The 1AM Movie Review Saturday Marathon, Part 1: Salaam Namaste

Netflix has been screaming, "TRY THIS MOVIE! WE THINK YOU'LL LIKE IT!" since the beginning of my Bollywood expedition. I have ignored and ignored it, dismissing it for a variety of reasons, not the least of which was my vague, shapeless dislike of Preity Zinta. Since giving Veer-Zaara another go and deciding that I kinda loved it, and after the emotional wringer that was Devdas, I was really in the mood for something upbeat. So, after scrolling through my queue looking for the perkiest cover, I ended up on Salaam Namaste.

I don't know that I exactly got the "happy happy joy joy" film I was looking for, but I did get a diverting afternoon with a couple of well-played characters. Zinta plays a loud (and I mean LOUD) Melbourne morning DJ, Amber, who ends up in an "opposites attract" relationship with punctuality-impaired Chef Nick (played by Saif Ali Khan, now Mr. Kareena Kapoor). The chemistry was believable, if not heart-stopping, particularly the "hate" portion of the "love-hate" relationship. It's always interesting to me (and slightly unwelcome) to see a Hindi film shot 100% on location outside of India, because somehow an essential component seems missing. It's as if India itself is one of the characters you look forward to watching when you see a Bollywood movie. It also tends to up the amount of English spoken in the film, which does happen here. That's a good thing for people who are jumping in the pool for the first time, or for people who struggle with subtitles; and yet, like the setting, the language is part of what makes Bollywood so special for me. I miss the rapid-fire Hindi of Shah Rukh Khan in films like this one. However, the film was a pretty fun little rework of the Hollywood film Knocked Up - some portions, like the radio brawl, were excellent. Some pieces, like the ridiculous birth scene (which pirates the movie Nine Months, as if THAT'S a good idea), were just utterly off the mark.

So, overall, I'd give this a "good starter film" status - fun, forgettable bubble-gum Yash Raj Film fare. So, stick it in the ole Netflix instant queue, but don't top list it.