Salaam Namaste

Salaam Namaste
Movie poster
Directed bySiddharth Anand
Written byAbbas Tyrewala
Siddharth Anand
Produced byAditya Chopra
Starring
Narrated byAbhishek Bachchan
CinematographySunil Patel
Edited byRitesh Soni
Music by
Distributed byYash Raj Films
Release date
  • 9 September 2005 (2005-09-09)
Running time
159 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget110 million (US$1.3 million)[1]
Box office752 million (equivalent to 2.6 billion or US$31 million in 2023)[2]

Salaam Namaste (transl.Hello Greetings) is a 2005 Indian romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Siddharth Anand in his directorial debut and produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The film stars Saif Ali Khan and Preity Zinta in lead roles, alongside a supporting cast of Arshad Warsi, Tania Zaetta and Jugal Hansraj. The film was released on 9 September 2005, and was the first Indian film to be shot entirely in Australia.[3]

The film tells the story of two young and modern Indians, Nick and Ambar, who have left their homes to make a life on their own in Melbourne, Australia. The story follows one year of their lives, dealing with their problems and relationships, from their first meeting at a wedding ceremony, to their decision to move in together without marriage, to their break-up upon discovering that Ambar is pregnant.

Salaam Namaste became the third highest-grossing Indian film of the year, as well as India's biggest hit in the overseas market that year.[4][5] On 24 September 2005, the script of the film was invited to be included in the Margaret Herrick Library, which is operated by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[6][7] Zinta received widespread critical acclaim for her role and earned nominations for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards, IIFA Awards, Star Screen Awards and Zee Cine Awards.[8][9][10]

  1. ^ "Salaam Namaste - Movie". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 16 January 2018.
  2. ^ "Top Lifetime Grossers Worldwide". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2011.
  3. ^ Phillips, Mark (13 May 2005). "Bollywood on Bourke Street". The Age. Archived from the original on 23 January 2016. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  4. ^ "Top Worldwide Grossers 2005". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 25 December 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Top Lifetime Grossers Overseas (IND Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 9 November 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  6. ^ Adarsh, Taran (24 September 2005). "'Salaam Namaste' invited for Oscar library". Archived from the original on 21 December 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2008.
  7. ^ "Salaam Namaste invited for Oscar library". 25 September 2005. Archived from the original on 21 December 2014.
  8. ^ "IIFA 2006 Nominees". Bollywood Hungama. 6 May 2006. Archived from the original on 7 July 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ^ "'Black' bags major IIFA awards". The Tribune. Press Trust of India. 17 June 2006. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  10. ^ IndiaFM News Bureau (17 June 2006). "IIFA Awards 2006 winners". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 1 July 2006. Retrieved 29 July 2020.