London Dreams was talked about as the most anticipated film of Asin’s career after the runaway success of Ghajini. It paired her with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn in a story about a rock band, two old friends and a long road to a Wembley stage. Here is the film as it actually turned out, with the cast, the plot, the music and how it landed.
In London Dreams, Asin is the love interest of both Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. Ahead of release, a source close to the production spoke about her part and the shoot.
“In London Dreams she plays the role of a main dancer of a band called ‘London Dreams,’ while Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan are her best friends from the same rock band. She plays the character of Priya, so overall it is a musical film which has romance, and deals with the subject of friendship. Her Chandigarh trip was quite memorable as for the first time she had visited this beautiful city. The shooting had taken place near Kurali railway station and here she was very pleased with the crowd response to the shooting after Ghajini’s success.”
The same source added a story from the set.
“Even Salman Bhai and Ajay Devgan were very pleased with her success as the whole cast and crew had seen Ghajini. Ajay also played a prank on Asin. It was during the break time that some three to four goons had come near her vanity van and were banging her door and shouting in a Punjabi tone. They were not real goons, as it was a prank played by Ajay, so the Chandigarh shoot was quite memorable.”
At the time of that interview the film was pencilled in for 14 August 2009, as the first Asin release of the year after Ghajini. The date moved. London Dreams was directed and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, and it eventually opened worldwide on 30 October 2009.
The story behind London Dreams
London Dreams is a Hindi-language musical drama. At its centre are two childhood friends. Ajay Devgn plays Arjun Joshi, a driven musician who has wanted a stage at Wembley since he was a boy. Salman Khan plays Manjeet “Mannu” Khosla, the easy, natural performer whose talent comes without trying.
Arjun builds a band in London. He recruits two brothers, Wasim and Zoheb Khan, played by Aditya Roy Kapur and Rannvijay Singh, who left Pakistan chasing a life in music. He also brings in Priya Zaveri, played by Asin, a young woman from a conservative South Indian family who loves to sing and dance. The band takes the name London Dreams.
The trouble is envy. Mannu is loved by crowds in a way Arjun never quite is, and that gap eats at Arjun. As the band climbs toward a huge show at Wembley Stadium, in front of a crowd the film puts at around 90,000, Arjun quietly works to pull his friend down. Om Puri appears as Arjun’s stern uncle, the keeper of an old family discipline that Arjun has bent badly out of shape.
The finished film runs about 153 minutes.
Cast and crew
- Salman Khan as Manjeet “Mannu” Khosla
- Ajay Devgn as Arjun Joshi
- Asin as Priya Zaveri
- Om Puri as Arjun’s uncle
- Aditya Roy Kapur as Wasim Khan
- Rannvijay Singh as Zoheb Khan
It was the first time Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn had shared the screen in about a decade, which was a large part of the pre-release interest. Vipul Amrutlal Shah, who had made Namastey London and Singh Is Kinng, both wrote the screenplay and produced the picture.
The music
The score was the work of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, with lyrics by Prasoon Joshi. Given the band setting, it leaned on a rock sound. The soundtrack included “Khanabadosh,” “Shola Shola,” “Barso Yaaron,” “Khwab” and “Man Ko Ati Bhavey Saiyaan.” Several of those tracks kept a following well after the film itself had faded, and they are the part of London Dreams people tend to remember most warmly.
How London Dreams was received
The reviews were mixed at best, and in many cases plainly negative. The common complaints were consistent. Some viewers did not take to the plot, some thought the ending fell flat, and a fair number simply said it was too long.
Trade critic Taran Adarsh praised the lead cast while taking issue with the climax. The numbers told a similar story. Against a budget of around Rs 45 crore, the film took roughly Rs 41 crore at the box office, so it underperformed commercially. Its IMDb rating has settled around 5.4.
Even so, it was not without admirers. Plenty of people enjoyed the musical drama, and some still rate it as a favourite. Asin took the criticism in her stride and kept working, which is one reason she held on to so much goodwill from fans.
What happened to Asin afterwards
Her next big role came in the 2011 Tamil film Kaavalan, opposite Vijay. It was a hit, and it won her the SIIMA Award for Best Actress. The same year she appeared in the comedy Ready, and in 2012 she was in Housefull 2, Bol Bachchan and Khiladi 786.
Her last film was All Is Well in 2015. In January 2016 she married Rahul Sharma, the co-founder of Micromax, and stepped away from acting. The couple had a daughter, Arin, in October 2017. She has stayed out of the spotlight since.
Frequently asked questions
When was London Dreams released?
London Dreams had its worldwide release on 30 October 2009. It had earlier been scheduled for 14 August 2009 before the date was pushed back. It was directed and produced by Vipul Amrutlal Shah.
Who starred in London Dreams?
The leads were Salman Khan as Manjeet “Mannu” Khosla, Ajay Devgn as Arjun Joshi and Asin as Priya Zaveri. Om Puri played Arjun’s uncle, while Aditya Roy Kapur and Rannvijay Singh played the brothers Wasim and Zoheb Khan in the band.
What is London Dreams about?
It is a musical drama about two childhood friends who form a rock band in London. Arjun has dreamed of playing Wembley all his life, but his friend Mannu wins crowds far more easily, and Arjun’s jealousy drives him to sabotage the band on the way to the top.
Was London Dreams a hit?
Not really. It drew mixed to negative reviews and underperformed at the box office, taking around Rs 41 crore against a budget of about Rs 45 crore. The Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy soundtrack, with songs such as “Barso Yaaron,” held up better than the film.
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