ABCD – ANY BODY CAN DANCE 2

Disney’s ABCD – Any Body Can Dance 2, as the title suggests, is a dance film. It is a sequel to ABCD – Any Body Can Dance. Suresh (Varun Dhawan) and Vernon (Sushant Pujari) have choreographed a dance which they and their dance troupe – Stunners – perform at a prestigious competition. Although their performance is excellent, the three judges (Remo D’Souza, Terrence Lewis and Seema Pandey) disqualify them after heaping insults on them for having blatantly lifted the entire choreography of a foreign dance troupe. Suresh and Vernon’s dance team has to face a lot of public humiliation because of which some dancers leave the team. But Suresh is convinced, he would leave the ugly past behind him, form a new team and aim to participate in the international Hip Hop dance competition to be held after three months in Las Vegas. Supporting him in his dream are his dancer-girlfriend, Vinnie (Shraddha Kapoor), Vernon, Raghav (Raghav Juyal) and a couple of other team mates. They don’t have a proper team, they don’t have the money but they dream of striking gold in Las Vegas.

Soon, Suresh gets lucky when he meets choreographer Vishnu (Prabhudheva) who also nurtures a dream to go to Las Vegas. Suresh and the team mates, who are still with him, try to convince Vishnu to train them for Las Vegas and it is after a lot of cajoling that Vishnu agrees. A few new dancers are inducted into the dance team and the old team mates also join in. After a lot of practice, the Stunners reach Las Vegas with Vishnu. The judges at the Hip Hop dance competition are inclined to disqualifying the Indian team for having cheated in the Indian dance competition but Vishnu pleads before the judges, asking them to give the dancers just one chance. The Stunners impress the judges and the audience so much with their dance moves that they are allowed to participate.

As the Indian Stunners win the first and second rounds, unforeseen and serious problems crop up. For one, Vinnie gets injured while rehearsing and she is advised rest. Secondly, Vishnu disappears with the money without informing the team which is now left with no money. Meanwhile, the team is asked to deposit more money to move ahead in the competition, failing which they would have to quit. Although Suresh and team find an Indian girl, Olive (Lauren Gottlieb), to step in for Vinnie, the lack of funds continues to threaten to jeopardise all their efforts.

What happens then? Is the Indian Stunners team allowed to continue in the competition and if so, how? Where did Vishnu disappear with the cash? Did he have any other agenda for coming to Las Vegas? Does the Indian Stunners dance team do India proud? Does it return home victorious?

Remo D’Souza has penned the story which is inspired by a real-life story of a dance team. It is a simple story of dance, passion, hardships, team work etc. and it mostly moves in a predictable fashion. Predictability is also the catchword for the screenplay penned by Tushar Hiranandani and Remo D’Souza but it must be added that the writers have very intelligently added all the ingredients of a masala entertainer including mythological touch, patriotic flavor, emotions, drama and melodrama, besides, of course, dance, team spirit, a bit of romance and a dash of suspense. This is one of the reasons why even the predictable screenplay engages and entertains the audience. In fact, there are hardly any dull moments in the film. The other reasons for the film being engrossing are its visual beauty, fantastic dances and some hit songs. Mayur Puri has penned dialogues which are simple but appealing.

Prabhudheva has a full-fledged role and he does a truly fine job. He is very restrained in the emotional scenes and manages to touch the hearts of the viewers. Of course, his dancing is to die for! Varun Dhawan dances very energetically and acts with effortless ease, essaying the character of Suresh with elan. Shraddha Kapoor is cute and endearing and her dances are absolutely graceful and mesmerising. Lauren Gottlieb dances like a million bucks and her acting is also good. Dharmesh Yelande is pretty impressive as Dharmesh alias D. Raghav Juyal is terrific as dancer Raghav; he seems to have an elastic body. Sushant Pujari leaves a mark as Vernon. Punit J. Pathak has his wonderful moments in the role of Vinod. Saajan Singh (as Saajan), Rohit Jadhav (as Rohit), Chandan Acharya (as Chandan), Praveen Solanki (as Praveen), Pravin Bhosle (as Pravin), Jack Gill (as Jack), Mohanlal Pandey (as Mohan), Nikhil Kasare (as Nikhil), Sumeet Pendam (as Sumeet) and Pavan Rao (as Pavan) lend terrific support, more as dancers than actors. Tisca Chopra is fantastic in a bit role, as Swati. Master Jeenit Rathi is very natural as Manu. Murali Sharma makes his presence felt as Suresh’s boss, Shetty. Manmeet Singh performs ably in the role of Raghav’s uncle. Remo D’Souza, Terrence Lewis, Seema Pandey and Shashank Khaitan leave their marks in the roles of judges. Pooja Batra comes as a whiff of fresh air in a special appearance. Prachi Shah Pandya is alright in the role of Suresh’s mother. Naresh Malik (as Vernon’s team leader), Sonal Bhatt and Mohit Abrol (both as masters of ceremonies), Partha Akerkar (as the man who orders pizza at home), master Kavin Bagaria (as little Suresh), Ganesh Acharya (as Vishnu’s friend, Gopi), Gary Tantony (as the doctor in Las Vegas), Will Roberts (as the organiser of the World Starz Hip Hop Challenge), Robert ‘Bob’ Amulo (as the master of ceremonies in Las Vegas) and the others lend the required support.

Remo D’Souza’s direction is lovely. He adopts a narrative style which keeps the audience engaged throughout. Credit is due to him also for making the film a visual treat for the viewers. Sachin-Jigar’s music is excellent. The ‘Bezubaan’ and ‘Saathiya’ songs are hit numbers whereas the other songs are also very appealing. Mayur Puri’s lyrics are meaningful. Choreography by Remo D’Souza and his entire team is outstanding. The song picturisations are veritably delightful. Sachin-Jigar’s background music could’ve been better. Vijay Kumar Arora deserves distinction marks for his cinematography which is of international standard. He makes the film look just too grand and beautiful. Parichit Paralkar’s sets and production designing are remarkably outstanding, making the film a big-canvas fare. Manan Sagar’s editing is sharp. Visual effects and 3D effects are lovely.

On the whole, ABCD – Any Body Can Dance 2 is a surefire hit. It has hit music, great choreography, brilliant sets, outstanding camerawork and superb masala for everyone. It will easily join the 100-crore club. Its opening day and opening weekend’s collections may be the best of this year so far.