ABCD Review: Anybody Can Dance - 2013 Bollywood Movies Review

ABCD Anybody Can Dance Movie Review by Indicine critic Joginder Tuteja.

Expectations

ABCD : You do carry certain set expectations from the film when the opening credits start rolling. You want the film to be rich in dance sequences, boast of a visual spectacle and thrive on some pulsating music. Not just that as you are also almost sure that there won't be anything quintessential Bollywood in the way song-n-dance routine is presented on screen. Moreover, you also feel somewhere at the bottom of your heart that it would be sacrilege to expect something that ends up beating Hollywood in it's own game. After all, out there in West such movies are a genre in themselves whereas in India, ABCD is first of its kinds. It is an experiment that doesn't really have a precedent and hence is entirely standing on it's own footing.

In that aspect, the expectations are certainly met. You want ABCD to be entertaining but don't really expect a moon from it. Of course this also means that overall narrative of the film remains predictable (with a couple of spikes of course). However there isn't much reason to complain since one has to acknowledge that at least a start has been made in Bollywood when it comes to introduction of a new genre.

ABCD Movie Review: Anybody Can Dance

What works

There aren't many surprises from the storyline perspective either. The promos have pretty much indicated that the film is about a senior choreographer (Prabhudheva) breakig away from his peer (Kay Kay Menon) on ethical and moreal grounds and in the process forming his own dance troupe. How he manages to pull it off, bring in a bunch of disoriented youngsters together, form a cohesive team and ultimately emerge victorious is the kind of plot which is pretty much template driven. In fact it won't be wrong to say that the kind of treatment that the film sees for itself could well have been aplicable for a sports movie as welldue to it's core theme as well as the kind of message it wishes to convey. No wonder, you end up remembering �Chak De India' at more than just a couple of places even though the scenes and their structure maintain their own identity.

The USP scores

Remo D'Souza does well in keeping the core value of the film intact. This means that dance forms a major part of the proceedings and thankfully the film doesn't digress from that. Even if there are traces of a love story or some personal issues (around rivalry between two youngsters or the drug problem faced by a character) are touched upon, they nevert threaten to take over the story. What remains consistent is dance and that's what you find in ample proportion right through the film.

Of course with Remo at the helm of affairs, you do see a variety of dance forms being explored. So whether these are Ganpati sequences at start (well done) and then in the end (brilliant), Bezubaan, Sorry Sorry or Duhai, you are glued to the proceedings. Ditto is the case when a few other set dance pieces intersperse the proceedings.

ABCD Review: Anybody Can Dance

What could be a deterrent

On the flipside, this also means that for those who like their dance numbers to be conventionally filmy, especially when seen in a Bollywood set up, thee isn't much to offer since what you get to see in the film has a niche appeal to it. Of course there is a good population that has been glued to the small screen, courtesy quite a few reality dance shows that play on screen. However to counter that there is also a substantial junta that hasn't really caught fancy of such shows yet. For the latter audience, ABCD doesn't quite turn out to be a must-watch affair.

The contributors

As stated earlier though, the endeavour of the film wasn't really to make inroads into an all India junta but to create a niche for itself by reaching out the target audience. In that aspect, the film works and so do the actors who contribute in making this film special. So while music and lyrics by Sachin-Jigar and Mayur Puri respectively prove to be the driving factor for the film, the actors fit into their parts well to justify their presence. Prabhudheva is required to act with a straight face during most part of the film and he suits the part. On the other hand Kay Kay is very good, as always. This man needs to be seen in more films. Salman, Dharmesh and other youngsters may be acting for the first time but don't come across as amateurs. The fact that they dance exceptionally well only lends them further brownie points.

What's that

Even though the film is in 3D, it could well have done without that since there isn't much that you take home from the technique standpoint. Yes, it does make it's presence felt at a point or two, mainly during the dance sequences, but to wear glasses for a 140 minutes duration just for that is pretty much avoidable.

The final word

Eventually, ABCD turns out to be a film which scores in the uniqueness quotient. Yes, the predictability factor means that you don't quite jump with joy or feel overtly euphoric at many junctures. However due to this very factor there is no boredom either that hits you since the film's safe narrative keeps the proceedings by and large engaging and entertaining.

At the box office too the film is a safe bet due to it's controlled budget. Moreover, it's good opening would further ensure that the returns are super quick and added moolah contributes to the profits.

An experiment that pays.

Rating:

Joginder Tuteja tweets @tutejajoginder

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