Cast:
Prabhu Deva,
Kay Kay,
Ganesh
Acharya,
Terence Lewis
Director: Remo d'Souza
Given
that his hoofing skills are incomparable, Prabhu Deva would have done a movie
like this sooner or later. Actually, he should have done it sooner. Because
'ABCD' is a dance movie that follows genre conventions so faithfully that there
is no novelty in it. Cocky studio owner Jehnagir ( Kay Kay ) who is convinced
attitude is everything and 'mediocrity sells'. Full-of-heart-and-talent Vishu (
Prabhu Deva), who believes everyone can dance, and the way to do it is 'dil
se'. Two bunches of warring dancers. And one winner of a big-ticket
competition.
Kay
Kay plays the gelled-hair, arrogant dude to the hilt. His co-star Prabhu Deva
has the most mobile pelvis, but is no actor. So isn't well-known choreographer
Ganesh Acharya, who has been given a sizeable speaking part alongside Prabhu
Deva. This casts a pall of drabness over 'ABCD'.
The
dancing (and the dancers) should have made up for all of this. That's what
dance movies are for. But the dancing is not spectacular. The dancers mostly
look as if they've wandered off the many TV shows that revolve around similar
themes. A few are given back stories but they are not interesting enough.
Neither is the choreography. A couple of numbers are competent, but there's
nothing heart-stopping or jaw-dropping. I saw the 3D version, which does amp up
the film a bit, but it also darkens it because of those silly glasses.
This
film had the potential, but it needed both sharper direction and dancing, to
maximize it.
