2007 Film Partner

The story of the film was inspired by the 2005 American film Hitch. The film stars Salman Khan, Govinda, Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif.

Partner
Poster for Partner
Directed by	David Dhawan
Written by	Screenplay: David Dhawan Yunus Sajawal Sanjay Chhel Dialogues: Sanjay Chhel
Based on	Hitch by Andy Tennant
Produced by	Sohail Khan Parag Sanghvi
Starring	Govinda Salman Khan Lara Dutta Katrina Kaif
Narrated by	Salman Khan
Cinematography	Johny Lal
Edited by	Nitin Rokade
Music by	Songs: Sajid–Wajid Background Score: Salim–Sulaiman
Production companies	K Sera Sera Private Limited Sohail Khan Productions
Distributed by	Eros International
Release date	20 July 2007 (2007-07-20)
Running time	143 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹28 crore
Box office	₹100.91 crore

The film revolves around a love guru, Prem, who gives wooing advice and ideas to his client, Bhaskar for the latter's ladylove Priya, and also himself falls in love with a widowed mother, Naina. the film's music is composed by Sajid–Wajid, with background score by Salim–Sulaiman.

Partner was released on 20 July 2007. It received highly positive response, with particular praise for its comedy scenes and Govinda's performance. A critical and commercial blockbuster, Partner collected ₹100.91 crore (US$13 million) worldwide and was the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2007. Dhawan has expressed interest in creating a sequel to the film, but as of 2022 no script had been finalized and news outlets have reported that the film has been shelved entirely.

Prem (Salman Khan) is a Love Guru who solves the love issues of his clients. Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary (Govinda) comes to Prem for help. Bhaskar loves his boss, Priya Jaisingh (Katrina Kaif), but is unable to express it as she is the daughter of a wealthy businessman. Prem initially refuses to help Bhaskar and goes to Phuket, Thailand. Bhaskar follows him and convinces him to help.

After returning from Thailand, Prem meets Naina, a photojournalist fleeing from Chhota Don (Rajpal Yadav), who mimics Shahrukh Khan in Don. Prem saves her and falls in love with her. Meanwhile, he starts teaching Bhaskar how to impress Priya. But rather than Prem's tactics, Bhaskar's own simplicity and nonsense endears him to Priya, who falls in love with him. Prem learns that Naina (Lara Dutta) has a son named Rohan from her previous marriage, and to impress her, takes care of him.

Bhaskar reveals to Prem that Priya will marry someone according to her father's will. The two attend Priya's wedding ceremony with Rohan, who convinces his mother to marry Prem while Priya's father is convinced by Bhaskar. Priya prepares to marry Bhaskar.

Meanwhile, a spoilt brat named Neil Bakshi (Rajat Bedi) asks Prem to convince a girl to have a one-night stand. Prem angrily tells him that he does not help people with bad intentions. Neil manages to get his one-night stand anyway and ditches the girl, telling her the love guru gave him the advice to do so. The girl turns out to be Naina's friend Nikki. Naina finds out the Love Guru is Prem. She hates Prem and publishes a front-page article exposing him and using Priya-Bhaskar's relationship as an example. Bhaskar is fired from his job as a result.

Prem tells Priya what really happened. Priya realizes that all the things she liked about Bhaskar are what Prem wanted Bhaskar to hide from her and is ready to take Bhaskar back. Prem makes up with Naina by making her hear the truth about him not helping Neil. The two happily marry their partners.

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Planet Bollywood
Bollywood Hungama

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

Box office

Box Office India 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.

• Review-Taran Adarsh      
• Review- Rediff      
• Review - Rajeev Masand      

Accolades

Won:

• Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Male - Govinda
• IIFA Awards for Best Comedian Actor - Govinda
• Producers Guild Awards for Best Jodi of the Year with (Salman Khan)
• Star Gold Excellent Comic Actor Award - Govinda
• MTV Lycra Style Most Stylish Comeback Award - Govinda
• NDTV Imagine Best Jodi of the Year with (Salman Khan)

Nominated:

• IIFA Awards for Best Film - Sohail Khan
• IIFA Awards for Best Director - David Dhawan
• IIFA Awards for Best Actor - Salman Khan
• IIFA Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Govinda
• Star Screen Award for Best Comic Actor - Govinda
• Producers Guild Awards for Best Actor in a Comic Role - Govinda
• Stardust Awards for Best Supporting Actor - Govinda

Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

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 second time after the 1957 film Begunah, an international film company took legal action against an Indian entertainment company for plagiarism. Partner was eventually released, with Sony acquiring the world's exclusive satellite broadcasting rights.

• Partner at IMDb