Namaste England () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed and co-produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah. The film is the sequel to 2007 film Namastey London. The film stars Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra in lead roles alongside Aditya Seal, Shreya Mehta and Alankrita Sahai in supporting roles. Principal photography began on 23 February 2018 in Amritsar, Punjab. It was released worldwide on 18 October 2018 to overwhelmingly negative reviews and emerged as a box office disaster.
Plot
Param is a man residing in a small village within Punjab. During Dusshera, he goes to see Ravan Dahan with his friends where he meets Jasmeet and subsequently falls for her. Jasmeet is a young, ambitious and educated girl, whose grandfather and older brother are opposed to her seeking employment due to their conservative background. Jasmeet can't go against their decision but still dreams of independence from them. After their first meeting, Param and Jasmeet meet several more times, where she grows closer to Param. To get close to her, Param conceives a plan and asks a friend of his to marry one of Jasmeet's friends. At the time of the wedding, Param and Jasmeet spend time together, subsequently expressing their love for one another. Param eventually finds Jasmeet a part-time position at a jewellery store; however, her grandfather finds out about this and begins to search for another groom.
Param convinces his father to send a marriage proposal to Jasmeet's family. Jasmeet's grandpa happily agrees but on the condition that Jasmeet should not work after marriage. During the wedding ceremony, Gurpreet disrespects Param's father. Gurpreet is humiliated and vows to make sure that Param never gets a visa. One year later, they're still trying to get a visa but fail. Jasmeet expresses her desire to settle down in London, England. She meets her school friend Harpreet who lives in London and gives the address of an illegal immigrant officer who can help them live in London. Param reveals to Jasmeet the officer suggested him to marry a British citizen for a visa and later on marry Jasmeet and live in London. Hearing this, Jasmeet immediately visits the lawyer and agrees for Param to get married but Param refuses. Jasmeeet tries to make him understand but in vain. Param's next option is to convince Gurpreet.
Param then goes to Gurpreet and tells him he is ready to apologise in front of everyone. Gurpreet says he forgave Param but Param's father has to apologise to him but Param doesn't agree. Soon the officer informs Jasmeet that he has secured her a job in the UK. Jasmeet is delighted and informs Param. While saying their goodbyes at the airport, Jasmeet blindsides Param by telling him that she's going on a marriage visa. The officer had arranged a man named Samar Singh Sandhu aka Sam who would pose as her husband. Sam has British citizenship and requires a girl to pose as his wife to please his elderly grandfather on his deathbed. Jasmeet and Sam meet and discuss their reasons for this marriage and assure each other that they are doing this for their own interests. Jasmeet travels to London. Param's love encourages him to seek help from the officer to reach London by any means. Upon arriving in London, Param follows Jasmeet and introduces himself to her neighbour Alisha who falls for him and supports Param in winning back Jasmeet. On the other hand, Sam's grandpa passes away and he is consoled by Jasmeet.
Jasmeet begins to realise her mistake as Param's wedding preparations are in full swing. Jasmeet admits to Sam the truth and he advises Jasmeet to return to Param. Jasmeet informs Param of her breakup with Sam at the Indian Embassy where Param has surrendered and expresses her desire to leave London and return to India. At the end of the film, they are reunited.
Cast Arjun Kapoor as Paramveer "Param" Randhawa Parineeti Chopra as Jasmeet Kaur Randhawa Aditya Seal as Samar "Sam" Singh Sandhu Alankrita Sahai as Alisha Sharma, Param's neighbour Anil Mange as Iqbal Khan; a Pakistani illegal immigrant Satish Kaushik as Gurnaam Singh Shergill Mallika Dua as Harpreet Kaur Chaddha Sonia Goswami as Posh Party Diner Kishore Bhatt as Mosque Goer Manish Kumar Srivastava as Shyam Frina Mehta as Mean British Indian Girl Bharat Mistri as Wedding Suit Boutique Owner Vinod Nagpal as Gulshan Singh Sandhu, Sam's grandfather Mohit Chhabra as Balwant Singh Chaddha Glenn Webster as Security / Party Guest Nicholas Benjamin as Party Guest Prasanna Kumara Dissanayake as Party Guest Abdul Hakim Joy as Seven Eleven Staff Shreya Mehta as Mitthi Badshah as himself in the song "Proper Patola" (special appearance)
Production Principal photography began in February 2018. The film was shot in 75 locations including Amritsar, Patiala, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Paris, Brussels, London and Southampton. This is the second collaboration between Kapoor and Chopra after Ishaqzaade (2012) and followed by Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar (2021).
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album is composed by Mannan Shaah, Badshah and Rishi Rich the lyrics penned by Javed Akhtar, Master Rakesh and Badshah. The soundtrack rights were acquired by Sony Music India.
Marketing and promotions The first look of the movie was released on 14 August 2018, by Parineeti and Arjun on their Twitter handle.
During the promotional campaigns, the movie landed into controversy when one of the movie posters released had Indian map in the background from which, Aksai Chin region of Ladakh in Indian-administered Kashmir was missing.
The official trailer for the film was released on 6 September 2018.
Release The film was released on 18 October 2018, clashing with the release of Ayushmann Khurrana's Badhaai Ho.
Home media The satellite rights of the film were bagged by Zee Network.
Reception
Critical response
The film received generally negative reviews from critics; out of 16 reviews, only 4 received equal to or more than a 2-star rating.
Zee News and The Statesman, both posting the same IANS review, gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the film "has a pure heart," and that "the cast performs with sincerity that sometimes gets stagey. While Arjun and Parineeti look comfortable in each other`s company, some of their romantic moments together are done with the over-cute impishness that seems way out of line." The reviewer also noted that most of the secondary characters seem more entertaining than the leads: "Aditya Seal as Parineeti`s trophy-husband succeeds in making his character of a spoilt NRI brat anything but a jerk...Seal does well for himself." The film is beautifully shot by Yiannis Manolopoulos, and that "While the narrative serenades the effervescent mood, a serious tone is allowed to creep in with a statement on the issue of illegal migrants in Europe."
Urvi Parikh of Rediff.com gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, and says that the film is "all things that the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer Namastey London was not." She notes that "Vipul Shah fails to give us a crisp storyline, hard-hitting dialogues and memorable punch lines." She notes that the movie tries to deal with women's empowerment, but "the depiction is so wrong that at the end of it, you only feel sorry for the crew." She praised actress Mallika Dua and actor Aditya Seal, noting that they do a fairly good job with the material they are given. But she also noted that the film "drags after a point. You neither sympathise with the actors nor empathise with them."
Rachit Gupta of The Times of India gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, noting that the lead pair Kapoor and Chopra had "crackling chemistry in Ishaqzaade and still look great together, but their characters are so poorly crafted that even their best efforts can't salvage the story." He particularly praised Chopra, noting that "Parineeti, in particular, tries very hard to add some semblance of respect with her performance, but it just doesn't work out." He also praised Alankrita Sahai, saying that she had "a glamorous avatar, looks great on-screen, but her role doesn't offer any chance to perform, either." In a more critical sense, he added the while the locations and cinematography is at times beautiful, "even if you do come to terms with the regressive values of the characters, the ho-hum screenplay makes 'Namaste England' a lot tougher to sit through." He noted the long-drawn first half, with a twist at the interval, "but then the second half dives into over-the-top comedy and melodrama." He also criticized the background score, which "feels like it belongs in a campy 90s comedy." Overall Gupta was slightly disappointed with the film, noting that "'Namaste England' has a lot of promise, but the film just isn't able to shake off the ill-effects of clichéd storytelling. This one's a classic case of love's labour lost."
Mayur Sanap of The Deccan Chronicle also gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, saying it is "Easy on the eye, difficult on the senses." Sanap praised the chemistry between the two leads and said that they seem like a natural fit together; yet that the film as a whole is "forced and takes the audience for granted." Sanap says that the film tries to have everything that a good Bollywood romance film should have, but that the film is the latest attempt of the "makers' futile attempt at encashing popular movie brand." Sanap says that its greatest shortcoming is that it is "neither a compelling tearjerker nor an epic romance. It's a film with no heart, no sense, just a series of orchestrated, contrived scenes..." Sanap commends Kapoor for being 'sincere' but that there is nothing about him the audience "hasn't seen before...." and that Parineeti "lacks gravitas. There is glossiness instead of authenticity..." In conclusion he says, "The film had the potential to be a real crowd-pleaser, but it feels forced, confused, and takes the audience for granted. It is better to say good-bye to this one."
Udita Jhunjhunwala of First Post gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying that its "romance suffers from a dull, infantile script." She said that the lead characters struggle to "bring their A-game," but that the script was so "infantile" that it was hard to blame them entirely. She noted that she enjoyed some of the minor characters, saying that "These friends and their attempts to play cupid are the most, and perhaps only really entertaining, part of this juvenile story." Overall, Jhunhunwala felt the film was underwhelming: "The loose direction, tepid interaction between the leads, an immature premise, dull locations, and Jasmeet and Param’s illogical actions are exasperating. Namaste England is so dated in its ideas, storytelling and design that it even makes a stimulating city like London look rusty."
Charu Thakur of India Today also gave the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, saying that "Arjun and Parineeti are forgettable in stale film." He noted a multitude of issues: "an ammunition of boredom in terms of a sketchy plotline, bad acting, lazy script, silly dialogues and a sleep-inducing love story with almost zero chemistry." Thakur also called the film very predictable and the performances of the actors as "straight-faced" and "so off the mark that they will make even a newcomer look better in front of them." Finally, Thakur concluded by urging the reader to "skip Namaste England," calling it a "complete waste of time."