ABCD 2 – Desi dance flick
Rating: **1/2
Dancing is one of the oldest ways of expressing ones emotions. Thanks to the various ‘reality’ TV shows this once looked down upon profession has evolved as now one of most sought after hobby, art form. The success of these shows prompted dance show judge, choreographer turned director Remo to do a dance flick on the lines of Step Up movies that have been very popular in the Hollywood and he made Any Body Can Dance. Collaborating with the ace choreographer/director/actor Prabhudeva and a bunch of the dance show winners, the movie went on to become a success.
So Remo doubled the bets in the next outing by adding main stream stars Varun and Shraddha, in ABCD2 which is not a sequel of the previously mentioned movie but a separate story. This is being marketed as based on true story of one of the dance groups from Mumbai.
The movie is about Suresh (Varun Dhavan) and his troop Mumbai Stunners who reach to the finals of one of the TV dance reality shows and were thrown out as they copy a foreign dance group’s performance.
The complete movie is then based on the journey of this group that is out on the path of redemption to wipe the black spot of being a cheater, by trying out to win the dance competition being held in Las Vegas.
The story is pretty much simple but the treatment is not so much, as the sequences written as side tracks do not appeal much. The romantic track is unnecessary. Of course there are dancers who seem like non actors and that definitely is very evident in the whole movie. Except Raghav Juyal who gets some funny lines nobody makes a mark.
Varun Dhawan seems out of place in emotional scenes as it does not resonate, but the dances are very well done. Shraddha Kapoor is also a revelation as a talented dancer, there isn’t much for her in the movie.
Prabhudeva does enter with a bang, but later just side tracks to an unnecessary track that does not justify at all. However the climax is good.
What is ironic is that the movie is based on the premise of anti-plagiarism while it itself is pretty much a concept lifted from the west. For instance check out this Step Up dance sequence
The editing is also seem to be done hastily as the sequences do not create impact. Also the movie is very lengthy and I think in 3D it could induce fatigue.
As a choreographer Remo is exceptional all the dance sequences in the movie are amazing and even if you aren’t that much of a dance lover you will be stunned at the moves. My pick is Bezubaan. As a director Remo can still do better by not resorting to religious and patriotic sequences to manipulate viewers. Not Any Body Can Direct.
wow…wht a review…perfectly described..:)
Thank you Aakriti