Ben Franklin
If you love dance you will love this film. If you don't like dance then the chances are you're unlikely to pick a movie called 'Any Body Can Dance'.Lots of dance movies such as Flashdance and Dirty Dancing are, to a greater or lesser degree, feelgood films, and this is no exception.The story is pretty typical. I won't go into any detail here as I don't want to spoil it for those who have not seen the film yet. However, by typical I do not mean it is bad in any way. It definitely isn't. By typical I pretty much mean it is the kind of story I want from this kind of movie. It is a formula that works, and the way the story unfolds in this movie is both satisfying and entertaining.There is some great cinematography ranging from the way some of the dance scenes are shot through to great skyline shots and just a general attention to detail when it comes to camera angles and visuals that work well.I felt the acting was excellent and everyone played their parts superbly.But for me, the highlight of the movie was the dancing - and that is how it should be. It was vibrant, exciting, colorful, sexy, and superbly choreographed. If there's one thing a Bollywood film should be able to do well it is a large scale dance scene, and ABCD certainly doesn't disappoint in any way.All in all a great movie that will prove a hit with anyone who loves a feelgood movie filled with dancing. It scores a well deserved 8/10 on both counts.
Roland E. Zwick
Even with all the considerable resources of color and choreography that Bollywood customarily brings to bear on its productions, "ABCD: Any Body Can Dance" has no more depth, maturity or sophistication than its American dance- film counterparts like "Step Up" and its sequel "Step Up 2: The Streets." And it's a lot more cloying and lengthy to boot. Prabhu Deva stars as a mopey dance instructor - who can be a bit of a drama queen when things don't go his way - who takes on the task of whipping a group of high-spirited but decidedly undisciplined youngsters from the "ghetto" (which looks only a shade less affluent than Beverly Hills) into a presentable troupe in time to compete on an amateur TV dance program. It's all pretty much paint-by-numbers as Vishnu (Deva) takes his charges through their various stages of readiness, with teeth-rotting cutesiness and thumb-sucking childishness the order of the day. The dancing's okay, I guess, but, I seriously think it's time for Bollywood to grow up a little and stop pandering to this apparent need on the part of its audience for emotional primitivism all the time. As one character, in a rare moment of honest self-reflection, says about the entertainment industry in India, "Mediocrity is king." Truer words were never spoken.
Vijesh K
Once I watched the film the only feeling that came over me was "Pride". I was proud that India could make a music and dance oriented film without messing up the entertainment and logic factor of the audiences. Although it is not a "Dirty Dancing" or a "Singing in the Rain" however what it manages is to keep the viewer interested with a good plot, superb dancing and good music. There could have been no one other than Prabhu Deva who could have played the role of "Vishnu" with so much conviction. Kay Kay Menon was great as usual - Give this man anything and he can do it. For that matter Kay Kay is in a different league as an actor along with others like Manoj Baypayee, Nana Patekar, etc. It is so good to see that all the others in the star cast managed to put up such great performances despite being new to the big stage of the Bollywood. It is surprising that some of them even managed to act better than our seasoned plastic faced Bollywood actors. Only if we Indians would give more value to acting skills rather than good looks then these youngsters would have a great career ahead of them. I firmly believe that good acting belongs to the theaters and films and good looks belong to the modeling world.Overall a good film and should be watched for the sake of all the great artists who put up a good performance in the film along with the film crew and the director.
Michael
Well, as the summary above says. I find it very hard to express what I feel after watching this movie. However, since I'm writing a review, here are a few words.Dancing: 10/10 This movie offers the variety and the quality. I could hardly point any repetitions, and that's says it all in a movie with so much great moves!Story: *can't grade a taste* Well, with that being said, I personally, really loved the story. It's not too original, but certainly shown in an interesting way. Moreover, I watched the whole movie "in one breath" (and it's about 2.5 hours long).Characters: 8/10 I can't presume to know about the country and/or it's people, certainly not on a level to judge the originality or reality of the characters. Something I can say however is, Everyone will find someone to connect to. *lost 2 points simplicity for some semi-main characters.*Total: *check whats in the summary (the title of the review)* As noted above, can't express with words. That in itself says something. Feelings. Isn't that what a good dancing movie is all about? If you love dancing.. And not afraid to feel - Give this movie a chance. You won't be disappointed.Have fun!
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