AADALAM BOYS CHINNATHA DANCE MOVIE REVIEW

“The Gods have meant that I should dance, and by the Gods, I will”- these words of Ruth St. Denis, precisely is the story of Vishnu (Prabhu Deva), the lead character of Aadalam Boys Chinnada Dance too. One man dances to attract, and the other one dances to express. Who wins is the plot of ABCD, directed by choreographer-turned-director, Remo D’Souza. This film, supposedly the first 3D dance film in India, has been produced by UTV Motion Pictures.

The film stars Prabhu Deva and Kay Kay Menon in the lead roles and the director has also done well to rope in a few extraordinary dancers from across the country in other important roles. And it does pay off.

Though the film has the usual ‘Step Up’ template -‘rise of the underdogs’ as its story, the dance sequences are incredible and bear some jaw dropping gimmicks. Being professional dancers, the actors have no problem emoting well. Prabhu Deva and Kay Kay Menon carry smart looks and their costumes make them look elegant. It has been a long time since Prabhu Deva did a full length role. But, believe it, he hasn’t lost it yet. And there’s a reason the actor is celebrated as India’s Michael Jackson. At 39, he is still one of those unmatched dancers India has. The pace at which he moves and those extremely heavy twists and spins he does with such ease make those amazing dancers in the film look small.

Apart from flashy choreography, which ABCD doesn’t lack in, it’s essential for a dance film to be technically brilliant. That said, the cinematographer and the editor have done well to make the film look both desi and funky. Vijay Kumar Arora’s scenes in the initial Ganpathi procession scene are vibrant. The silhouettes that generally go well with dance sequences are brilliant as meant to be. Overall, his work, which includes the lighting, plays a major part in making the choreography look dashing.

The other essential is the music, which in the case of ABCD, is refreshing, though not extraordinary. Sachin Jigar’s music has enough to make anyone tap their feet.

Talking about the minuses, 3D doesn’t really find a place for itself in the film. Though, few shots look amazing in 3D, it could have been done away with, just to make the overall viewing easier. Secondly, the story is the same old underdogs becoming the favourites, easy to guess what’s going to happen next. The major drawback of having such a predictable storyline is that it doesn’t give enough for the general audience to keep them hooked on to their seat. Thirdly, the dubbing doesn’t match the characters, particularly Prabhu Deva. For a well known star in the south, the voice sounds totally out of place and appears as if somebody is prompting for a silent film.

On the whole, ABCD is a series of brilliant dance sequences complimented by a weak story. But, if you are a dance enthusiast, you wouldn’t want to miss out the two best sequences- the rain dance and the climax.