Partner (2007 film)
Partner is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by David Dhawan and produced by Sohail Khan. The film stars Salman Khan, Govinda,  Lara Dutta and Katrina Kaif. The story of Partner was inspired by the 2005 American film Hitch. The film revolves around a love guru, who gives wooing advice and ideas to his client for the latter's ladylove, and also himself falls in love with a widowed mother. Partner was released in worldwide cinemas on 20 July 2007. It received a highly positive response, with particular praise for its comedy scenes and Govinda's performance. A critical and commercial blockbuster, Partner collected  worldwide and was one of the highest-grossing Bollywood films 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. Plot
Prem is a Love Guru who solves the love issues of his clients. Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary comes to Prem for help. Bhaskar loves his boss, Priya Jaisingh, 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, 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 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 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. Cast 
 Salman Khan as Prem Kulkarni a.k.a. Love Guru, a love master who advises those needing help to start a relationship. He is equivalent to Alex “Hitch” Hitchens portrayed by Will Smith
 Govinda as Bhaskar Diwakar Chaudhary, a nerdy man who has a crush on his boss Priya Jaisingh. He asks Prem for his help in trying to fall in love with her. He is equivalent to Albert Brennaman who is portrayed by Kevin James
 Lara Dutta as Naina Sahani, a photo journalist who Prem falls in love with. She is equivalent to Sara Melas, who is portrayed by Eva Mendes
 Katrina Kaif as Priya R. Jaisingh, Bhaskar’s boss and love interest. She is equivalent to Allegra Cole who is portrayed by Amber Valletta
 Tiku Talsania as Naina's boss
 Ali Haji as Rohan Sahani, Naina's son from her previous marriage 
 Dalip Tahil as Raj Jaisingh, a wealthy businessman who is also Priya's father and also approves of Bhaskar's relationship with her
 Aarti Chabria as Nikki, Naina's colleague
 Rajat Bedi as Neil Bakshi, a spoiled brat who tries to get Prem to help him set up a one-night-stand with Nikki but is rejected by him. He is equivalent to Vance Munson, portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan. Suresh Menon as Kiran            
 Deepshikha Nagpal as Pramita "Pammi" Kulkarni Purohit, Prem's sister
 Ali Asgar as Naina's colleague
 Atul Parchure as Rana's Assistant
 Vindu Dara Singh as Chadha
 Razak Khan as John Uncle
 Puneet Issar as Rana
 Shashi Kiran as a Newspaper Stall Owner    
 Dheirya Sorecha as Pammi's son
 Chinky Jaiswal as Pammi's daughter
 Sohail Khan in a photographic appearance as Dr. Sameer Purohit, Pammi's husband
 Jason Shah as Priya's fiancé
 Rajpal Yadav as Chhota Don
 Kavish Majmudar

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 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
2008 Zee Cine Awards

 Won: Zee Cine Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Male - Govinda

9th IIFA Awards

 Nominated: Best Film - Sohail Khan
 Nominated: Best Director - David Dhawan
 Nominated: Best Actor - Salman Khan
 Won: Best Comedian Actor - Govinda

Legal issues

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 Begunah 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. The film had a television premiere on Sony Max in late October 2007. A decade later April 2018, Partner was acquired by Zee Entertainment Enterprises as part of its programming and branding overhaul. References

External links
 

2007 films
Films shot in Dubai
2000s Hindi-language films
Indian remakes of American films
Films directed by David Dhawan
Films involved in plagiarism controversies
Works subject to a lawsuit
Film controversies in India
Indian intellectual property law