 | « Back to article | Print this article |
The 'NRI movie' appeared soon after Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge's blockbuster success.
NRI movies reigned at the box office in the early 2000s.
Aditya Chopra started the trend, but Karan Johar perfected it.
Joginder Tuteja looks at 10 prominent NRI movies.
Pardes
Box office collection: Rs 23 crore
Shah Rukh Khan played an NRI in many films after DDLJ's blockbuster success
This was also the time when Subhash Ghai started to make his films for Indians abroad and that's how Pardes came into existence.
AN NRI in the US falls in love with a desi woman played by Mahima Choudry.
Kal Ho Naa Ho
Box office collection: Rs 36 crore
Karan Johar loves New York and when Nikkhil Advani decided to turn director for Dharma Production's Kal Ho Naa Ho, K&N based the film in NYC.
A love triangle featuring Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta and Saif Ali Khan, Kal Ho Naa Ho was all things American and brought India closer to Indian audiences abroad.
Jab Tak Hai Jaan
Box office collection: Rs 122 crore
Yash Chopra produced several Shah Rukh Khan entertainers and for his swan song, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, he once again chose his favourite actor for the leading man's role.
The first half of the film was set in London and featured Katrina Kaif opposite Shah Rukh, where he played the quintessential romantic man.
Things took a turn when he later found Anushka Sharma in India.
Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna
Box office collection: Rs 45 crore
Karan Johar went bold in Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna about two married people, but not to each other, finding love.
Shah Rukh was married to Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerji was married to Abhishek Bachchan. They stepped out of their marriages and found love in each other.
The setting was America and that's where the story stayed.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil
Box office collection: Rs 112.50 crore
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil had Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma not quite finding love in this Karan Johar directorial.
The film traveled through various countries in Europe and that added different flavors to the narrative.
Aishwarya Rai added glamour to the film.
Love Aaj Kal
Box office collection: Rs 67 crore
Besides Shah Rukh, if there is one more actor who has played an NRI in many films, it is Saif Ali Khan.
Given the cool persona that he has, Saif has brought out his inner angrez quite a few times.
One such film was Love Aaj Kal where, for the story set in the aaj era, he romanced Deepika Padukone in the UK.
The kal segment was set in India.
Cocktail
Box office collection: Rs 76 crore
In spirit, Cocktail was pretty much a sequel to Love Aaj Kal as this also challenged norms when it came to love.
The film was also set in London and both Saif and Deepika, along with Diana Penty, got gorgeous for this Homi Adajania directed film.
The city had a major role to play in this love triangle.
Salaam Namaste
Box office collection: Rs 30 crore
Saif explored Australia as the venue for a romantic rendezvous.
Salaam Namaste was about a live-in relationship and at the time of its release, it was very relevant.
Along with Preity Zinta, Saif made sure that Salaam Namaste turned out to be a hip film.
Namastey London
Box office collection: Rs 37 crore
There aren't many films where Akshay Kumar has taken the story abroad. But he did so for Namastey London.
Though Akshay played a hardcore desi, Katrina Kaif was a young woman from London who didn't have much love and affection for a local Indian groom.
One speech before the goras and just about everything changed for her.
Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge
Box office collection: Rs 19 crore
At the beginning of 2000, Salman Khan had a romantic comedy set in Europe, Dulhan Hum Le Jayenge.
He serenaded Karisma Kapoor, as they took a group tour together.
With fun, music, dance and comedy coming together, this David Dhawan directorial was an easy watch and emerged a commercial success.
