Director: Rohit Shetty Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan, Bipasha Basu and Mughda Godse
Ajay Devgn is one actor whom film pundits have never taken seriously for the top position in Hindi Cinema. It doesn't matter to him as he keeps on experimenting with all types of films. As a producer, he is a maverick businessman. Devgn is a gambler for an entertainer. He's also one with a heart. He is the only one who puts money in films like 'Raju Chacha', 'U, Me and Hum' and now 'All The Best'.
Rohit Shetty who was once an assistant to Ajay's father Veeru Devgan has been a close buddy right from Ajay's debut film 'Phool Aur Kaante'. And, Rohit Shetty is such a crazy fan of this actor that he has never made a single film without Ajay Devgn so far in his career right from his first Zameen' to 'Golmaal', 'Sunday' and 'Golmaal Returns'. In 'All The Best', both come back with more madness (a lovely positive craze) for each other.
Yes, madness and it's the USP of Rohit's last three films. In 'All The Best', he repeats this again. Two brothers - Dharam and Veer (Yes, Rohit is a big fan of late filmmaker Man Mohan Desai) and as a tribute to Desai he has taken these names from Desai's super hit film ('Dharam Veer') of 1973. Veer (Fardeen Khan) fools his big brother Dharam (Sanjay Dutt) to milk money. Prem (Ajay Devgn) is a close friend of Veer and is married to Jhanvi (Bipasha Basu). Veer finds his love interest in Vidya (Mugdha Godse). And one fine day Dharam lands up at Veer's place. All things go haywire when Jhanvi is mistaken as Veer's wife and Vidya is taken as Prem's love interest. The story of this mistaken identity finds many resemblances with same kind of stories of the past, but the madness that surrounds the film doesn't let you keep track of those.
Grounded on a good script 'All The Best' makes you laugh and roll over the seat holding your stomach for good two hours. Films especially in Hindi are no more souvenirs. A film is like a FMCG nowadays, it needs to be marketed well to reach its right audience. For comparison, while 'Blue' fails to reap on the hype around the film, 'All The Best' manages to catch the festival fever.
Rohit Shetty has found a good High Five in his actors. Fardeen Khan may be counted as the weakest link among these five main actors, yet he tries his best to match others. Mugdha Godse comes second in this line; she loses all that she earned in 'Fashion'. She shouldn't have agreed to do such a minuscule role. The film belongs to Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Dutt. The duo fight each other like Tom and Jerry and Bipasha only adds to the fire. Rohit also gets good support from Sanjay Mishra and Johny Lever. Johny who is seen on the big screen after a long hiatus, brings cheers to his fans and does justice to his name after so many years.
Music may not be the talking point of this comedy caper, but who cares for it, as long as the film remains honest to its genre. Action sequences have always been the highlight of all Rohit Shetty films and 'All The Best' proves it too. Jai Singh proves his prowess in well-designed action scenes and delivers some out of the mind sequences on the screen. Cinematography by Dudley is another highlight of the film. In the festive season, 'All The Best' brings much cheer to the viewers just like the crackers. Enjoy the flick! Happy Diwali !
October 22nd, 2009 - 2:38 pm ICT by sampurn By Subhash K Jha
The comic director Rohit Shetty is caught in a tragic situation. Rohit Shetty quickly needs to decide if he wants to do the next Golmaal film or the sequel to All The Best.
As if making the Golmaal series (God rest Hrishida’s soul in peace!) was not enough, now Rohit Shetty is all set to turn All The Best into a sequel-franchise.
That’s right. Shetty is already prepared to make All The Best 2. The decision was taken even before the first film in the series was released. And while the male cast will remain unchanged the ladies will keep changing in every film of the two series.
Says Shetty, “We saw the film earlier during the week before release. Everyone was completely taken up by the idea of a sequel. So I said, why not? I don’t mind doing Golmaal and All The Best films all my career if I want to. Making people laugh is not easy.”
So which comes first? That’s the dilemma.
Says Rohit Shetty, “Golmaal 3 and All The Best 2 have only one thing in common. Ajay Devgan. By now the two of us are an inseparable team. I can’t dream of making anything without him. I’ve two ideas for the third part of Golmaal and one for the sequel to All The Best. Whichever shapes up better, I’ll go ahead with first. Golmaal 3 will again have all the character caught in a situation in a house.”
Golmaal 3 will feature the same male cast including Arshad Warsi who had annoyed the Golmaal team by expressing his displeasure over the length of his role in Golmaal Returns.
Grins Rohit, “I was angry with Arshad. Now it’s all sorted out. And I’ll be narrating Golmaal 3 to Arshad.”
To Rohit Shetty goes the credit for holding the directorial franchise to two of the biggest “brand’ sequels of Bollywood. However the pressure to move to the next level of success is equally intense from both the brands.
Apparently in the wake of the ovation for All The Best, the Golmaal producers Asthvinayak want Shetty to immediately start Part 3 of the ongoing series. Shetty’s pal Ajay Devgan, however, feels another All The Best film is the need of the hour. Devgan who’s part of both the Golmaal and All The Best series is the producer of the latter, and also a close pal of Rohit Shetty.
Chances are, there might be a spill over and a crossover of cast and crew between Rohit Shetty’s two brand– sequels. Sanjay Dutt who has become a hot favourite with director Shetty and All The Best producer Ajay Devgan, may have a role in Golmaal 3.
Adds Ajay Devgan, “Rohit and I do share a certain vibe. And yes we’re in two minds about which to go into first. The script, gags, jokes and the overall comedy have to be funnier in the next film. We can’t have repetitive gags in the All the Best and Golmaal sequel. Then the audience will lose faith in the franchise.” -Sampurn Media
October 20, 2009 12:22:35 PM IST Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network
ALL THE BEST has released and is finding very good appreciation coming its way. While Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgan have walked away with all the accolades, Fardeen Khan and Bipasha Basu too have been acknowledged for the parts that they have played. However, Mugdha Godse has a limited role to play in the film even though the presence of her character is most integral to the film. Is she disappointed?
"No, not at all! I never thought about the screen time at all during the shooting of ALL THE BEST. I knew what I was getting into and am happy with the way the film has been shot. If your role is good then it's the strength that it possesses that matters most", says Mugdha who has taken a de-glamorous route with ALL THE BEST which would be followed by JAIL.
Considering the fact that she makes an on and off appearance in the film, Mugdha seems to be taking a diplomatic stance with such statements, isn't it?
"I am not being diplomatic here at all", she refuses to bite the bait, "God has been very kind with me and I have no complains whatsoever. You are seeing the film now while I have seen my portions while dubbing for it. I think whatever I saw there was quite good. See, even in FASHION I had a relatively smaller role but what mattered in the end was what value this character adds to the story. The character of Vidya is important to ALL THE BEST and that keeps me happy."
On a parting note, Mugdha does set her expectations clear about ALL THE BEST and her own self as an actor, "As long as I look good in the film, act well, get noticed in the promos and the film does well, it works for everyone associated with ALL THE BEST. I guess that is pretty much happening. I am more than satisfied."
A live performance to promote their film By Aparajita Ghosh Wed, Oct 21, 2009 06:29:58 GMT
What better way to promote a musical love story titled London Dreams than through a live concert and that too in London!
Well, director Vipul Amrutlal Shah and the colourful ensemble cast of his film are rolling up their sleeves for something like that. Come October 28, two days before the release of their film ‘London Dreams’, Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Asin will perform live along with music directors Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy in front of thousands of Londoners.
In the concert, songs from the movie will be performed.
In ‘London Dreams’ Salman plays a talented musician from Punjab. He has talent but no fame. Ajay plays his friend who starts a band in London. Things take an unexpected turn when Ajay brings Salman to London and the latter strikes an instantaneous fame, while Ajay is being pushed to the sidelines. There is an important concert in the movie set in Wembley stadium.
However, for the promotional concert in London, the Wembley stadium wasn’t suited. So the organizers settled for The London Excel Arena which has space for as many as 40,000 people.
The film’s actors, music directors, and other crew members will take the stage at the Arena on October 28. The cast and crew are expected to reach London one day before the concert.
The movie is slated for worldwide release on October 30.
All the Best, which had surprised naysaying trade experts, by opening better than Blue in many single screen theaters on Friday, continued its solid if not necessarily spectacular run through the week. Blue, which had on balance, opened at #1 ahead of both ATB and the Salman Khan-Sohail Khan starrer Mr. aurr Mrs. Khanna, held on reasonably ok before registering noticeable drops mid-week onwards. Blue is headed for a 30 crore week possibly which is good enough in that it won the initial contest for Akshay Kumar against Salman Khan after Wanted, but may not be enough to save the film itself because the collections are not sustaining in high enough levels past the Diwali opening and 2nd weekend advance is unimpressive. So Blue, which is billed at a cost of Rs 80-100 crores, will likely end up a loser commercially. Though set near Bahamas, the film has not impressed North America either with the US weekend collections at under $250k reportedly.
All the Best on the other hand may too serve up over Rs. 25 crores in India. But the Goa set film is much more economical for its producer (again Devgan), and what's going for it is the fact that it's 2nd weekend screenings have been increased in some locations. So if the opening weekend belonged to Blue, the 2nd weekend will go to All The Best.
Bringing up the rear is the Salman Khan and Kareena Kapoor's Main aurr Mrs. Khanna. The film had a weak opening and sank only further south over the weekdays, shocking a section of the media who had billed Salman Khan to be superstar all of sudden. However those who track actual box office figures know that even Wanted had only an average opening overall when looked comparatively across India so it is no surprise the way MAMK opened. Besides, barring a few exceptions, overall content is king over the stars. Very few actors enjoy or have enjoyed, what's known in the industry as 'blind initial' film after film in the same year. The audience typically wavers film to film as well. As it so happens, the last 'big' openings for a film with Salman Khan were multistarrers Salaam-E-Ishq and Partner and even the latter, though successful, wasn't recordbreaking sort. Statistically, the All India recordbreaking opening weeks of Salman Khan's career are Rakesh Roshan's Karan Arjun in 1995 and the film Hum Saath Saath Hain by the Rajshris in 1999. Though it should be said his Biwi No. 1 that same year did break the opening record in Bombay releasing on May 27, 1999 (Rs. 74 lakhs) with Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Rs. 67 lakhs) with Devgan and Aishwarya Rai trailing a few weeks later on June 18, 1999, before both being surpassed in Bombay by the opening of Hindustan Ki Kasam (Rs. 78 lakhs) released during Kargil War in July 1999, and then eventually HSSH on Diwali 1999, which 10 years ago was the first film to net Rs. 1 crore opening week in Bombay city.
Salman Khan will look for some of that HDDCS luck to rub off him again as the HDDCS co-actor Ajay Devgan is there with the Vipul Shah starrer London Dreams on October 30. This film should take a decent to good opening though there are no guarantees as also releasing with it will be Aladin, which is also likely to take a good opening despite its Arabian Nights genre being a weak link in India. Aladin is said to have been customized and made in romance-action-masala format and stars Amitabh Bachchan in a faceoff with Sanjay Dutt (*ng in Blue & ATB both).
The film though that is picking up steam fastest is Ranbir Kapoor starrer Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani starring Katrina Kaif opposite him, and releasing just a week after Aladin and London Dreams. APKGK is directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi and sees the return to romantic-comedy by the director of Andaaz Apna Apna.
Meanwhile seeing the box office trending of Kareena Kapoor starrers Kambakht Ishq and MAMK, rumors are that Karan Johar's Qurbaan, a films on terror war against America, and starring Kareena Kapoor and Saif Ali Khan as its supposed USP, is getting shifted away from a clash to November 20th. Earlier the film was set to clash against another Akshay Kumar-Sunil Shetty-Paresh Rawal comic caper, De Dana Dan on November 27th.
[i:2ck6[album]2[/album]t]By: RnM Team 24 Oct 09 10:37 IST[/i:2ck6[album]2[/album]t]
MUMBAI: will be graced by the superstars of the Bollywood industry- Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan and the gorgeous Asin who will be there on ground to encourage the three finalists - Hemant Brijwasi, Shreyasi Bhattacharya and Yatharth Rastogi who are all set to perform live on October 24th at 8 pm on Zee TV.
SaReGaMaPa on Zee TV is the longest running reality show on TV since the last 17 years. This show has always given global recognition to singing talent of our country, across ages and geographies. Currently, this show is towards the end of its current series - L'il Champs and is reaching the "Grand Finale" with Final three contestants Hemant Brijwasi, Shreyasi Bhattacharya and Yatharth Rastogi chosen out of hundreds across the globe to fight for the coveted title.
Hemant, Shreyasi and Yatharth got an opportunity to meet up with the superstars recently. Both Salman and Ajay were completely in awe of the brilliant pool of talent that Saregamapa has nurtured. Both of them interacted with the kids personally. Salman even gave them tips on how to face crowd and appear confident. He also shared with the kids some of his memorable experiences from his numerous stage shows. He was overjoyed when the kids sang all his favorite songs from his movies. Both of them wished them good luck for the grand finale.
So tune into Saregamapa L’il Champs Grand Finale on 24th Oct’09, Saturday, at 8pm to catch all the action live!
[i:27s[album]65[/album]v]By SAMPURN October 24th, 2009
By Subhash K Jha[/i:27s[album]65[/album]v]
Tired, bored and impatient with traditional ways of promoting films Vipul Shah has thought up a novel method of taking London Dreams to the audience.
Vipul is in the middle of arranging two open-air rock concerts at two venues Mumbai and Delhi next week, most probably on 27 and 28 October. The concerts will feature Ajay Devgan, Salman Khan, Asin in concert with musicians Shankar Ehsaan Loy.
The stars will perform in front of thousands of fans amidst the highest and most foolproof security arrangement.
Says Vipul, “We don’t want any security lapses. Our stars will be completely safe on stage. They will be performing not only to the songs from London Dreams. We’re also looking at staging some of Salman and Ajay’s biggest hits.”
Bollywood stars have never gone on stage to perform at live rock concerts.
Vipul corrects that perception, “Recently a similar thing happened with Rock On when the entire cast performed live. Many years ago Mukul Anand got Sanjay Dutt, Raveena Tandon and Salman Khan on stage for the promotion of Dus. So these London Dreams concerts will be déjà vu for Salman.”
The stars have already started preparing for the two live concerts. While performing live for Salman is not a new experience Ajay suffers from stage fright and has never done concert tours. He is making a special effort to face the roaring crowds in Mumbai and Delhi next week. Ajay has been getting used to crowds and feels he can do it.
Revealing plans for the twin explosions in the two metropolises Vipul Shah says, “It will be a huge event in both the cities. I am still to finalize the venues because we expect a turn-out of at least 3-4000 people. It would be no-ticket free-entry affair, so you can call it priceless experiences.”
Vipul scoffs at tradition ways of promoting his film. “In how many ways will Ajay and Salman be asked the same thing? Salman is invariably asked about Katrina and Shah Rukh Khan instead of the film. So I see no point in the traditional media interactions. Besides, both the actors have done enough media in the last two months for their other films. Since London Dreams is about on-stage experiences the rock concerts seemed like a good idea.”
After the concerts in Mumbai and Delhi Vipul intends to stage similar live performances in the other metropolises.
While Sanjay Dutt's unhappiness with his other recent films is well-known, he has come out of All The Best grinning ear to ear, and not just because it's comedy.
Director Rohit Shetty gets emotional talking about Dutt. "You can't help being protective and affectionate about Sanjay. Once he accepts a film he adopts the whole unit. Sanjay was more like the producer of All The Best than Ajay Devgn. In the evenings, Ajay, Fardeen and the rest of the gang would be chilling out in Goa while Sanjay would sit with me poring over the next day's schedule. He was bothered about every thing, from the food for the unit to my travel plans. Whenever I had to leave the Goa location for Mumbai, he would be anxious about my return flight."
Rohit can't understand how many recent films have misused or underused Sanjay Dutt. "He signs films for emotional reasons. And it's the director's moral duty to make sure his presence is justified. In All The Best Sanjay is the main protagonist."
Shooting down rumours that All The Best had to pay Rs. 50 lakhs to jump the queue of releases, Rohit says, "When Aladin was postponed we got an opening and we decided to release in Diwali. We didn't have to pay any money to prepone .We never planned All The Best as a Diwali product. The colourful light frothy ambience just happened. It's my cleanest comedy since the first Golmaal film. Golmaal Returns had some double meanings. But All The Best is totally free of risqué elements."
He hopes all three Diwali releases would do well. "I certainly want Blue to do very well. Asthvinayak are also the producers of my Golmaal series. So their success is by proxy beneficial to my film."
This will be a very different combination and a pair to watch out for. Ajay Devgn and Konkona Sen Sharma have never been cast together but they have the potential to make a dream casting for a director.
Imagine Devgn’s smouldering looks and understated style of acting, and couple it with Konkona’s natural, spontaneous grace, and the effect could be something truly magical or not at all.
Since Devgn and Konkona have never been cast together, one will just have to wait and watch. Director Ashwini Dheer, who made his directorial debut with the comedy One Two Three will be casting the two in his next movie, which is called ’Atithi Tum Kab Jaoge’.
As the title indicates, the film is about guests who overstay their welcome. Devgn and Konkona play a newly married couple in the movie while Paresh Rawal plays the unwanted guest. The film is expected to shot on a start to finish schedule beginning today and ending on December 10. The film is produced by Kumar Mangat and is being planned for a release next year.
Mediaone Global Entertainment Ltd, a leading Media company in South India, pioneering in Production, Distribution and Exhibition of South Indian Films has ventured into Bollywood through "London Dreams", through its association with Head start Films Pvt Ltd. The deal would take Mediaone to centre stage in Bollywood Business. The film stars Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan, Asin directed by Vipul Shah and are scheduled to release on 30 Oct 2009.
Mr .Surya RajKumar Managing Director, of Mediaone said that "London Dreams", would be the right film for Mediaone to make a perfect entry into Bollywood"
The stock closed the day at Rs.149.90, up by Rs.4.80 or 3.31%. The stock hit an intraday high of Rs.149.95 and low of Rs.144.05.
The total traded quantity was 14892 compared to 2 week average of 3236.
MUMBAI - Bollywood actor Ajay Devgan turned a ticket seller at a movie hall here to promote his upcoming movie ‘London Dreams’.
He took part in a unique promotional campaign by occupying the ticket seller’s seat and sold tickets at the Galaxy Theatre located in Bandra.
Hundreds of moviegoers and fans lined up to for the advance booking of the film.
The actor was not present when a similar promotional event of the film took place in New Delhi. Salman Khan, the film’s other lead actor, sold the tickets.
“As the film is about to be released, we are promoting it so that people come to know about it and can go and watch the film,” said Devgan.
The fan frenzy almost got out of hand at times and the police had to control the crowd. They had queued up outside the ticket counter to catch a glimpse of their favourite actor.he actor felt quite mesmerised to see such huge rush of his fan followers.
“I think it was a different experience. I was feeling good after seeing their enthusiasm. So it was a great feeling,” he added.
He obliged the autograph hunters as well as affixed his autograph on every ticket that he sold which the fans may retain as a souvenir.
Directed by Vipul Amrutlal Shah, ‘London Dreams’ is a story of two friends who drift apart because one of them gets fame and the other does not.
Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan are playing the role of two talented musicians from Punjab making it big in England.
This most awaited film of the year is slated to release on October 30. (ANI)
How about Ajay? He is also quite intense once the camera starts rolling. Do we get to see trademark Ajay intensity?
That's right, you will actually get to see Ajay in the kind of performance for which he was roped in. I also have to highlight another facet of his acting. Since he is also a director, he is very clear about what a filmmaker would be expecting from him. Also, he is technically one of the strongest people I have come across. He knows everything about filmmaking and that reflects in his act. He is very knowledgeable and visualises everything about the scene before coming up with his take. Since I had such experienced men on board, I didn't have to do much explanation for him on a scene to scene basis.
Two weeks in and the results on the Holiday weekend of the year clash, the Diwali clash of Blue, All the Best, and Mr aur Mrs Khanna are out; and has been reported right from Day 1 on IBOS, All the Best has separated itself from contender (Blue) and pretender (MAMK) by a wide margin. With some help from Sanjay Dutt, Fardeen Khan and Bipasha Basu, the Ajay Devgan produced and starrer comedy is another 'No Entry' of 2009. The film is headed for a 50 crores+ triumph even though it was pipped to be the last of the 3 major films released. Incidentally No Entry also had Bipasha Basu and Fardeen Khan for support, something the future casting directors could keep in mind.
Next comes Blue which will not be able to recover its reported 80-100 crore investment by any stretch and is headed for box office flop status. The sobering fact that the opening though good wasn't anywhere near recordbreaking despite Diwali opportunity, and after Kambakth Ishq also faring below expectations, Blue tapering out is a major dampener for Akshay Kumar though his next D3 with Priyadarshan is promising and may improve the year for him.
Coming in last after opening last was the Salman Khan-Kareena Kapoor saga, Mr. aur Mrs. Khanna which, opened at 10-15% and finished worst also, is one of the biggest disasters in recent times. Salman Khan is back again with a double hero London Dreams.
Which brings to the current week. So far, the advance for London Dreams has opened to an ok advance response of 20% or so in India while it's expected to fare better in UK etc. for obvious reasons. In India, the film will open better than Main aurr Mrs. Khanna on Friday as the promos have registered better and the volume of screenings are higher. But for a film earlier reported on terms such as 120 crores for distribution acquisition by Studio 18 earlier, this is a problem. And in major portions of the country, it may eventually get overrun by competition from the Amitabh Bachchan starrer Aladin, whose advance has opened on par with or ahead of London Dreams in India despite fewer screenings, with early lead in parts of Bengal and South (Chennai). Though for some reason, it took many theaters a while to figure out schedules, and neither film has posted a spectacular advance as the films' promoters would have liked. In case of Aladin there have been two problems. One, the actor playing title role, Ritesh Deshmukh, is not a box office star per say, which may mislead potential casual viewers seeing posters into thinking Aladin is a Ritesh Deshmukh film with others merely supporting or special appearances. Secondly, Arabian Fantasy tales are not exactly box office gold as a genre in India. However the actual reports on the film itself are very strong from the industry insiders who have seen the film in previews. The insiders are confident of the film.
The USP of Aladin is Bachchan supposedly in a one-man-show do-it-all mode, not witnessed too much this decade. Last example probably being Dashrath Singh in Bunty&Babli (though BnB had a spectacular advance). Opposite him will be Sanjay Dutt as the nemesis/villain which can emerge a powerful combination at the box office. Ritesh Deshmukh is not a box office star per say but his performance is also being billed as one of the highlights. The USP of London Dreams on the other hand, is the HDDCS Ajay Devgan-Salman Khan duo, without Aishwarya Rai, but with the theme of 'Rock On'.
Reports on London Dreams are decent and its marketing promotion is near maximum so it is possible the film could open better than its advance is indicating but a huge opening is ruled out . It is also possible if word of mouth is strong, both London Dreams and Aladin could end up successful. Though unlikely, it has happened in the past where two movies do well simultaneously, for instance in 2001 Sunny Deol's Gadar beat Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan in opening week and overall, but Lagaan too was a Hit. The same happened with Dil and Ghayal in 1990, and Welcome and Taare Zameen Par in 2007.
However the current status is that though advance for London Dreams had opened earlier and on more allocated screens, rate of bookings for Aladin overall nationally are running on par or higher. And both movies are counting on a quick pickup to be witnessed from Friday evening onwards.
Joginder Tuteja, Indo-Asian News Service Mumbai, October 30, 2009
London Dreams is Vipul Shah's first film that doesn't star Akshay Kumar. While the filmmaker missed his favourite actor, he says he thoroughly enjoyed working with Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn and loved their dynamism.
"When you work with people with whom you have never worked before, there are two ways to look at things. Firstly, you do miss your favourite actor and...I have been associated with Akshay for so long. On the other hand, you have to start enjoying the process of working with the new bunch of people. Thankfully, both Salman and Ajay allowed me that comfort level," Shah told IANS.
Shah teamed up with Akshay in his directorial debut Aankhen, followed by Waqt - Race Against Time and Namaste London. Later when he decided to rope in Anees Bazmee as director for Singh Is Kinng, Akshay was once again by his side. All these films worked well at the box office.
"Akshay and me go a very long way. It is absolutely a great rapport that both of us share and it's a treat to work with him. However, I have to admit that since I was working with Salman and Ajay for the first time, I had to be on my toes all the time. That further made it an enjoyable experience for me," he said.
The director has brought Salman and Ajay together 11 years after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
Talking about the two, he said: "In any case, both these actors are beyond hits and flops today. They have been there for 20 years now and seen the industry and its trends quite closely. Moreover, they enjoy worldwide popularity and are known all over.
"They have a huge reach and impact which should bring in audiences. After they get an opening, it should be the film which should do the talking. If it is good, it would work. Period."
Shah is also all praise for Asin Thottumkal, who would be seen in London Dreams a year after her debut Bollywood flick Ghajini opposite Aamir Khan.
"It is challenging for any actress to stand in front of terrific actors and stars like Salman and Ajay. However, the best part is that though she is a fresh face for Hindi audiences, she has worked with Kamal Haasan and other big stars down south.
"She knows how to make her presence felt amidst big stars and not to get conscious, upset or scared. It's that kind of confidence that puts her at par with the actors," the director said.
"She comes with that definite advantage. Since she has already dealt with one huge star like Aamir, her confidence shows. She is not scared of stars and comes across as so fresh on screen. This is so good for any director," he said.
With an intense drama like London Dreams in front of audiences, Shah knew that he had a task in hand.
"While making the film, I had to work towards creating a comfort zone for my actors. Audiences should walk out of theatres saying that other than just Akshay, Vipul can extract good work from Ajay and Salman as well. That would be my win from the film," Shah said.