Neal 'n' Nikki

Gurneal "Neal" Ahluwalia and Nikita "Nikki" Bakshi are two Indian Canadians raised in British Columbia. Despite their shared cultural background, they are polar opposites in personality. Prior to his arranged marriage, Neal decides to spend 21 days meeting 21 different women. During this time, he encounters Nikki at a nightclub, where she disrupts his date. After she becomes heavily intoxicated, Neal takes her to a hotel room where she falls asleep. The next morning, Nikki mistakenly believes that Neal assaulted her and begins to blackmail him, frequently interrupting his romantic pursuits.

As Neal continues his escapades, Nikki repeatedly interferes, including sabotaging a moment of intimacy with another woman. Eventually, Neal reveals his real reason for being in Canada—to explore his freedom before settling down—which angers Nikki. She invites Neal to Whistler under the pretense of introducing him to other women, but her true intention is to make her ex-boyfriend, Trish, jealous. Neal initially resists but later agrees to help. Their plan succeeds, but when Neal confesses his feelings, Nikki rejects him. Despite spending a night together camping, they are unable to openly admit their love.

Neal returns home for his engagement, only to discover that his fiancée, Sweety, is Nikki's cousin. As the ceremony begins, Nikki arrives to stop it, but it is revealed that Sweety has already committed to her true love, Happy Singh, through an online ceremony. Sweety elopes with Happy, and Neal proposes to Nikki, realizing that they are truly meant for each other.

{{cast listing|

• Uday Chopra as Gurneal 'Neal' Ahluwalia
• Tanisha Mukerji as Nikita 'Nikki' Bakshi
• Richa Pallod as Satwinder 'Sweety' Kaur
• Gaurav Gera as Happy Singh
• Abhishek Bachchan as Raj Singh (Special appearance)
• Michelle Rae Wright as Vancouver police officer
• Kamini Khanna as Baldev
• Susheel Parashara as Gyaniji
• Sanaa Abdu Khazal as Katrina
• Kristy McQuade as Kristy
• Samantha McLeod as Chanel
• Alexandre Montez as Trish
• Serinda Swan as Amanda
• Simmy Cheema as Nikki's mother
• Pawan Chopra as Nikki's father
• Kanika Dang as Sweety's mother
• Sahar Biniaz as Teacher}}

Neal 'n' Nikki was developed as a contemporary romantic comedy directed by Canada-based filmmaker Arjun Sablok and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The screenplay and dialogues were written by Sablok in collaboration with Anvita Dutt Guptan.{{Cite web |title=Neal 'n' Nikki |url=https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/neal-n-nikki |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.yashrajfilms.com}}{{Cite web |title=Sexist Bollywood Films |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/neal-n-nikki-to-garam-masala-sexist-bollywood-films-1752660-2020-12-24}}

Uday Chopra was cast as Neal, and Tanisha Mukerji as Nikki. The film aimed to present a youthful pairing suited to its Westernized setting and tone.

Principal photography took place in British Columbia, Canada, including locations in Vancouver and Whistler. The Canadian backdrop was integral to the film’s Indo-Canadian storyline.{{Cite web |last=Kanetkar |first=Riddhima |title=India's biggest flop film, released in 2005, had two star kids, produced by Yash Raj, made for Rs 7 crore, earned just.. |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-india-biggest-flop-film-neal-n-nikki-released-2005-two-star-kids-produced-yash-raj-made-rs-7-crore-earned-just-3082251 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=DNA India |language=en}}

Neal 'n' Nikki underperformed at the domestic box office. According to Box Office India, the film had a budget of ₹7 crore and collected approximately ₹8.61 crore gross in India.{{Cite web |title=Neal N Nikki - Movie - - Box Office India |url=https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=1263 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=www.boxofficeindia.com}} Bollywood Hungama reported a net collection of ₹6.06 crore in India, with an overseas gross of ₹2.21 crore, bringing the worldwide total to ₹10.63 crore.{{Cite web |last=Hungama |first=Bollywood |date=2005-12-09 |title=Neal 'n' Nikki Box Office Collection {{!}} India {{!}} Day Wise {{!}} Box Office - Bollywood Hungama |website=Bollywood Hungama |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/neal-n-nikki/box-office/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |language=en}}

In the United States and Canada, the film earned $111,551, with an opening weekend gross of $75,005. Internationally, it grossed $207,309, leading to a worldwide total of $318,860.{{Citation |last=Sablok |first=Arjun |title=Neal 'N' Nikki |date=2005-12-09 |type=Comedy, Musical, Romance |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470869/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |others=Uday Chopra, Tanishaa Mukerji, Abhishek Bachchan |publisher=Yash Raj Films}}{{Cite web |title=Neal 'n' Nikki |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0470869/ |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=Box Office Mojo}}

Despite its modest overseas performance, the film was declared a flop due to its inability to recover its production costs.{{Cite web |last=Kanetkar |first=Riddhima |title=India's biggest flop film, released in 2005, had two star kids, produced by Yash Raj, made for Rs 7 crore, earned just.. |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/bollywood/report-india-biggest-flop-film-neal-n-nikki-released-2005-two-star-kids-produced-yash-raj-made-rs-7-crore-earned-just-3082251 |access-date=2025-05-14 |website=DNA India |language=en}}

Neal 'n' Nikki received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics upon its release, with criticism directed at its screenplay, excessive focus on skin exposure, and lack of emotional depth.

Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM rated the film 1 out of 5 stars, writing, "On the whole, Neal 'n' Nikki concentrates more on sex, skin show, sleaze, and vulgarity than a sound story. A terrible letdown in terms of content, the film has precious little to offer to moviegoers."{{Cite web |last=Adarsh |first=Taran |author-link=Taran Adarsh |date=9 December 2005 |title=Neal 'n' Nikki Review |url=https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/neal-n-nikki/critic-review/neal-n-nikki-movie-review/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106143347/https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/neal-n-nikki/critic-review/neal-n-nikki-movie-review/ |archive-date=6 November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022 |website=Bollywood Hungama}} Derek Elley of Variety described it as "a mismatched romantic comedy that makes most Bollywood twosomes look like art movies" and criticized it as "candy-floss entertainment" from an otherwise reliable production house.{{Cite web |last1=Elley |first1=Derek |author-link=Derek Elley |date=13 December 2005 |title=Neal 'N' Nikki |url=https://variety.com/2005/film/reviews/neal-n-nikki-1200519707/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106143347/https://variety.com/2005/film/reviews/neal-n-nikki-1200519707/ |archive-date=6 November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022 |website=Variety}}

Raja Sen of Rediff.com also gave the film a negative review, calling it a "mindless" product and writing, "If Neal 'n' Nikki is a hit, it'll just mean we can crank out mindless films where the leading actors aren't important at all. Which is a terrifying thought." Jaspreet Pandohar of BBC was more positive, giving the film 3 out of 5 stars. While acknowledging its "verging on vulgar" approach, she praised the lead pair’s chemistry and wrote that the film "drags Bollywood's prudish attitudes kicking and screaming into the 21st century."{{Cite web |last=Pandohar |first=Jaspreet |date=5 December 2005 |title=BBC - Movies - review - Neal 'N' Nikki |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/12/14/neal_n_nikki_2005_review.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106143347/https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/12/14/neal_n_nikki_2005_review.shtml |archive-date=6 November 2022 |access-date=6 November 2022 |website=BBC.co.uk}}

In a retrospective review, Tiasa Bhowal of India Today observed that the film, despite its initial appeal during promotion, was criticized for being "a sleazefest" and featuring "sexist dialogues." She concluded that the film’s content would likely have received even harsher criticism if released in a later era.

{{Infobox album

| name = Neal 'n' Nikki

| type = Soundtrack album

| artist = Salim–Sulaiman

| cover =

| alt =

| released = 2 November 2005

| recorded =

| venue =

| studio =

| genre = Feature film soundtrack

| length =

| label = YRF Music

| producer =

| prev_title =

| prev_year =

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

The music was composed by Salim–Sulaiman. It consisted of 5 songs and 1 remix. Lyrics were penned by Anvita Dutt Guptan, Irshad Kamil and Asif Ali Beg.{{Cite web|url=https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/music/20051103.htm|title=Neal 'N' Nikki has a Kaal hangover|first=Sukanya|last=Verma|author-link=Sukanya Verma|date=3 November 2005|website=Rediff.com|access-date=6 November 2022|archive-date=6 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106160837/https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/music/20051103.htm|url-status=live}}

{{Track listing

| extra_column = Singer(s)

| title1 = Neal 'n' Nikki

| extra1 = KK, Shweta Pandit

| lyrics1 = Anvita Dutt Guptan

| length1 = 5:16

| title2 = Halla Re

| extra2 = Salim Merchant, Shweta Pandit

| lyrics2 = Irshad Kamil

| length2 = 5:08

| title3 = I'm In Love

| extra3 = Sonu Nigam, Clinton Cerejo, Mahalakshmi Iyer

| lyrics3 = Anvita Dutt Guptan

| length3 = 5:24

| title4 = Ankh Ladiye

| extra4 = Kunal Ganjawala, Javed Ali, Shweta Pandit

| lyrics4 = Anvita Dutt Guptan

| length4 = 4:24

| title5 = I Just Wanna Spend My Life With You

| extra5 = Clinton Cerejo, Dominique Cerejo

| lyrics5 = Asif Ali Beg, Pike Winchurkar

| length5 = 5:25

| title6 = Neal 'n' Nikki

| note6 = The Naughty Mix

| extra6 = KK, Shweta Pandit

| lyrics6 = Anvita Dutt Guptan

| length6 = 5:06

}}

{{reflist}}

• {{IMDb title|id=0470869}}
• {{Official website|https://web.archive.org/web/20061111113717/https://www.yashrajfilms.com/microsites/nealnnikki/nnnmicro/microflash.htm/}}

Category:2005 films

Category:Films set in British Columbia

Category:Films set in Vancouver

Category:Films shot in Vancouver

Category:2000s Hindi-language films

Category:Indian sex comedy films

Category:2000s sex comedy films

Category:2005 romantic comedy films

Category:Indian romantic comedy films

Category:Yash Raj Films films

Category:Films scored by Salim–Sulaiman

Category:Hindi-language romantic comedy films