The moment Namaste Wahala was announced as a Nollywood-Bollywood movie, the expectations were mounted for dramatic scenes and comedic gold. The rom-com made its debut on Netflix on Valentine’s Day after almost a year of waiting.
With the rigorous promotion behind Namaste Wahala, there was no way I would miss it. So let’s get right into it.
Plot
Didi, a Nigerian pro-bono lawyer and Raj, an Indian investment banker meet and fall in love almost instantly. But Didi’s father wants her to marry Somto, a good-natured lawyer in his firm who has grown close to their family. Whereas Raj’s mother wants him to marry an Indian girl who can cook for him.
All this is set against the backdrop of Didi representing an assault victim against the son of her father’s wealthiest client.
Cast
Namaste Wahala stars Ini Dima-Okojie as Didi and Ruslaan Mumtaz as Raj. Richard Mofe-Damijo and Joke Silva play Didi’s parents. Bollywood TV actress Sujata Sehgal plays Raj’s ill-mannered mother.
The film also features M.I Abaga, K10, Ibrahim Suleiman, Osas Ighodaro, Anee Icha, BBNaija alum Frodd, and director Hamisha Daryani Ahuja
Review
With all the scary and unfortunate things happening in the country, Namaste Wahala was a much-needed break from it all, however short and utterly predictable. We deserve a cheesy rom-com with love at first sight, second chances, and musical numbers. It was fun and cringe and cheesy and exactly what we needed.
First thing I realized about this movie was that there’s no such thing as subtly blending in brand endorsements. In almost every scene, the film bombards us with ads; to drink coke, to go to Radisson Blu, to eat at Shiro and other photogenic Lagos spots.
However, what I really liked was how they didn’t just show the bottles of coke but went ahead to dress Didi as a bottle of coke multiple times. The wardrobe for this movie was STUNNING!
Supporting characters
The drama in Namaste Wahala isn’t so much drama as it is minor incidents being handled in an exaggerated or campish manner. Didi’s best friend Angie (Anee Icha) is a caricature with over the top acting, predictable behaviour, and no real storyline.
Angie could have had a flirtation or romance with Somto (Ibrahim Suleiman), who clearly seemed to like her. It would have made sense if Angie was involved with Leila’s foundation and Somto helped her get the incriminating evidence from Preemo (Osas Ighodaro); something like that.
Instead, they had to introduce an unnecessary character, bringing it to the forefront of our minds how many Nigerian assets are owned by foreign nationals.
This is possibly a misguided attempt to show how much we “need” each other. As unpolitical as this movie tried to be, it sadly shows a Nigerian having to know an Indian to get something done in Nigeria.
Hamisha Daryani Ahuja is a terrible actress that acts like she’s reading slowly from a teleprompter. The character Leila has no real place in the movie other than appearing when convenient. She had a secret admirer but that storyline was pointless as she did not express any surprise at finally learning the identity of the stranger that showered her with gifts. Instead, she looked like someone just told her the restaurant offered free water.
It was nice to see Emma (K10) promoting his music in the background and meeting MI Abaga, although it would have been nice if the said music had been featured more.
How could the musician not get a musical number in a part-Bollywood movie? Honestly, Namaste Wahala would not have felt so empty if they had written better storylines for the supporting characters.
Osas Ighodaro’s character Preemo probably had so little in her character description that Ighodaro had to wing it. Although Ighodaro’s acting makes up for a lot, the character is still flat.
Writing issues
They ignored many similarities between India and Nigeria which would have helped make the film so much richer. Namaste Wahala ignored our shared history as former British colonies, the tropical heat, spicy food, and tribalism; as well as social hierarchy, failed systems, and respect for elders. Namaste Wahala should have shown and acknowledged/celebrated a few of these similarities; not have them told poorly and patronizingly by Raj’s unnecessary cousin Leila.
In addition to that, when Didi makes her father proud, it is for doing nothing other than presenting evidence. She did not present an eloquent argument nor did she strategically tear the defence to shreds. She just presented evidence granted to her by an Indian hotel owner.
Racism
The thing I hate the most about the movie is that it fails to name the real thing keeping Raj and Didi apart – racism. Raj’s mother’s hatred for Didi clearly stems from racism. Indians are particularly guilty of this, with widespread colourism against dark-skinned Indians.
So when a traditional mother from the largest market for bleaching creams finds out her son is not only dating a black African woman but also one that is dark-skinned; let us not be aloof and pretend it’s because she wants someone that will make him jalebi. I mean, we all saw Indian Matchmaking on Netflix, didn’t we?
This movie tried so hard to avoid getting dragged on Twitter but they fail to understand that trying to be innocuous is akin to the erasure of racial and cultural experiences.
Raj’s mother is a racist, sexist, loose-tongued woman who disguises her lack of manners as “saying things as they are”. She is impolite to everyone that is not Indian (except Emma) and she should not have been so easily forgiven.
Also, the comedic relief is a drawn-out scene with Raj’s mother and the taxi driver (Broda Shaggi) going back and forth and being rude to each other. It was infuriating and not funny at all.
Raj is a bad partner
It should go without saying at this point that you should not drag someone you claim to love into an intolerant environment if you have no intention of defending them. If your parents are tribalists, don’t bring in your partner with no intention of protecting them from abuse. At least, Didi tries to speak to her parents despite him accusing her of “not prepping” either party.
When the tables turn, Namaste Wahala just becomes very annoying. Raj’s inability to stand up to his mother on behalf of Didi for the whole movie was just ridiculous. I kept waiting for him to grow a spine, but he never does. Breaking free from being a cowering mama’s boy would have been a good climax for the film. But sadly, Raj never proves himself to be a grown man who deserves Didi’s love. Instead, he just sits there getting pampered by the two women in his life.
Sexism
Also, this film is riddled with sexism. Raj’s mother should not be bullying Didi over what her son will eat in 2020. The selling point for Nigerian women should not be that they are “strong” and give up jobs for their families.
The film presents a feminist front through Leila’s foundation, but there are outdated opinions of gender roles that are just glossed over. Didi is considered unreputable for cohabiting with Raj and for standing up to her father. And Didi’s mother tells Angie, “no one buys the cow if they can get the milk for free”; comparing Angie, and by extension, any sexually active young woman, to a free milk cow.
If I were to go into all the issues I have with this movie, I would be writing for a long time. But let’s leave it at this… You can’t write a cross-cultural story if you’re just going to reduce the cultures to minor tropes and focus it only on the 1%. They should have spent a lot more time in the writer’s room to let us know that indeed the movie was not taking itself seriously enough to have such gaps.
I guess if you’re just looking to distract yourself, it has the right amount of entertaining. But if you’re looking to get that culture shock dramatic goodness, maybe sit this one out.