Hello (2008)

Call-center workers receive a phone call from God.

Director:

Atul Agnihotri

Writers:

Atul Agnihotri (screenplay), Chetan Bhagat (additional dialogue)

Stars:

Sharman Joshi, Amrita Arora, Sohail Khan

Cast

Credited cast:
Sharman Joshi	...	Shyam / Sam
Amrita Arora	...	Radhika / Rebecca
Sohail Khan	...	Varun 'Vroom' / Victor
Isha Koppikar	...	Esha / Elizabeth
Katrina Kaif	...	Story-teller
Arbaaz Khan	...	Anuj
Salman Khan	...	Khan
Gul Panag	...	Priyanka
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Bharti Achrekar	...	Priyanka's mom
Anupam Maanav	...	TV reporter
Suresh Menon	...	Systems Guy
Rishi Nijhawan	...	Ganesh
Shree Rammy Pandey	...	Team Leader
Sharat Saxena	...	Military Uncle
Dalip Tahil	...	Subhash Bakshi

Storyline

Hello... is a tale about the events that happen one night at a call center. Told through the views of the protagonist, Shyam, it is a story of almost lost love, thwarted ambitions, absence of family affection, pressures of a patriarchal set up, and the work environment of a globalized office. Shyam is losing his girl friend because his career is going nowhere as he trudges his way around in a call center. His girl friend, Priyanka, is also an agent like him at the call center who is about to be snatched by an NRI technogeek. There is also the aspiring model, Esha, who is hoping for the break that seems to be always already eluding her and the man about town, Vroom, who is into well, things. The housewife, Radhika, who is constantly at the receiving end of her mother-in-law and a beleaguered grandfather, Military Uncle, who has been barred from interacting with his grandchild make up the rest of the call agents who see their worlds crumbling around them as the decisions of right sizing...

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Plot Keywords:

call center | one night | boss | helicopter | sex in a car | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Did You Know?

Trivia

In 2006, Ramesh Sippy was making Chetan Bhagat's novel "A Night At A Call Centre" into a film. He had signed Abhishek Bachchan and Upen Patel for the lead roles. Rohan Sippy was to direct the film. It was later shelved and remade as "Hello" with Atul Agnihothri.

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Connections

Referenced in Mumbai Diaries (2010)

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Soundtracks

Main Apne Rabh Ka Bandha Hoon
Performed Sonu Nigam, Sunidhi Chauhan, Zubeen Garg
Lyrics by Jalees Sherwani
Composed by Sajid Ali, Wajid Ali
Music on Tips

User Reviews

Wrong Number!

Is Atul Agnihotri a worse director than actor? Well that's a discussion not worth having. His debut film ripped off 'Return To Me' and it was a pathetic movie. This film is pretty bad (though not as bad as other disasters of the year such as 'Drona', 'Krazzy 4' etc) and the worst thing about both of Agnihotri's films is the direction. The guy should have given up after his first attempt and perhaps do something not-related to cinema (perhaps follow the footsteps of another non-talented ex actress like Twinkle Khanna who has now become an interior decorator).

I haven't read Bhagat's book but what convinced me to give this movie a chance were Isha Koppikar and Gul Panag. The movie really drags at several sequences and the dialogues are stale. The romantic scenes are corny and dull e.g. Priyanka proposing to Shyam. The songs are irritating and of the fast-forward quality. The characters are not well-developed and as a consequence, some of the performances suffer. The entire God sequence appears forced and ridiculous and the Salman Khan and Katrina Kaif track are cringe-inducing. The film is offensive to non-Indians and there is even a forced 'patriotic scene' about how Westerners use Indians and then treat them like nothing etc etc. The resolution is presented in an amateur way.

'Hello' is carried by Sharman Joshi and the actor does a fairly adequate job. Sohail Khan is mostly annoying but there are a few scenes where he displays signs of good acting. Amrita Arora shows some improvement in acting as she's cast against type. Sharat Saxena too is good. Anusha Dhandekar makes a funny appearance as the bimbo girlfriend. Salman Khan's scenes are puke-inducing. He looks and acts like a 50 year old haggard has-been retarded popstar (who has gone under the knife and thinks he's 20 and cool). His fake hair and age are oozing out of the implants and, as always, he's stripping again (ghastly!). Katrina Kaif has never been able to act and she is laughable (unintentionally of course). A gorgeous Isha Koppikar and a sensual Gul Panag are sufficient (but this is far from their best works). The rest of the cast are truly abysmal (especially that office rapper)

There are a few funny moments and I liked the chemistry between the five main actors. But, overall, it's a very weak film. Atul Agnihotri should give up on cinema (and so should Salman). Perhaps one can give it a go if they are fans of the actors but otherwise, there isn't much to miss.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

10 October 2008 (India)

Also Known As:

Алло, колл-центр слушает!

Box Office

Budget:

INR80,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,412,084

Company Credits

Production Co:

Funky Buddha Productions, Mirah Entertainment, Percept Picture Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Color:

Color