ABCD 2 review: This is a blast for great dance lovers

There are dollops of jingoism, emotional manipulation and unintentional hilarity in ABCD 2. For those who enjoy great dancing, the film will be a blast.

ABCD 2
Director:

HT Image

Remo D’Souza

Cast:

Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Prabhudheva

Rating:

3/5

It was only a matter of time before Bollywood replicated the Step Up series. So, in 2013, Remo D’Souza directed Any Body Can Dance.

ABCD 2

is the sequel, but this time with a much bigger budget, bigger mainstream stars, swankier locales and even-more-pumped-up dance-offs.

While the plot is flimsy and clearly just an excuse for the series of eye-popping dance routines, for the most part, the film works — mainly because the songs are good, and the choreography terrific. Suresh (Dhawan) and Vinnie (Kapoor) are part of Mumbai Stunners, a dance troupe from Nallasopara whose dream of making it big is shattered after a plagiarism controversy.

Their only hope of redemption is to head to Las Vegas and win a gigantic international dance competition, with the aid of their new guru, Vishnu (Prabhudheva). For those who enjoy great dancing, the film will be a blast. Almost every character is introduced with an incredible dance routine; even some conflicts are resolved through dance-offs.

There are dollops of jingoism, emotional manipulation and unintentional hilarity. Another drawback is that the smaller characters, who are professional dancers, move so well they make the stars, Dhawan and Kapoor, look like amateurs.

The one unavoidable problem with the film, however, is the 3D, which seems to have been tacked on at the last minute. The lack of technological finesse does a great disservice to the elaborate sets and intricate dance routines. The film ends with a quote, hilariously attributed to the director himself, which goes something like life being all about taking the next step. Hopefully for Remo that step will involve an ABCD 3 in 2D.