Release date:
9th March, 2007
 After the phenomenal success of Waqt
which entered the UK Box Office Charts at number 11, award
winning and enterprising director Vipul Shah is proud to
present and greet the world with one of 2007’s most spell binding love stories,
Namastey London – a film that will whet the appetite
of cineastes on a global platform.
Love stories are traditionally a staple diet for Indian cinema
and in his quest to make ‘one love story in his lifetime’ Vipul
Shah has created Namastey London which resonates perfectly
with a global audience. Riding on the successful wave of
cross-over cinema, Namastey London is a transitional and
cross-cultural love story which considers the issues of socio-cultural
conflicts in an entertaining and poignant style. The film
deals with the love affairs of the youth on a global level;
how the modern youth are living in the Western world in countries
such as the UK, USA and Australia and how they perceive love
compared to the younger generations living in areas such
as Punjab, Delhi and Mumbai, and when these somewhat polarised
communities meet the sparks this will generate.
Namastey London trails the story of
Arjun (Akshay Kumar), a kind-hearted, homely character
from the heart of Punjab who makes his way to London to
win the heart of the British girl he has fallen in love
with (Katrina Kaif) and the whole of Briton. Although the
film is the epitome of ‘love
on celluloid’, beneath the glossed, romantic layers,
Namastey London unfurls to reveal a pivotal drama that speaks
to all diaspora groups who have migrated from their place
of origin to then settle in the West, and the plight migrants
face with assimilating into the host culture and maintaining
an affinity with what they call their ‘home’.
Since producing some of the most famous
soap operas on Indian television, Vipul Shah made his directorial
debut in films with Aankhen (2002) which had an unconventional
theme of robbery by three blind men, with his next film
Waqt receiving international critical acclaim. Namastey
London is considered Vipul Shah’s most ambitious
project till date, and will undisputedly propel him to
become one of the most applauded directors of 2007.
 Namastey London is extensively shot
in London which forms the vital backdrop for the film.
Almost 12-14 films are shot in the UK each year, contributing £20million to the
UK’s economy. In recent years, London has been the
hotbed of drama for Indian cinema especially for films similar
to Namastey London that consider the topic of cross-cultural
relations. This is supported by the fact that the UK’s
population is rising by 500 people per day, indicating how
the melting pot of cultures is reaching unsurpassed heights.
From the film’s cast through to its crew, from its
subject matter through to its music, it is of no surprise
why the hype, buzz and curiosity around Namastey
London has
continued to reach pinnacles. Namastey
London has made history
as it is the first product from Indian cinema to have an
entire international and Hollywood production crew the objective
being to make the film have an international feel and look
in line with its global appeal. The film’s director
of photography is Jonathan Bloom, location manager Keith
Hatcher (Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone),
head of art department and production design Paul Burns (The
Business, The Football Factory) makeup artist Kateling (head
makeup artist at the BBC), and casting director Claire Saunders
(Match Point), reflecting the cross-cultural synergies integral
to the film.
 Vipul Shah has ensured that the cast of Namastey
London physically
resemble the characters they play. The story revolves around
key central characters including A List and award winning
star Akshay Kumar, aspiring actors Katrina Kaif and Upen
Patel, legend Rishi Kappor, British actress Nina Wadia,
acclaimed Pakistani actor Javed Sheikh and British actors
Clive Standon and Tiffany McFadden who form the formidable
cast.
The musical score for Namastey
London is as exciting and
a treat for music aficionados as is the film itself. Vipul
Shah has brought together for the first time the unique combination
of stalwart lyrist Javed Akhtar and current music sensation
Himesh Reshammiya to compose the music of Namastey
London. In bringing together the two music maestros, the music of
Namastey London is an amalgam of class and mass and a musical
score that truly befits the genre of the film.
INDIAN CINEMA CONTRIBUTES £200
MILLION FOR THE UK'S ECONOMY
Filming in London contributes approximately 25% of the numbers
The rest come in from distribution and exhibition
This statistic has been rising by approximately 20% to 25%
every year
Facts on Indian Cinema
The business of Indian cinema is extremely lucrative especially
for overseas markets such as the UK.
The UK in fact has the largest audience for Indian cinema
outside of India.
This year 69 Bollywood films have been released in the UK
and 14 productions financed by the Indian film industry are
being shot in the UK.
Furthermore almost 12 - 14 Indian
films are shot in the U.K every year, spending more than £20m
every year.
In the 5 weeks since its UK release,
Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna has grossed more than £2m -
the same as Vera Drake.
Box office takings for Indian films have overtaken that
of home-grown British films.
Almost 16% of all films released in the U.K. were Indian
films. Incidentally, this is higher than the number of
British films released in U.K. which is in the vicinity
of approximately 13%.
Several Indian films have entered the UK Top 10. In 2005
the tally was 9 compared to 7 British films.
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