82. Namaste Wahala; movie review

 

NAMASTE WAHALA

Cert 12

107 mins

BBFC advice: Contains  sexual violence references, discrimination, sexual threat, violence

This is intriguing - a rare Nollywood movie which crosses over into Bollywood.

If that sentence is double Dutch to you, let me explain - Nollywood is Nigeria's version of Hollywood and Bollywood is India's Hindi-speaking take on it.

Namaste Wahala combines both genres and is set in Lagos, one of the most populated cities in Africa

It is a fairly old-fashioned love-at-first-sight romance which has to overcome racial prejudice.

Hamisha Daryani Ahuja's film stars Ini Dima-Okojie as Didi - a young lawyer from a well-to-do family who have high aspirations for her.

She goes for her daily run on the beach when she literally bumps into a muscular businessman (Ruslaan Mumtaz) who falls for her at first sight.

Indeed, he vows to his pal that he will marry her without even knowing her.

As if by magic, their relationship comes to pass after they are coincidentally introduced at a work function.

Yep, love blossoms for the power couple but there is only one problem - her parents and his mother see the match as completely unsuitable.

But the only reason they seem to have is the skin colour of their child's respective beau and belle.

Oh, and Raj's mum (Sujata Sehgal) also thinks Didi won't be able to cook him as good a breakfast as she can.

Yes, I am afraid anyone who has watched Indian screen romances, will have seen prejudices similar to those which are thrown up in Namaste Wahala.

The only difference here is that the argument seems to surround skin colour as well as the usual divide - social class.

Indeed, I couldn't help think that Namaste Wahala had missed a trick or two because it didn't explore more of the Indian assimilation into Nigerian life.

Instead, it just resorted back to the age-old tale of overly ambitious/backwards-looking parents standing in the way of forward-thinking young people.

Therefore, all it offered new was the Indian/Nigerian culture clash which was interesting but not riveting.

Reasons to watch: An intriguing clash of cultures

Reasons to avoid: The speed of scenes is very jarring

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? There are over 85 well known Indian firms that have set up business in Nigeria and, according to the High Commission of India in Abuja, there are an estimated 35,000 Indians in Nigeria.

The final word. Ruslaan Mumtaz: "“I feel proud that people are accepting an inter-racial love story. When we watch any movie, we want any hero or heroine to end up together. We never want a third person in between. That's what a love story should be like and that's what I wanted to achieve. When watching the film, I want people to feel that Raj and Didi should end up together.” India Today

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