The first ten minutes of this film made me go ‘Desi Amadeus’ ‘Desi Amadeus’. I was not wrong. ‘London Dreams’ builds on the same concept as the seminal classic ‘Amadeus’ which is about jealousy that genius attracts; jealousy that can consume and jealousy that can destroy.
The plot revolves around Arjun, a boy who nurses a childhood dream of enthralling a packed Wembley stadium and having the world eating out of his hands for his musical prowess. That is his calling. His best friend in the village Mannu is a happy go lucky chap who was forced to learn music by his father, but nevertheless has a gift from the Heavens for it that Arjun does not possess.
Arjun makes his way to London and sets up a band called ‘London Dreams’. During a visit to the village, he discovers Mannu’s ability and has him come to London to be a backup singer in his band. Lo and behold, Mannu’s brilliance begins to overshadow Arjun’s hard earned prowess and he begins to feel threatened. He resolves to squash Mannu’s career. Would Arjun be able to suppress Mannu’s genius? To what length would he go to stop his best friend? This is what we try to find out.
‘London Dreams’ is an impressive film with a solid story and an impactful screenplay. Vipul Shah does make you raise some questions on the immigration rules of the UK right up front, but after that you settle into a very intense and impactful ride right up to the end. A movie like this should have music that makes you realize the difference between talent and genius. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s soundtrack and Salim-Suleiman’s background music do just that, even though it doesn’t leave you humming a catchy tune as you finish the film.
Ajay Devgan and Salman Khan as Arjun and Mannu respectively turn in splendid performances in difficult roles. Devgan’s role is right up his alley and it brings out his simmering intensity. He however looks awkward on stage and could have worked on his body language while singing and performing to be more believable. Salman Khan as the brilliant but frivolous Mannu is in his comfort zone with a lot of tomfoolery and some heartfelt emotion thrown in. Both seasoned campaigners have been cast perfectly. Asin's second Hindi outing after 'Ghajini' does not give her as meaty a role, but she performs adequately as the shared love interest.
Towards the end, ‘London Dreams’ does turn melodramatic, when it should have been ruthless like ‘Amadeus’ was. But, then that’s the difference between realism and escapism. Nonetheless, a film definitely worth watching.
