderful together, and Melbourne, Australia, is a major character the way New York often is. Living in Melbourne, the main characters deal with certain issues that they might not face -or would deal with differently- had they stayed in India. Likewise, traditional Indian viewers might find some elements a bit shocking but I don't think the filmmakers set out to put off anyone. Yes, it's manipulative and predictable, but it's a 'feel-good' movie that works. If you can handle a little sugar, I recommend it.