Hottoceame The Age of Commercialism

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Caryl It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Peter Young Salaam Namaste is one of the lightest and boldest Hindi entertainers in recent years. It is on par with any well-made Hollywood rom-com. The film addresses two very controversial issues in India: live-in relationships and premarital pregnancy, yet does not try to emphasise them or take them too seriously. It is brilliantly shot, with great production values, great cinematography, light and beautiful songs, and well-cast actors. The film is entirely shot in Australia, and the various locations of Melbourne, the sets and the beautiful landscapes are breathtaking and extremely pleasing to the eye. While it is a modern comedy, it never forgets that it is actually a Hindi film, and in the second half becomes loyal to its Bollywood standards. By the same token, while it turns into a dramatic feature, it never forgets to remain modern. The emotions of the film are reserved and not overly cheap. They are natural and consistently flavoured with great comedy.Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta are irreplaceable and their chemistry is fantastic. They are sensitive, talented, cool and modern actors who understand this foreign lifestyle. Saif's character is quite unsympathetic, as he is portrayed as someone who does not want to take responsibility for his acts. Yet, he displays the expected transformation into someone who finally understands his mistakes very well. Preity is quite the owner of the film though. Oozing charisma and sex-appeal, she is convincing, charming and awfully attractive as the decisive, moody and lively prankster Ambar. Her vivacity in the first half and her pain and hilarious hysterics in the second are excellently done. There are many memorable scenes in Salaam Namaste. First, the kissing and love scenes between the leading actors are surprising and must be noted. I really liked the "My Dil Goes Hmmm..." song. The scenes when Nick and Ambar fight intensively are funny and well-acted. The scene when they meet at their friends' house and the subsequent "Tu Jahaan" song are moving. The entire birth scene is exciting and funny. But my favourite scene is the "Ben and Jerry's Dark Belgian Chocolate ice cream" one. This is one of the greatest acts of the film, spontaneous and wholly entertaining. I recommend Salaam Namaste to everyone. It's not an extraordinary film, but it's a spectacular and visually stunning romantic comedy for the entire family.

silvan-desouza Yashraj films are normally considered the best production house even though they have done worst copies(compared to Bhatt who give at least better films though copies) And have made trash filmsThe film is a lame copy of NINE MONTHSThe comedy scenes are puerile except Jaaved's scenes rest are nothing great, the shouting scenes are lameThe twist is well handled but then nothing much happens and the film ends in a very bad mannerSiddharth Anand handles only few scenes well, many scenes are over the top Music is goodSaif repeats his DCH act and acts well though he often cribs and gets boring Preity is good in serious scenes but overdoes many parts Jaaved is funny Abhishek hams Jugal is okay

jcnsoflorida 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.

kathuria_nidhi Indian Cinema has undeniably conquered new frontiers in world cinema with Salaam Namaste. It's freshness is reminiscent of the times when the tested and tried formulae, which were of' course repackaged timelessly in the genre of romantic comedies were consciously thrown out of the window with an innovative and truly 'hatke' Dil Chahta Hai. It's another matter that after brilliant opening, just like the middle order collapsing in the Indian Cricket team, the filmmakers failed to sustain the trend or even ape the story intelligently and only managed to come up with romantic comedies more useless than the other. Salaam Namaste has indeed raised the bar and the credit goes to its brilliant direction by Siddharth Anand, ace production by Yash Raj, almost dreamy photography, fast paced screenplay, sharp dialogues and a plot without much hoopla. Nowhere during the movie do you feel that the film is attempting to imbibe a paradigm that you have been exposed to in Hollywood movies. The subject of a live-in relationship seems a natural part of the story and does not appear as a forceful modus operandi by the filmmaker to draw attention or even ignite a controversy from orthodox groups for cheap publicity. The story of Nick and Amber seems as real as Shahrukh and Rani in Chalte Chalte or as surreal as Amitabh and Rani in Black. The relationship the protagonists share is beautiful and logical. The issue of morality or character seems redundant when you accept the ideology 'to each his own', become a spectator and enjoy life without indulging too much into rights and wrongs. One thing worth mentioning is the lovemaking scenes, which are so unadulterated and non-dramatic that it will run a wave of tingling sensation throughout your body and will hold you in awe of its purity. This is Preity Zinta's most glorious performance of her career and Saif took his character in the story to brilliant heights too. The editing, which is razor sharp in first half of the movie, slightly fumbles in the last fifteen minutes of the climax. Music is melodious and lyrics are fun to hum. The supporting actors including Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffri also support the film remarkably. Story: Ambar (Preity Zinta) is a radio jockey hosting the show called 'Salaam Namaste' in Melbourne. She hates unpunctuality and is also annoyed by people who get fidgety about their being Indian. Nikhil Arora aka Nick (Saif Ali Khan) who is a chef in an Indian restaurant and also dreams of having his own restaurant rubs Amber the wrong way and starts the war of wits over live radio. The two come face to face at a beach wedding and sparks begin to fly. On coming to know the truth about each other, they want to run as fast as they can from each other in opposite direction but turn around and come to a mutual decision. Ambar moves in with Nick to know if the love is real. They are stark opposite in personalities but cheerfully take deviations and make sweet compromises. Nick gets up in the mornings to fix Ambar hearty breakfasts; Ambar keeps her surroundings clean, amongst other things. Trouble starts when the couple discovers that Ambar is pregnant. What happens to Nick and Ambar? Do they separate and decide that their priorities are different or does the film boast of another happy reunion…or…does Abhishek Bachchan in special appearance has a card to pull? Watch Salaam Namaste to find out!