ABCD – Anybody Can Dance
Year: 2013
Director: Remo Fernandes
Cast: Prabhu Deva, Kay Kay Menon, Ganesh Acharya, Lauren Gottlieb, Dharmesh Yolande, Salman Yusuf Khan

With Prabhu Deva as the main lead, almost an all-newcomer cast and a director like Remo Fernandes (whose past is linked with a film like FALTU!), I was really reluctant to see ABCD. After all, I am not a big fan of dancing and the related reality shows! But then I decided to have a go at it- not for any other reason but sheer lack of any viable alternative film to watch.

So how was my experience?

What’s the plot?

A passionate dance-teacher (Prabhu Deva) is thrown out of his job by his unscrupulous ex-friend-cum- present boss (Kay Kay). The teacher has already had enough of his boss’s ‘Success at all cost’ approach. With the help of a like-minded friend (Ganesh Acharya), the teacher sets up a makeshift dancing school in a slum area, recruiting nearby youngsters who were once wasting their lives in petty crimes, street fights and bar dancing. He teaches them to look beyond their rivalries and revelries and turns them into a competition-level dancing troupe. As his troupe fights for the top prize on India’s biggest dancing TV show, he once again finds himself standing against his ex-boss, who would go to any extent to make his own team win. Who will win in the end?

What’s hot?

·         A feel-good ‘David Versus Goliath’ story.

·         Well-knit plot with relatable characters and events.

·         Spectacular choreography. The multi-crore budget and 3-D technology, both have been well-utilized. The rain-dance and the climax dance sequences are rousing.

·         Catchy music perfectly complements the dances.

·         Prabhu Deva is brilliant in his low-key role as a dedicated dance-teacher who teaches his students to ‘express’ rather in ‘impress’. Kay Kay once again proves that he is one of the most talented actors around and delivers a nuanced villainous performance. Ganesh Acharya’s portrayal as a kind-hearted friend is likeable.

·         The newcomers (most of them top performers from past dance-reality shows!) fit in perfectly.

What’s not?

·         Cliché d story-line and characterization.

·         For those who don’t enjoy dance sequences much, the film is a non-stop barrage of dances. (But then, that’s what the film is made for. Isn’t it clear from the title itself?)

Verdict

ABCD’s high-octane, highly skilled dances may not really prove that ‘Anybody can dance’ but it certainly manages to show the brighter side of the often-reviled dancing reality programs. It shows how such TV programs are serving as important platforms for so many talented but underprivileged young dancers to attain nation-wide fame and better future.

While observing him  as the dancing show’s celebrity judge on the small screen, it is easy to see Remo’s own real-life simplicity, sincerity and love for dance. The same qualities shine through as he assuredly handles this simplistic tale-cum-dancing spectacle. In the movie, the dancing show is titled ‘Dance Dil Se’ and that’s what Remo has managed to do. He has made a winsome dancing film with a lot of heart!

As for my reaction- I found myself totally sucked into the film’s flow and couldn’t help applauding as the underdogs gave it their all to overcome the heavily stacked odds!