London, Paris, New York


London, Paris, New York, also known by the initialism LPNY, is 2012 Indian romantic comedy film that marks the writing and directing debut of Anu Menon with Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari in the lead roles. The official theatrical trailer was released on 14 January 2012 while the film was released worldwide on 2 March 2012, to positive reviews. The movie was made on a budget of 7 crores including promotional costs and earned 24 Crores. The film earned Rs 6.43 Crore in first week in domestic box office and Rs 9 Crore lifetime. In overseas too it was a winner and earned Rs 2 Crore in first week and Rs 4 Crore lifetime.

Plot

The movie starts with Nikhil Chopra being interviewed by a reporter in New York asking him about his newly directed movie and why he chose a serious subject and he replies saying that he was asked by someone to be true to yourself and this movie shows the biggest truth about him. He then receives a message and rushes outside to catch a cab.
In the cab, he remembers how he met Lalitha at the London airport in 2005. She misses her connecting flight to New York and bumps into Nikhil while collecting her luggage. They instantly strike a chord and decide to explore London as both of them do not want to head away to their homes but wish to enjoy their first day of freedom. During the day, they roam around in London, explore tourist locales, get drenched in rain and discuss personal ambitions. As the day ends, Nikhil and Lalitha become close but Lalitha declares that she cannot have a long distance relationship with him. While parting ways, Nikhil buys a ticket for himself and tells Lalitha that he will meet her in New York in six months. She says that they should not write to each other and he agrees to meet her at the New York airport.
After two years, Nikhil rushes to Paris when he finds out that Lalitha has come there for an exchange program. It is revealed that Nikhil could never make it to New York as he had promised to Lalitha. Lalitha is at first angry with Nikhil for ditching her, however soon she makes peace with the fact and they set out roaming the streets of Paris. They still feel the same attraction for each other and end up spending the night together in Nikhil's hotel. Nikhil admits that he is in love with Lalitha. They start out to watch the film he has made for his course but Lalitha is unable to control her emotions on seeing it.
It is revealed that Lalitha had actually taken a trip back to London when she also realized that she was in love with Nikhil. However, she finds him in bed with his film's actress which breaks her heart. She resolved to get even with Nikhil if given a chance. Realizing that Nikhil is in love with her, she breaks his heart too and leaves for New York.
The film moves forward to present day when Nikhil lands outside Lalitha's house. They go together for a cab ride in New York City. Lalitha tells him that she is will marry an American and relocate to Mumbai. Nikhil tries his best to win Lalitha's heart. Lalitha also apologized for breaking his heart. They again spend the night together on the streets.
However, as morning arrives, Lalitha starts rushing for her wedding which leaves Nikhil heartbroken again as he had thought he had won back Lalitha. He takes out his anger on her, explaining how she had been all wrong in this relationship. Lalitha leaves for her house. Nikhil rushes first to her church where Lalitha was getting married and then to her house only to learn that Lalitha had called off her marriage.
They meet again outside her house and decide to spend the rest of their lives together.

Cast

announced its association with Rose Movies for a new film titled London, Paris, New York at the launch event of movie on 24 August 2011. "Fox Star Studios has established a strong presence in the Indian Film industry in a very short time and have ably demonstrated their marketing and distribution capabilities – we are extremely excited to partner on our next project with people who are like minded and have the vision to take the film places," said Goldie Behl, producer, Rose Movies. "We are committed to working with the best talent in the business and are delighted to be working with Goldie and Shrishti on London, Paris, New York. It's an amazing script that we are all very excited about. With comedies driving audiences into the theatres, this romantic comedy is the film to watch out for in 2012," said Vijay Singh, CEO Fox Star Studios India.
Anu Menon makes her feature directing debut with this film. "We are happy to be working with Anu Menon who with her background of London Film School brings to the project the right balance of understanding emotional appeal in an international setting." says producer Shrishti Arya.
The title is simple and says a lot about the movie. When asked about its significance, Ali Zafar said, "The title is an integral part of the film. It provides a backdrop to the love story and helps in portraying the characters' journey of love".

Casting

and Aditi Rao Hydari play the romantic leads in the film, and their involvement was announced in the same press release as the initial production company announcement. This is the first time they've been paired together. Aditi Rao Hydari who has landed the part in Ali Zafar starrer London, Paris, New York shares how she be wanted to cast me in some film. A week later Anu's script reached his desk, he read it and said "Aditi- the Airtel girl. Ali was always a part of the project, so it all fell into place magically like it was meant to be- that's why I believe in miracles!".
"In our film we have a new cast of immensely talented actors – Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao, who we are sure will definitely appeal to the youth in this coming of age love story and thereby ably demonstrating our commitment to nurture fresh talent in the industry," added Mr. Singh.

Filming

Shot in the three most popular and beautiful cities of the world, London, Paris and New York. The filming started in early August 2011. While shooting at Heathrow airport in London, actors Ali Zafar and Aditi Rao found themselves in a peculiar situation. Both were shooting at the busy airport and as the crew members were setting up the shot, they decided to go for a quick rehearsal of their dialogues. That's when a couple of real-life fliers pitched in and tried to help them out. As film London, Paris, New York was caught in the crossfire for affecting locals, the filmmaker had to change the shooting location to a place outside London. The cast and crew got done with the London chapter and moved to Paris, the city of love, for its second schedule. After finishing the Paris schedule the team moved on to New York for their final last schedule.

Release

The film released worldwide on 2 March 2012 following the premiere in U.A.E, U.S. and India. Ali has been promoting the film extensively on Pakistan's Geo TV, which will be releasing the film there. Film producers planned a big, red carpet premiere in Karachi on 8 March and red carpet premiere at Vox Cinemas in Deira City Center, Dubai on 29 February. London Paris New York released on 1 March 2012 in U.A.E. The red carpet was attended by leading stars, film producers along with the debutante director and others.

Critical response

The film generally earned positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama awarded it 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote, "On the whole, LONDON PARIS NEW YORK is the hackneyed and passe rom-coms. It's a quirky, witty, coming-of-age movie that takes a conventional premise and twirls it into something delightfully unconventional, designed to charm and magnetize the urban youth. The movie speaks their lingo, mirrors their objectives and depicts the anguish and elation of falling in love. If you are young or young at heart, celebrate your weekend by leaping onto this feel-good earth hopping romance." Aniruddha Guha of DNA India awarded the film 3/5 stars and stated, "LPNY is a short and sweet romcom that will leave you with a smile. Go for it. Rajeev Masand of IBN Live gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, writing that "The charismatic actors rise above the flawed script to deliver an easy, enjoyable evening at the movies. Watch it for its freshness; you won't be bored." Aniruddha Guha of DNA India gave the movie 3 out of 5 stars, remarking "London Paris New York is a romcom that demands neither much time nor patience. You may not love it, but chances are you'll find yourself mildly amused and entertained along the 100 minutes it plays out over.

Soundtrack

Ali Zafar is the music director and lyricist of the movie. The film also marks Zafar's Bollywood debut as a composer after proving himself as a playback singer with films like Tere Bin Laden, Luv Ka The End and Mere Brother Ki Dulhan. In fact both the stars, Zafar and Aditi Rao Hydari, have sung well in the film. Since the story unfolds in three cities; London; Paris and New York, Zafar's songs too reflect the character of each city. "The London song will be happier, with simpler notes, as compared to the one set in Paris that will be edgier. The New York track will be more refined", he elucidates. The soundtrack consists of 6 different tracks. Sunidhi Chauhan one of the finest Indian playback singers pair up with Ali Zafar for the title song of LPNY. Zafar also brings two versatile Pakistani female singers on board. LPNY music released on 30 January 2012 by Sony Music India.

Reception

Music of the film got positive reviews from the critics. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama rated the album 3/5 and stated "One thing which is quite apparent after listening through the score of London Paris New York is that Ali Zafar hasn't taken a safe route of putting together an album that covers a wider market segment. Instead he has stuck to the theme of the film and barring an odd 'bhangra' number or so, he has attempted to come up with something that goes with the mood and theme of the album. Thankfully he hasn't changed his route drastically but still for a movie which doesn't pitch itself as a regular romcom, he manages to come up with a soundtrack that goes well with the narrative."
Bolly Spice rated the album favourably, awarding it 3.5/5, stating "Some great music; however a major remorse I had was that most songs, despite having scope, had minimum or repetitive lyrics. Gaps were either filled in by music or added chorus and left much to be desired. What adds endearing honesty to the album is that the for major part of it is done by the leads Ali and Aditi themselves. This unfortunately could also prove to be a pitfull as for keen perfectionists there isn't too much voice variations in the album. How each is finally captured on screen will add bonus points to the appeal of this album. Nonetheless, Ali has stood true to his word of compiling an album with honest renditions of multiple genres. It definitely warrants a listen or two, even maybe on loop for some of it."