Ramji Londonwale Review

Some films are designed as light hearted entertainers that cannot be slotted as comedies. That's because the humor is more in situations and personalities rather than any act in particular. Ramji Londonwale is one such movie that doesn't have on-your-face humor belonging to the genre of a 'Hera Pheri' or a 'No Entry', but manages well to keep a smile on your face throughout its duration. End result - a decent fare that can be enjoyed over light snacks on an evening with your family and would soon be caught bombarding the small screen with repeat telecasts.

Ramji [Madhavan] is a simple villager from Bihar who possesses a hereditary talent of cooking ! Though he is a 8th standard pass out and a simpleton with a heart of gold, he is not a buffoon [as some stereotype villagers are shown in Hindi movies]. The movie begins with the marriage of his sister, which is facing rough weather due to the dowry demands of her father-in-law [Akhilendra Mishra]. With danger looming on the future of his sister, he agrees to a guest's [Govind Namdeo] advice and flies to London for a promised job of a cook at a rich Indian's home, and in turn earn some money to pay dowry.

But on reaching London, to his horror he finds that his prospective employer is dead. Jobless and meandering on the streets, worst case scenario arrives when he looses his bag carrying his passport, visa and work permit. As luck would have had it, he saves a mentally challenged Indian child from an accident and is offered a job as a chef in the parents' Indian restaurant. Ramji's recipe for all dishes is an instant success, especially his sugar less 'gajar-ka-halwa', and London soon becomes his beloved city.

Trouble comes in the form of London police and immigration officials who want to nab him as he doesn't carry any official papers with him. On a run from the officials, he is suggested a solution by his employer's [Harsh Chaya] friend [Raj Zutshi], who is himself a lawyer. The solution sounds pretty simple - he can save himself by marrying lawyer's own fiancee Sameera [Samita Bangragi] so that he could get a British citizenship. And once the storm settles down, they could divorce after 3 months.

Though the idea had its own complications inspite of sounding so simple, Ramji doesn't have any other options and gets ready for the marriage. Meanwhile Sameera, who herself isn't too fond of Ramji due to his village upbringing, also bows down to the wishes of his fiancee and agrees to the arrangement.

But the trouble is not yet over because police and immigration officers [Satish Shah and company] are now suspicious about the authenticity of the marriage!! While Ramji and Sameera are getting ready to face the D day, when they have to present themselves for an interview at the immigration office, a twist in the tale comes with Ramji's chance encounter with Agni, a woman with whom Zutshi was once married but had deserted her after 4 years.

After a few sequences of confusion and complexities that follow, everyone realizes the cunning techniques of the lawyer and prepare themselves for the the D day. Meanwhile Sameera starts loosing her heart for Ramji.......

A simple story told with utmost honesty by director Sanjay Dayma, 'Ramji Londonwale' keeps you engaged for the majority of the movie. There are no unwanted props, any item numbers, unwanted emotional moments, vulgar jokes, staged scenes or a parallel running comedy track. So any blemishes in this otherwise well told story? First and foremost its length that is a bit too much in the second half. One expects the story to wrap up sooner than it actually does in the end. Also, with all due respect for the popularity of Amitabh Bachchan, the sequence involving him in the end was just not required. The message conveyed through him could have been thought to be done in