Eleven years ago, Shah had explored the theme of immigrants and identity in Namastey London (starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif). Over a decade later, Arjun Kapoor and Parineeti Chopra take centrestage in this Punjab to Piccadilly love story. In the colourful fields and farms of Punjab, Param (Kapoor) and Jasmeet (Chopra) have a number of cute dates. These are facilitated by a group of supportive friends who are ready with innumerable excuses to get Jasmeet out of her oppressive grandfather's house.

Namaste England attempts an update on an overdone Hindi film device: A loves B, but B has to go off with C. A lands up at B's door, trying to shame B into submission. Since A is always a man and B is always a woman, the only distraction from the inevitable reunion comes from examining C's character, which is often an improvement on A's.

Is Namaste England a sequel to Namastey London? Definitely not. Is it similar to the 2007 film in any way? Titbits. The basics, like a Punjabi boy going all the way to London (even if illegally) just to win his love back or giving a monologue on how great his homeland is, are a pale reminder of the decade-old hit Namastey London starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. But is it as entertaining as Namastey London? Not at all.

At a time when you thought Bollywood had progressed in some measure in its portrayal of women, comes a film that marks a thumping return to regressiveness in the most dated way possible with inane characters and motivations, asinine plot twists and sheer lack of logic to boot. The film's team clearly thinks nothing of the Indian audience's intelligence and sensitivity.

Namaste England is all things that the Akshay Kumar-Katrina Kaif starrer Namastey London was not. Though it isn't a sequel, the basic premise of the movie is the same. Namaste England turns out to be a melodramatic affair that fails in creating an impact.

There is one thing Namaste England gets absolutely right-Punjab's obsession with immigrating to the UK by means both legal and illegal and at a great personal cost. The state has given kabootarbaazi a new meaning and people who can help you get there are fuelling a cottage industry, not always at the right side of the law.

Param (Arjun Kapoor) and Jasmeet (Parineeti Chopra) fall in love and they get married. Their perfect romance gets disturbed by Jasmeet's suppressed ambition however. She has dreams of going to London so that she can pursue her career and build a better life for herself. But Param isn't able to get a visa and that creates some high drama in their love life.

An insufferably infantile drama about a married couple separated in the silliest of ways owing to the woman's desire to settle in London and get started there as a jewellery designer, Namaste England, produced and directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, steers clear of any semblance of logic. No scene, line or moment in the film makes any sense at all. It scrapes the bottom of the barrel from the very outset.

The film must not have looked this bad on paper as it has everything - two recognisable leads, a franchise with good recall value, a director who has made films such as Aankhen, Waqt and Namaste London, and a story that could find some resonance with the ongoing women empowerment movements. But it all has resulted in a shoddy tale enacted by clueless actors, a highly sexist understanding of the Indian diaspora in London and brazenly forced songs.