Partner is an Indian 2007 Hindi-language comedy-drama film directed by David Dhawan. Inspired by the 2005 American filmHitch, it follows the story of a love guru, Prem Kulkarni, played by Salman Khan, who gives his client, Bhaskar Chaudhary, played by Govinda, the ideas of wooing his gorgeous boss, Priya Jaisingh, played by Katrina Kaif. In the process, he ends up falling in love with a widowed mother, Naina Sahani, played by Lara Dutta, leading him to hide his identity. Ali Haji, Deepshikha, and Dalip Tahil are featured in supporting roles as Naina's son, Prem's sister and Priya's father respectively. The film was released on 20 July 2007, receiving positive reviews and praise for its comedic scenes and Govinda's comical performance. Partner emerged as a major box-office commercial success, grossing a total of at the worldwide box office. According to box office, it was the fourth highest-grossing Bollywood film of the year behind Om Shanti Om, Welcome and Chak De! India. Dhawan has expressed interest in creating a sequel to the film, but as of 2012 no script had been finalized and news outlets have reported that the film has been shelved entirely.
Plot
Prem is a Love Guru who solves the love issues of his clients. He meets Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary who comes to Prem for help in his love life. Bhaskar loves his boss, Priya Jaisingh, but is unable to express his love to her as she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Prem initially refuses to help Bhaskar and goes to Phuket, Thailand. Bhaskar follows him there and convinces him to help. After returning from Thailand, Prem meets Naina, a photojournalist who was running from some gangsters led by Chhota Don, who mimics Shahrukh Khan in . Prem saves her and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, he starts teaching Bhaskar how to impress Priya. But Bhaskar uses his own simplicity and nonsense acts to impress Priya. Priya finally falls in love with Bhaskar but does not disclose it to him. But in the meantime, Prem also comes to know that Naina has a kid named Rohan and to impress Naina he takes care of him. Prem comes to know from Bhaskar that Priya will marry someone according to her father's will. They both come to Priya's wedding ceremony with Rohan, but find Naina there and Rohan convinces her to marry Prem and Priya's father is convinced by Bhaskar's acts. Priya now prepares to marry Bhaskar. Meanwhile, a spoiled brat named Neil comes to Prem for love help and he asks Prem to convince a girl to have a one-night stand. Prem gets angry with Neil and tells him that he does not help people with such bad intentions. Neil somehow manages to get his one-night stand and then ditches her, telling her the love guru gave him the advice to do so. Unfortunately, the girl turns out to be Naina's friend Nikki. Naina then sets out to expose the Love Guru and finds out that it is Prem. Naina hates Prem for what she thought he did to her friend and publishes a front-page article claiming that Prem can set anyone up with the girl they want using the Priya/Bhaskar relationship as an example. Prem thinks that Bhaskar may commit suicide without Priya and goes to her to tell her what really happened. Priya realizes that all the things she liked about Bhaskar are what Prem wanted Bhaskar to hide from her and Priya is ready to take Bhaskar back. Prem makes up with Naina by making her hear the truth about him not helping Neil, and they get back together. On both couples' honeymoon night, Bhaskar again asks Prem for help but this time they both get mingled with their respective wives.
Cast
Salman Khan as Prem Kulkarni, a love master who advises those needing help to start a relationship.
Govinda as Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary, a nerdy man who has a crush on his boss Priya Jaisingh.
Lara Dutta as Naina Sahani, a photojournalist who Prem falls in love with.
Katrina Kaif as Priya Jaisingh, Bhaskar’s boss and love interest.
Rajpal Yadav as Chhota Don, a midget gangster and crime boss mimicking Shahrukh Khan's character from Don
Shashi Kiran as Newspaper stall owner
Dheirya Sorecha as Pammi's son
Jason Shah as Priya's fiancé
Soundtrack
The music was composed by Sajid-Wajid. The soundtrack entered the top five on 23 July 2007. 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.
Track list
Reception
Box office
Box OfficeIndia declared the film a "Blockbuster" and was the second biggest domestic opener at that time. It grossed Rs. 1.03 billion in India and $4.19 million overseas. * *
Sony Pictures, owners of the film Hitch, contemplated a $30-million suit against both the Indian producers for copyright infringements. It would have been the first time an international film company took legal action against an Indian entertainment company for plagiarism. Partner was eventually released, with Sony acquiring the world exclusive satellite broadcasting rights.
