The story revolves around Parghat Singh Kahlon, alias Gattu / Kaali, who is living the life his father Gurtej Singh Kahlon chose for him. Gattu had been good at cricket and wanted to play for England, though Gurtej would never let him become a member of the England team. Gurtej had threatened him earlier with suicide. His siblings hated him as he was an exemplary child in the house. He was alone without many friends until Zeeshan and his stepsister, Simran, came into his life. Simran was Gattu's childhood friend, but the two had not met in years.
In the present day, Gattu gets another chance to fulfill his dream, and his siblings and Simran convince him to give it a shot. If he gets on the team, they hope Gurtej might be able to realize that the world isn't as racist as it used to be. As he gets on the team, they hide the fact that Gattu is on the team, but Gurtej eventually finds out. Seeing his son on a team he despises gives him a heart attack, and he ends up in the emergency room. Gattu plays cricket anyway for his siblings. He is deeply hurt to be disgraced by his father, but he also loves cricket and hopes to change his father.
The people of Southall all come together and try to convince Gurtej that it is okay to be a cricket player for England. He locks himself inside the house, where his wife tells him that she has never acted as a mother, only as a wife, and often forgot she was both. She turns on the TV, wanting to see her son fulfill his dream. Gattu, who is being interviewed by Sanjay Manjrekar, lies to him that his father is proud of him. Gurtej watches with her and realizes how badly he has treated his son. The family comes back into the house, and Gurtej requests for one of them to drive him to the stadium. Gattu is playing poorly because he is upset that Gurtej disgraced him. Only at the last ball of the game, Gattu manages to get Andrew Symonds out for England by using the bowling style of former Indian cricketer Lala Amarnath. Gurtej apologizes to him, and they make up. Gattu's siblings are now able to follow their dreams thanks to Gattu.
Masha Pour as young Guneet Kaur Kahlon a.k.a. Bebe
Akshay Kumar as Parghat "Gattu" Singh Kahlon a.k.a. Kaali, a former fast bowler, loosely based upon Monty Panesar
Virej Dasani as young Parghat "Gattu" Singh Kahlon
Anushka Sharma as Simran Chaggal, Gattu's half-English and half-Punjabi childhood friend and later love interest; Zeeshan's adoptive older sister/guardian/mom-like figure
Devansh Daswani as Zeeshan Chaggal, Simran's adoptive younger brother/son like child
The film's premiere was held in Patiala on 10 February 2011.[10]
Reception
Critical reception
Rajeev Masand of CNN IBN gave the film 1.5/5 stars, arguing that Patiala House was "lacking subtleties and nuances" that could have made it truly heartfelt.[11] Sonia Chopra of Sify awarded th film 3/5 stars and described it as "predictable".[12]Anupama Chopra of NDTV gave it 3.5/5 stars, describing it as the "best work director Advani and actor Kumar have done in recent years" and argued that the film "never soars but it is a notch better than the mediocre fare that we see every week."[13]
Countering these, more positive reviews came from other sources. Aniruddha Guha from Daily News and Analysis and Sukanya Verma from Rediff Movies each awarded it 3 stars out of five, with Verma acknowledging Kumar's role: "Patiala House rests on Kumar's restraint and valiant performance".[14] Smriti Sharma of India Today gave it 3.5/5 stars, describing it as an emotional journey, and Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama awarded the film four stars, concluding that the "hallmark" of the film was the "merging of its engaging drama with cricket" and describing it as a "compelling watch".[15]
The album received positive reviews upon release. Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama gave the soundtrack 4 out of 5 stars, saying "Patiala House delivers more than what one expected from the album.[..]it is obvious that listeners could well be picking up the first popular album of the new decade in the millennium."[16]Rediff in a 3.5 star review said: "Akshay Kumar-Anushka Sharma starrer Patiala House is S-E-L's first release of the year, and it's good news for everyone concerned. You won't feel cheated for having brought an original copy of this CD."[17]
^Verma, Sukanya (11 February 2011). "Bend it like Akshay". Rediff Movies. Rediff. Archived from the original on 3 May 2014. Retrieved 13 February 2011.
