Garam Masala (transl. 'Hot spices') is a 2005 Indian Hindi-language comedy film written and directed by Priyadarshan, featuring Akshay Kumar, John Abraham, Paresh Rawal, Rimi Sen, Neha Dhupia and Rajpal Yadav. The story revolves around Makarand "Mac" Deendayal Chatpatiya (Kumar) and Shyam "Sam" Salgaonkar (Abraham), two photographer friends, who like to flirt with women constantly. After a trip abroad, Shyam decides to disrupt Makarand's life when he sees him enjoying the company of three ladies. The film is a remake of Priyadarshan's own 1985 Malayalam comedy Boeing Boeing, in turn a remake of the 1965 American film of the same name and almost all scenes of Garam Masala are heavily inspired from the latter.Garam Masala was released during Diwali in 2005 and received mixed reviews from the critics and was a commercial success. However, Kumar was appreciated for his performance which also won him Best Actor in a Comic Role award at the Filmfare Awards.