In “Namaste Wahala,” the Villains Drive the Story

When Didi (Ini Dima-Okojie), a successful lawyer at an NGO, and Raj (Ruslaan Mumtaz), an investment banker, decide to go jogging one morning in Lagos, little did they know that their lives were about to be tainted with so much wahala (trouble).

They (quite literally) bump into each other on the beach, and Raj falls in love immediately but doesn’t catch her name. He wanders through Lagos, searching for Didi for at least an hour, to no avail. He almost gives up. But only a few days later, they meet again at a gala event hosted by the NGO at which Didi works. Her boss, Leila (played by director Hamisha Daryani Ahuja), has invited her cousin. Of course, it’s Raj. “What’s meant to be is meant to be,” Raj smiles as he sees Didi.

But in Namaste Wahala, Didi and Raj’s love story quickly progresses from a romance to one filled with disquietude and rife. Everything moves fast — from bumping into each other at the beach to Raj professing marriage before even dating. What follows is a whirlwind romance replete with a Bollywood dance number and multiple costume changes — on the beach, of course.