ABCD2 (short for Any Body Can Dance) is a sequel to the 2013 film that definitely raises the bar from its first part. It gives you dancing delight Varun as its protagonist. And it takes you on a neon-light kissed tour of Las Vegas, the venue for an international hip hop competition. Both Varun and Vegas are easy on the eye as is the film's heroine Shraddha. However, this true-blue 3D dance film that serves us energy and verve while hip-hopping, dishes out a stale plot. The patriotic fervour in the climax brings a lump to the throat. If only the film had been 15 minutes shorter, the 'Jai Ho' would've resonated more!
The much awaited sequel to the 2013 release ABCD, directed by choreographer/director Remo D’Souza hit the theatres today. The movie is dance centric, however fails to impress the audience because of its extremely platitudinous plot. It’s as if Remo didn’t want to waste time on the script and designed the plot in a jiffy just for the heck of it. The dance is vapid as compared to the first installment but somehow settles down. First half of the movie is slow paced however since the content is too much, it’s cluttered towards the end making the movie chaotic. Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor give their best shot at dance but for the core dancers like Lauren, Dharmesh, Raghav, Puneet there’s not much that they’d to offer. The movie was like a magic show in which the magician presented tricks of the 18th century in 21st century. If you’re not a dance lover, it’s a strict no no.
ABCD 2 is, without doubt, about mesmerising dance sequences and its equally impressive dancers. Trouble is, it's reduced to a joke every time the music stops and the characters are made to talk. The dialogues are poorly written and the plot is so thin that you want to tear it apart and beg Remo to stick just to the dance sequences! The ending of the film is a refreshing break from over-optimistic, typical Bollywood climax. There is effort, passion and love for dance showcased throughout but it doesn't end in a miracle. The end looks more realistic than all the forced melodrama of the complete movie put together. You should watch ABCD 2 irrespective of whether you are a dancer or not, because the performances more than compensate for the forced emotions, poorly-written dialogues and the badly-woven storyline.
A film titled ABCD 2 - Any Body Can Dance 2 - has but the dance as the fulcrum of it all. In this semi-fictionalised tale of the Fictitious Dance Group's journey, dance is what takes the cake. And there's much patriotism, too. In a nutshell, one's review after watching ABCD 2 can just be that it is an enjoyable film. Yes, there are those inescapable parts where the film loses the viewer, but more on that later. All good points of the film aside, ABCD 2 loses steam in its second half. The film seems too long to bear with the 3D glasses cutting into your nose-bridge, and post interval, you begin to get restless. The numerous levels of the competition, again, could have been shortened. But then, the dance is so amazing and so baroque in ABCD 2 that you can't take your eyes off the screen. It is one of those rare films where you need to pacify your Attention-Deficit-Disorder-ed self because you don't want to leave the theatre without seeing the end credits roll. In all, this week's big release is a lovely watch, and will leave you by saying, 'Naach Meri Jaan!'
Song and dance is, needless to say, a Bollywood staple, but pure dance films are rare. Rarer still is a 3D dance film. But whatever novelty ABCD 2 delivers is only skin deep. All through this two-and-a-half-hour sequel to the 2013 3D hit, ABCD - Any Body Can Dance, the dance steps are dazzlingly dramatic. But that is the very least you would expect from a film helmed by a choreographer and featuring Prabhu Deva in a pivotal role. Sadly, the drama that the screenplay whips up is strictly for dunces. Varun Dhawan is no mug at this game and the only non-dancer in the principal cast is Shraddha Kapoor, but she too melds perfectly into this cheerfully breathless world where everybody is a master twirler. Despite its rather lame storyline, ABCD 2 does not scrimp one bit on melodrama. It throws the whole kitchen sink into the attempt to generate fervour for the fluttering flag. That pretty much is the story of ABCD 2: it shows us a great deal, but tells us little. For dance freaks, there is much on offer. For lovers of cinema, ABCD 2 is a hazy blur of a movie.
A dance movie needs to electrify. That’s missing in this Shraddha Kapoor, Varun Dhawan starrer. There are two dancers in here who are amazing. But the rest of them, and their sequences, turn into the seen-this-so-what’s-new glaze. And when the film stops to look around for a story, which it does much too frequently in its two- and-a-half-hour run time, it turns banal and listless. A group of underdog hip-hop dancers, reviled for copying, want to resurrect their name. In the movie’s beginning is its end. The only way a film like this can beat predictability is to deliver as many surprises as it can. But the writing department is the weakest : clichés abound as the characters whirl about frantically in an attempt to shed cardboard. All the I-love-my-India drippiness overwhelms the choreography. And why is it so long? It just goes on and on.
A movie brimming with passion for an art form—Dance—has undoubtedly reached a notch higher than its prequel and has come out dazzlingly. Directed by ace choreographer-turned-filmmaker Remo D' Souza, 'ABCD 2' is indeed a treat for all dance lovers and more importantly for those who are glowing with passion about anything in life. Realistic, yet an adrenaline rush, the movie is pregnant with the fire fanning uncherished dreams of many who are talented yet unrecognised. While the script takes a dip towards the end of the first hour, it gifts a twist unexpectedly and keeps the audiences glued to the big screen. Filled with glitter and action, the dance sequences are stupendous and hugely worked upon, in comparison to the prequel. You may be in for a surprise if you thought that 'ABCD 2' would be totally as you predict. Roaring towards the end, the movie is absolutely realistic which is a great plus and you need to watch the film to know it all. Don't let your weekend be monotonous, grab a ticket – it's worth it.