Partner (2007 film)

Partner
Poster for Partner
Directed byDavid Dhawan
Written byScreenplay:
David Dhawan
Yunus Sajawal
Sanjay Chhel
Dialogues:
Sanjay Chhel
Based onHitch
by Andy Tennant
Produced bySohail Khan
Parag Sanghvi
StarringGovinda
Salman Khan
Lara Dutta
Katrina Kaif
Narrated bySalman Khan
CinematographyJohny Lal
Edited byNitin Rokade
Music bySongs:
Sajid–Wajid
Background Score:
Salim–Sulaiman
Production
companies
K Sera Sera Private Limited
Sohail Khan Productions
Distributed byEros International
Release date
  • 20 July 2007 (2007-07-20)
Running time
143 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹28 crore[1]
Box office₹100.91 crore[1]

Partner is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by David Dhawan and, produced by Sohail Khan and Parag Sanghvi. The story of the film was inspired by the 2005 American film Hitch.[2] The film stars Govinda, Salman Khan, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif.[3]

The film revolves around a love guru, Prem, who gives wooing advice and ideas to his client, Bhaskar for the latter's ladylove Priya, and also himself falls in love with a widowed mother, Naina. The film's music is composed by Sajid–Wajid, with background score by Salim–Sulaiman.

Partner was released on 20 July 2007. It received a highly positive response, with particular praise for its comedy scenes and Govinda's performance. A critical and commercial blockbuster, Partner collected ₹100.91 crore (US$12 million) worldwide and was the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2007. Dhawan has expressed interest in creating a sequel to the film, but as of 2022 no script had been finalized and news outlets have reported that the film has been shelved entirely.[4][5]

Plot

Prem (Salman Khan) is a Love Guru who solves the love issues of his clients. Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary (Govinda) comes to Prem for help. Bhaskar loves his boss, Priya Jaisingh (Katrina Kaif), but is unable to express it as she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Prem initially refuses to help Bhaskar and goes to Phuket, Thailand. Bhaskar follows him and convinces him to help.

After returning from Thailand, Prem meets Naina, a photojournalist fleeing from Chhota Don (Rajpal Yadav), who mimics Shahrukh Khan in Don. Prem saves her and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, he starts teaching Bhaskar how to impress Priya. But rather than Prem's tactics, Bhaskar's simplicity and nonsense endear him to Priya, who falls in love with him. Prem learns that Naina (Lara Dutta) has a son named Rohan from her previous marriage, and to impress her, he takes care of him.

Bhaskar reveals to Prem that Priya will marry someone according to her father's will. The two attend Priya's wedding ceremony with Rohan, who convinces his mother to marry Prem while Priya's father is convinced by Bhaskar. Priya prepares to marry Bhaskar.

Meanwhile, a spoilt brat named Neil Bakshi (Rajat Bedi) asks Prem to convince a girl to have a one-night stand with him. Prem angrily tells him that he does not help people with bad intentions. Neil manages to get his one-night stand anyway and ditches the girl, telling her the love guru gave him the advice to do so. The girl turns out to be Naina's friend, Nikki. Naina finds out the Love Guru is Prem. She starts hating Prem and publishes a front-page article exposing him and using Priya-Bhaskar's relationship as an example. Bhaskar is fired from his job as a result.

Prem tells Priya what really happened. Priya realizes that all the things she liked about Bhaskar are what Prem wanted Bhaskar to hide from her and is ready to take Bhaskar back. Prem makes up with Naina by making her hear the truth about him not helping Neil. The two happily marry their partners.

Cast

Soundtrack

Partner
Soundtrack album by
Sajid–Wajid
Released12 June 2007
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LabelT-Series
ProducerSajid–Wajid
Sajid–Wajid chronology
Jaane Hoga Kya
(2006) 		Partner
(2007) 		Kismat Konnection
(2008)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Planet Bollywood[6]
Bollywood Hungama[7]

The music was composed by Sajid–Wajid. The soundtrack entered the top five on 23 July 2007.[8] According to the Indian trade website Box Office India, with around 18,00,000 units sold, this film's soundtrack album was the year's third highest-selling.[9]

Track list

# Song Singer(s) Picturised on Length
1 "Do You Wanna Partner" Udit Narayan, Shaan, Wajid, Suzanne D'Mello, Clinton Cerejo Salman Khan & Govinda 04:30
2 "You’re My Love" Shaan, Shweta Pandit, Suzanne D'Mello, Earl D’Souza, Aastha Gill Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Salman Khan & Lara Dutta 04:35
3 "Dupatta Tera Nau Rang Da" Sonu Nigam, Shreya Ghoshal, Kunal Ganjawala, Suzanne D'Mello Govinda, Katrina Kaif, Lara Dutta & Salman Khan 05:00
4 "Soni De Nakhre" Labh Janjua, Sneha Pant, Wajid Govinda, Katrina Kaif & Salman Khan 04:17
5 "Maria Maria" Wajid, Sonu Nigam, Shakib, Sunidhi Chauhan, Naresh Iyer Salman Khan & Lara Dutta 04:36
6 "You’re My Love" (Remix by DJ A-Myth) Shaan, Shweta Pandit, Suzanne D'Mello, Earl D’Souza, Aastha Gill Excluded in film 04:27
7 "Do You Wanna Partner" (Remix by DJ A-Myth) Udit Narayan, Shaan, Wajid, Suzanne D'Mello, Clinton Cerejo Excluded in film 03:58

Reception

Box office

Box Office India declared the film a "Blockbuster" and was the second biggest domestic opener at that time. It grossed Rs. 1.03 billion in India[10] and $4.19 million overseas.[11]

Accolades

Won:

Nominated:

Sony Pictures, owners of the film Hitch, contemplated a $30-million suit against both the Indian producers for copyright infringements.[12] It would have been the second time after the 1957 film Begunah, an international film company took legal action against an Indian entertainment company for plagiarism. Partner was eventually released, with Sony acquiring the world's exclusive satellite broadcasting rights.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b "Partner – Movie". Box Office India.
  2. ^ "No ripoffs, please".
  3. ^ "'Partner' inspired from 'Hitch'". 8 July 2007. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012.
  4. ^ "Script not ready, but Partner 2 is still alive!". Hindustan Times. 21 April 2012. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  5. ^ "Salman Khan, Govinda's 'Partner 2' shelved". Bollywood Life. Retrieved 30 October 2016.
  6. ^ "Partner Music Review". Archived from the original on 18 January 2010. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Partner Music Review". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 8 September 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
  8. ^ "Partner enters Top 5". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
  9. ^ "Music Hits 2000–2009 (Figures in Units)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 24 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Box Office 2007". Boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
  11. ^ Top Lifetime Grossers OVERSEAS (US $) Archived 22 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine. Box Office India. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  12. ^ "Partner may face $30 mn Hitch". The Times of India. 8 August 2007.
  13. ^ "Who Will Bell the Copycat". Forbes. 22 July 2009.