London Dreams Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
EXPECTATIONS
There are bound to be very good expectations from London Dreams. After all, it is a film which has a musical background to it, has composers
Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy at the helm of affairs and brings them together with Prasoon Joshi from whom one expects poetic lyrics. Add to that, the fact that each of
the earlier films of Vipul Shah [Singh Is Kinng, Namaste London, Waqt - Race Against Time and Aankhen] has boasted of immensely successful
music and one can't help but expect London Dreams to present some chartbuster tracks as well.
MUSIC
Now this one is a full on 'rock on' track in the offering. Pun intended. After all 'Barson Yaaron ' completely and truly belongs to the rock
genre. With a stage setting to it, it has some elaborate music arrangements that get the right ambience on to make it a track which befits a big screen
presentation. Of course, in the first few listening it seems to be just a carry forward from Rock On. However, as one listens to 'Barson
Yaaron' a few times over, you do realize that it has a setting to it which is just so relevant to the theme of London Dreams. With an
unconventional pairing of Vishal Dadlani and Roop Kumar Rathod behind the mike, 'Barson Yaaron is also special as it ends with the rock version of
'Hanuman Chalisa'. Definitely a first and something which is bound to create frenzy in theaters for Salman Khan fans.
'Man Ko Ati Bhavey' follows next and your immediate reaction is - 'Now what's that?' Then you allow yourself a complete listening at least
because you realize that everything is possible in Salman Khan's world. Reason being that 'Man Ko Ati Bhavey' has a true 'Bhojpuri' feel to it with
Shankar Mahadevan too going unabashed in his rustic rendition that never once slips away from the song's mood, setting and genre. The rhythm starts working
for the listener after a while and a couple of listening later; you also start to grasp the lyrics. Just like 'Barson Yaaron', this one too grows you
on after a while and once that happens, it is impossible not to find yourself humming it around even when the music is not playing. A sure shot chartbuster
which finds a deserving 'remix version' for itself!
It's time for some Punjabi music to make its way into the album and this happens through 'Tapkey Masti'. A point to be noted though is that
this one is not a conventional 'bhangra' track that gets into a regular 'aahun aahun shaava shaava' mode. Instead, it takes a slightly different route and
even though there is a slight rock background to this one as well, 'Tapkey Masti' (which is also heard in the 'remix version') continues to give the
feel of the rustic world that it belongs to. Singer Feroz Khan too sticks to the song's genre and delivers as required.
New entrant Mohan is given the responsibility of singing the title song of London Dreams which is interestingly titled 'Khanabadosh'. He
does quite well in this yet another unconventional tune that brings back rock into the album. If the initial parts of the song are good, its 100 seconds down
the line when 'Khanabadosh' really comes on its own. There are multiple layers along with various twists and turns in the song, something that makes
one listen 'Khanabadosh' quite carefully. Some truly unconventional and difficult-to-hum-around lyrics only make this song the kind that starts
becoming more and more familiar only after a few listening. That's the reason why one doesn't quite mind the 'remix version' that arrives at the latter
stages of the album.
For those who were missing the kind of trademark compositions that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy are known for, there is 'Khwab Jo'. A serene track that
gets into the dynamics of a 'khwab' and how, when, why and where is it actually a 'khwab' and not a 'haqeeqat', 'Khwab Jo' by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan and
Shankar Mahadevan is an out and out poetic track by Prasoon Joshi. One wonders the kind of pain that Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy must have gone through in order to
spin a tune around the lyrics. A smooth moving number that has a melodic base to it, 'Khwab Jo' sees the fusion of Indian classical with soft rock
that becomes more and more apparent as one reaches the song's end.
The opening of 'Yaari Bina' followed by the music that follows instantly reminds one of 'Hum Tumhe Chahte Hai' [Qurbaani] . However, the
similarity ends as quickly as it appeared for this 'qawalli' which again reaches its peak 100 seconds down the line. Coming together of Roop Kumar Rathod and
Milind makes for another unconventional outing behind the mike. A song that pays homage to friendship and terms one's life as truly useless without a friend
on your side, 'Yaari Bina' appears situational and the kind that would aid the dramatic outing for the film's main leads.
Abhijeet Ghoshal gets a solo for himself in the form of 'Jashn Hai Jeet Ka'. A rock song with an Indian base to it, especially when it comes to
rendition by Abhijeet, 'Jashn Hai Jeet Ka' appears to be a passionate outing for the actor on whom the song would be picturised. A song about moving
ahead in life all by yourself sans any support, 'Jashn Hai Jeet Ka' is quite 70s musically though it is presented in a contemporary manner. One waits
to see how the song turns out to be on screen.
In the world of solo numbers, Zubeen Garg gets one for himself too in the form of 'Shola Shola'. Starting off on a relatively slower note, it
shows a slight jump one minute down the line. 'Shola Shola' too reminds one of the music of the 70s, especially with the coming together of chorus
during the key words 'Shola Shola'. However, it's the contemporary setting that helps the song to a fair degree in terms of being presented to today's
youth. Just like 'Jashn Hai.... ' this one too falls under the 'wait and watch' category.
OVERALL
First things first - The music of London Dreams requires not one, not two, not three but at least five odd listening before it starts growing on you.
At first instance the music seems to be going all over, especially due to the fact that most of the tunes are plain unconventional and nothing that one has
heard in a mainstream Bollywood film before. By the second instance one starts wondering if the expectations were really worth it as you aspire for something
more comfortable and easy on ears in terms of recollection value.
By the third and the fourth instance, you actually start warming up to some of the songs from the album and give them a keen hear. And once you are into the
album the fifth time over, you realize that London Dreams does carry some good stuff to make heads turn. The album won't necessarily take a thunderous
beginning at the music stands. However, the songs are bound to find much better acceptance if the film succeeds at the box office.
OUR PICK(S
'Man Ko Ati Bhavey', 'Barson Yaaron', 'Khanabadosh'
