London Dreams (2009)

This movie was definitely released 2-3 years early, if it was released in 2015 or so then the movie would have done much better. Ajay Devgn looks like the only miscast as he looks too old for his character, but his brilliant acting covers it up. Asin, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Ranvijay Singh support their leads well in taking the story ahead. But Salman Khan's performance and the story are the real winners. The Story brilliantly shows themes like jealousy, trust, conspiracy and drug addiction in artist. It is really difficult to see how this movie was not appreciated. Going to Salman Khan, he has recently received a lot of criticism for his same over the top characters but what would one do after not getting appreciated despite giving such an excellent performance as Manu. His portrayal of a villager becoming a star is great but the drug addiction scenes are something we have never seen from Salman as he takes them to the next level. Direction was also very good and the unexpected end is something people didn't appreciate in 2009 as Indian audiences love happy ends. But the end was something the story deserved as it showed us how betrayal can't always win you dreams.

This movie is awful- it really is. And so unrealistic. How does a guy go from being a street performer to suddenly creating a sudden rock concert in Trafalgar Square and then getting a multi city tour with no exposure or experience and getting a swanky apartment.If the story is unbelievable the acting is even worse. Ajay Devgan doesn't look like a rock star- he can barely dance and yet he's supposed to be a music God. And then you have Salman Khan- a man with so much natural musical talent which he ignores in order to womanize his way through life. His acting is supremely bad- the scene where he goes through the metal detector screeching like a retarded hyena was so annoying that I can't understand how it could pass for comedy.This is a terrible movie that has only one conclusion: don't watch and if you're given a copy throw it away...or burn it.

London Dreams, directed by Vipul Shah, is a frustratingly foolish film about foolish people. It's the kind of film whose central conflict could be instantly resolved if the characters concerned simply sat down and had a chat. Ajay Devgan plays Arjun, an aspiring pop-artiste obsessed with performing before a cheering crowd at London's Wembley Stadium. He becomes jealous of his devoted best friend and band-mate Manu, played by Salman Khan, who is evidently more talented than him, but nowhere near as focused or ambitious. Arjun decides to sabotage Manu when the latter's popularity threatens to outshine his own. Now here's where a heart-to-heart might have helped. Had Arjun explained what this Wembley fixation meant to him, Manu would have graciously backed off and let Arjun fulfill his childhood dream, and we'd have been spared the agony of watching the rest of this uninspiring drivel. But director Vipul Shah and his writers are in no mood to do us any favours. London Dreams is packed with unintentionally hilarious gems like that back-story involving Arjun's grandpa who committed suicide out of shame for getting stage-fright at a packed Wembley concert. Or the ridiculous incident at a show where Manu must take over vocal responsibilities after a blast of confetti practically chokes Arjun into silence. The idiocy, however, doesn't end there. In his attempts to shame Manu publicly, Arjun uses his connections to get Manu hooked onto drugs. A buxom groupie urges Manu to down a couple of tequila shots with her but replaces his salt with cocaine. Before you know it, Manu has acquired quite the appetite for the addictive white powder, practically chomping it down like dinner. If that isn't silly enough, there's a crude scene later in which Manu chases after the said girl to find out who she's been taking orders from. The pursuit ends in a dark London alley where the girl gets down on her knees pretending to do the unmentionable so as to mislead Manu's girlfriend who's been secretly following after them. Wait, there's more! Expect to howl hysterically when Arjun snaps off his belt and whips himself mercilessly to banish all thoughts of romance or lust towards the band's lead dancer Priya (played by Asin) because nothing and no one must distract him from his musical goals. Too generously inspired by Milos Forman's Amadeus for it to merit any comparison with last year's Rock On!, Vipul Shah's latest is a clunky melodrama that's as loosely directed as it is scripted. The film goes for broad humor, over-the-top emotions, and basically chooses loudness over subtlety. That works for Manu's character, with Salman Khan playing him all loutish and lovable, but in the case of Arjun, Ajay Devgan comes off too passive with a performance that is mostly internalised. When Arjun does reach boiling point however, it results in an awkward pre-climax scene in which he lectures a packed concert hall and is understandably pelted with plastic bottles as punishment. Of the remaining cast, there's not a kind word I can say for Asin, who practically lit up Ghajini with her ebullient charm, but disappoints here with unnecessary over-acting in a thankless role. Ranvijay Singh and Aditya Roy Kapur, reduced to mere sidekicks in the band, show up at regular intervals, usually to utter some inane dialogue like, "We'll rock it dude!" For its dim-witted writing and sloppy direction, London Dreams is ultimately a tiresome watch. If you must, watch it for Salman Khan who's turned buffoonery into a bonafide acting style. It's the only thing that'll make you smile in this sad, sad film.

The film was written 10 years back and a different director was planning it with SRK and Aamir in lead rolesThe film finally was made now with Vipul Shah directing it And Ajay and Salman starring together after a decade HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM(1999)The movie however falls short due to it's 90's handling and worst it's loopholesThe film tries to pack in too many commercial ingredients and we also hav the love triangleEverything is predictable and filmy and too clichédThere are loopholes like how Ajay runs away from London Airport and makes a place for himself with no one? even the way he starts his band is not convincing The second half gets better with the twist in the tale of Ajay destroying Salman but sadly the climax falls short and the film ends on a bad noteDirection by Vipul Shah is ordinary to below average Music is the worst point, most songs are mediocreAmongst actors Ajay gives his best shot though he isn't convincing as a Rock singer yet he does superb as the negative role Salman however irritates with his punjabi and talking nonsense he only impresses when he gets drugged and thereon Asin is nothing great just a show piece Ranvijay should stick to MTV Om Puri is okay