15 years of Namastey London: When Vipul Shah was asked to rethink the cast

Producer-director Vipul Amrutlal Shah recounts memories from the romantic drama film and shares what helped the film remain memorable over the years

Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrer romantic drama Namastey London (2007) clocks 15 years of its release today. Though the chemistry between the lead pair and the music album continue to remain etched in the minds of the audience even today, the film opened to mixed reviews before it could travel by word-of-mouth and become a box office success.

‘One reviewer said that two of the worst films of the year were Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag and Namastey London’

“Some of the reviewers really criticised the film. I, especially, remember one reviewer who said that two of the worst films of the year were (filmmaker) Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag (2007) and Namastey London. I remember Katrina was a bit sceptical about the film but Akshay, Rishi ji (Kapoor; actor), Javed (Akhtar) saab (lyricist), Himesh Reshammiya (music director) and all of us were really happy and confident that we made a decent film which would appeal to the audiences,” recalls director-producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah.

What also makes the film special was that it marked the first successful collaboration of Kumar and Kaif, who went on to appear in many romantic comedies over the years. Shah says, “When I was about to start shooting, a lot of people told me that their last film (Humko Deewana Kar Gaye; 2006) hasn’t done well and if I was sure about casting them. But I couldn’t imagine anyone else. Eventually, their chemistry really sizzled on screen, which became the heart and soul of our film.”

Namastey London, according to many, helped earn Kaif her first critical acclaim. Talking about casting her in the film, the director-producer shares, “I had met Katrina when I was making Waqt: Race Against Time (2005). At that time, I felt she had a strong accent and I wanted an Indian girl. I told her that if you can learn Hindi, it would be great. A few months later when I met her again, she could not only speak but also read Hindi. I think it was an amazing dedication that she showed. I was really keen to work with her. She was one of the most innocent faces and behind that innocence was a certain amount of naughtiness which the character required. Her innocent was important because at some point in the film, she denounces her marriage and she does it casually eating an apple. I feel she nailed the part. I don’t think anyone could have played that part better.”

Namastey London marked the first successful collaboration of Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif

Quiz Shah about what he thinks has made the film memorable over the years, and he says, “We did a lot of things differently for that time. There was a certain way of making cinema but we made it differently, which has become the norm of today.”

Shah elaborates, “It was one of the first instances when we were working with a foreign crew. So, the look and feel was really different. We wanted (director of photography) Jonathan Bloom to look at the film through a lens, which was not typically an Indian way of looking at cinema. This gave it a different visual quality.”

He reveals that the story of Namastey London was originally brought to him by Kumar. “Akshay had introduced me to one of his friends, and he narrated me one incident that happened to him. Akshay told me that we should make a film on this. I thought it was a superb idea. I wrote one line and went to him. Of course, the second half of the film was completely different as compared to the original story. After from him being tricked to go to London and then the girl denouncing the marriage, we developed a fully different story. I think Akshay has a knack of putting his finger on the right subject. He liked the idea of converting the story into a film and that in itself an amazing judgment on his part. Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair wrote it with us and they did a fabulous job,” Shah signs off.