The American Dream Review

Streaming On : AHA

Director: Dr. Vighnesh Koushik
Cast: Prince Cecil, Neha Krishna, Raviteja Mukkavalli, Subhalekha Sudhakar and others
Producer: Dr. Pradeep Reddy
Music: Abhinay TJ

AHA is churning out original content for quite some now. Its latest presentation is The American Dream starring Prince. The film is directed by Dr. Vignesh Kaushik and is about an Indian boy’s dream to make it big in the US.

Plot

Rahul(Prince) has one dream in life and it is to go to the US and make big bucks. He lands there with big dreams but reality strikes him quite early. He is forced to do a dirty part-time job. In this process, he also falls in love with a doctor played by Riya Varma(Neha Krishna). But destiny has other plans for Rahul as he indulges in a road accident and kills one. What all issues did he face post this incident is the story of The American Dream.

Performances

After a long time, we get to see Prince doing a lead role. He as a struggling Indian youth in the US is good. He also gets good scope for performance as the genre of the film changes in the latter half of the film. When compared to his previous roles, this performance of his is a tad better. Heroine Neha Krishna is a new actress and that inexperience is clearly shown on screen. Subhalekha Sudhakar brings depth to the proceedings with his emotional dialogues and sentiment.

Technicalities

Abhiraj Nair and Adam Chapman have worked on the camera and they give this film a decent tone. The film has music by Anhinay TJ which is passable but the BGM could have been a lot better in the tense scenes of the film. The production design for the given budget is ok and has nothing much to complain about. The dialogues are neat but the editing in the first half of the film is dull and has no pace. The writing by Dr. Vignes is okay for a newcomer. He has taken two genres in one film and made sure he ends with a twist.

Analysis

The American Dream starts off on a serious note and showcases the life of Indian youth what they go through when they land in the US. This part looks familiar but is told with honesty and thanks to Prince, he is the saving grace who keeps things at bay.

The father and son relationship is also handled properly but the love angle looks forced into the narrative and due to this, there are repetitive scenes that bore the audience. As the director knows the surroundings in and out, he gives a realistic touch to the proceedings in most of the scenes.

By half time, when you start thinking the film is going haywire, the movie takes a new turn and a thriller kind of a scenario kick starts. This is where the film holds pace in the last half an hour. The twist that is brought in the end is also thought off on an impressive note.

The drama that is showcased so far turns into a thrill. There is a familiar scenario that starts happening but director Vignesh manages to hold things with his decent narrative. But the pace and length of the film feel slow and dragged even if it is under two hours of runtime. The transition from drama to a thriller is a bit uneven as well.

Finally, The American Dream is like watching two genres in one. While the drama part looks quite routine and dull, the thriller aspect is okay and the film is ended on a decent note which is all that matters in an OTT watch.

Bottom Line – Bumpy Ride In America