London Dreams is an ambitious film telling the story of Arjun (Ajay Devgan), a boy from Punjab who’s biggest desire is to create the first hindi rock band, get appreciation for his talent, and play at Wembley. He will let nothing stand in the way of his dream, not the pretty female dancer or his best friend Mannu (Salman Khan). Arjun invites Mannu to come to London with him and be a part of his band, however he is angered when Mannu, who was only to be back-up, wins the hearts of the public and gets the attention and fame Arjun craved without lifting a finger. Arjun then plots to destroy Mannu.
The basic plotting in the film is good. It is surprisingly short and to the point without veering off into any irritating side-tracks. There are holes. For instance, how did Arjun survive when he ran away from his uncle as a child. It shows him playing music in the streets of London but where did he live, how the hell did he make enough money to pay for music school and how did he then pay for his instruments?
Secondly, the ending. I find it hard to believe that Mannu would so readily forgive a man who tried so underhandedly to wreck his life by hooking him on drugs etc. Perhaps their dostana is just very strong, but even so…perhaps ’a year later’ and then forgiveness would have worked instead of a-couple-of-days-after-you-bitched-me-out-in-front-of-a-live-audience forgiveness.
Salman Khan as Mannu prompts the question ’Is he in Special Ed…I mean, is he?’ Mannu’s innocent outlook and naïve nature would have been better suited to a younger actor, I’m thinking Hrithik Roshan. Though Salman (thankfully) did not overact as he did at the end of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (and I did enjoy the airport scene, a sly nod to Mr Shahrukh Khan methinks) and perhaps had Salman himself been about ten years younger he could have done justice to the part. But that is the main point. Salman Khan is looking old. He looks bloated and his romancing of Asin (far too young for him) is as creepy as his real life relationship with Katrina Kaif. Perhaps it is time for him to start acting his age (and I’m not even going to get started on those hair implants).
Ajay Devgan, an actor whose work I very much admire, was very much miscast in this film. He excels in dark dramas such as Omkara (Othello), Company, Halla Bol, Apaharan etc and so I can see why he was picked but, sadly, it just didn’t work. He gives his intense, brooding best but there is just no way (in any reality) Ajay could be a rock star. His role would have been better suited to Saif Ali Khan, his Omkara co-star, who is not younger but inhabits more of the ‘rock star’ spirit. That said, Ajay has nothing to be ashamed of and (he) was easily the best thing in the film.
London Dreams was my first encounter with Asin, the pretty southern actress, and I was left disappointed. Not by her but by the role she was given. Apart from one amusing traditional dance-to hip hop scene she was merely window dressing (why would they need a dancer in a rock band?). This was a shame as she is very pretty and has the same sort of fiery attitude as Deepika Pakudone. A little development of her character would have been nice.
The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy was, in my opinion, pretty good. I like it better than their similar effort for Rock On! (though I might be the only one). Standout songs for me were Khanabadosh and Barso Hanuman. The crowd picturisation was fantastic. In fact I thought the cinematography was above average, everything looked beautiful.
In conclusion, while having a few problems with the film, I do still recommend it to any fans of Ajay Devgan and/or (god forbid) Salman Khan. Those who are fans of Rock on! or even the Hollywood films Rockstar and Almost Famous would most likely enjoy this too. It isn’t the masterpiece it promised to be but it isn’t a disaster either. If it were a rock band it would be Bon Jovi.
