Aaja Nachle

This movie was absolutely terrific from every angle. I watched 2 times in one day which is something I rarely do, not to mention I've got a life to live. But this movie was truly fascinating. Starting from the "O Re Piya" song, I felt alive and enthusiast. Madhuri is at her best in this movie, her dancing and acting are simply amazing which proves that she had nothing to worry about in regards to the comeback. The "Lila Majnu" musical was captivating, my emotions fluctuated, I cried and laughed all the way through the scene, such a master piece I must add. The couple, Imran and Anokhi, was great; their acting was as good as it should be, you can easily get attached to them and understand what they are going through. To all who have criticized the movie, I must say, you just didn't understand its creativity – give your mind a chance to let loose. I advice all to watch it and I'm looking forward to what Madhuri has in stored for us – the fans!

A Yash Raj film scripted by Jaideep Sahni of Khosla Ka Ghosla, Bunty Aur babli and Chak DE fame, that was set to have the diva dance back into our hearts – in other words a must see film? I went with great expectations that were never met and was left with a sense of sadness for what Madhuri's comeback could have been but was not. This is the story of Ajanta, a dance/drama school with a supposedly revered teacher (?), a guy I do not know in a wandering dervish type avatar. He gathers young girls and trains them in the dancing parampara that must not die. What parampara you ask? Well – this parampara seems to be a cross between the dancing style of J Lo and Madhuri in Dil To Pagal Hai, a parampara that is very much alive and has nothing to do with our culture at all! The young Diya (Madz) runs off with a white photographer for National Geographia (sic!) and is disowned. She turns into an aerobics instructor as far as I can tell! Then the dervish dies and the small town has to be taught that parampara and Ajanta are more important than a mall on that site. And we all flock to the multiplex at the biggest mall to see this travesty! The older Diya has to return, lock horns with the Raja turned MLA (a totally wasted Akshaye Khanna), many goons (led by a bemused Kunal Kapoor), her old flame (Ranvir Shorey), her old friend (Divya Dutta) now married to her arch nemesis (a non-acting Irrfan Khan), and has to find a suitable Laila (an overacting Konkona Sen) for staging Laila Majnu Ki Daastaan on the stage of Ajanta.

What works in this film is so meager – Madhuri has a flat role with no nuances, and the bravura kathak dancer is made to tap dance! I do not think a worse role could have been written for this actress who left her mark on the 90s and then shot back to notice as Chandramukhi in Devdas. But to her credit, she is the one who manages to make the film somewhat engaging. The music is decent in parts but better outside the film. Ranvir Shorey does a good job as the jilted lover, and Divya Dutta plays her role well.

What does not work is so much – it kept me checking my watch so I could get a coffee in the intermission, and then wait for this film to end. Konkona, Irrfan, Akshaye have terrible roles with no depth whatsoever, and then do not do anything with what they do get to work with. Raghubir Yadav is okay but the guru belongs in a school for madaris! The sets are so fake and film city. The final play staged is too opulent and filmy for a small town. Do we really need to see Laila in a diaphanous white gown sleeping on a round bed shown from above? What this film needed was (a) a decent script, this was completely lacking – what a disappointing effort by Mr. Sahni (b) a decent director – this one had no clue (c) a realistic setting like that of Bunty aur Babli to make it all seem a bit real (d) someone at YRF to get a clue about what culture really means – it is not about BW dancing or tap dancing or aerobics/bollyrobics, how about some real culture for a change? But no worries – YRF will soon have to get a clue or sink; except CDI they have produced nothing but tripe in recent memory. I hope Adi Chopra wakes up before he throws away the legacy of the pere.

But the final word has to be about Madz – she still has IT, the smile, the style, the looks, the acting/dancing ability – hope she make better choices in the future.

I wanted to see this film and finally saw it in 2022 after 15 years. Well I am glad I saw it while I was alive, cause it was big back in the day. She made an excellent comeback after 90's and some early 2000 hits. I miss the 2000 s and some moments and films from 2010s, cause the way forward for Indian movies and life around the world just looks too... Untalented.

Okay, now the eagerly anticipated Madhuri Dixit musical is finally out, I too would like to say a few things about this film. Not that I hated the film completely, but some parts of it really got me into pondering – why don't they just let us give a break and give something really sensible, something you would want to talk about for the next eight months. Not like okay you watch this film, enjoy, come out of the theatre and completely forget about it. Yashraj films who was bragging early this year about "2007-the year to be" has left some silly movies down the lane and their latest installment "Aaja Nachle" happens to follow the great legacy of Dhoom2, Tara Rum Pum, Jhoom Barabar.. and Laaga Chunari Mein… Indeed, the theory of quality being inversely proportional to quantity greatly applies here. Aaja Nachle, is, sadly a disappointment. But you have Madhuri making a comeback after so many years, a "perfect" production house that thinks it'll never get it wrong, a fine craftsman like Anil Mehta – wait, I must tell you he's got the cameraman Mohanan to shoot the scenes beautifully, but himself as a director – a big no no.

Aaja Nachle is simply a bunch of faults and flaws. Starting right from the first sequence, we get into thinking "Why don't they leave the Americans alone?" It seems Yashraj does not need actors but American extras and even at rarest occasions when you don't need them, they'll always have space to squeeze in a few. Then the music teacher gets some horrendous costumes to wear, records his farewell video (God, tell them 2007 minus 11 is 1996 and technology, fashion and everything else was already far more advanced then than shown!) and passes out. Then Dia gets into this quest to get the city together, and does some old school jhataks. (Okay, those expensive sets can be considered as "cinematic liberty" to quote critic Taran Adarsh but someone please tell me when did she get the theatre renovated and get all extra dancers when no one in the town was willing to cooperate?) Anything that's good is of course cinematography, sets and costumes. (Remember the good qualities of Om Shanti Om were almost exactly the same things.) Konkana and Kunal Kapoor doing some nice job there but the one to steal the show is of course the supporting cast. (What did you think I'd say Madhuri Dixit? No!) Madhuri's come back does not impress me. Sincerely, she's still the same old Madhuri and lot of water has flown since she left. Our tastes have changed and we are used to watching other actresses doing far more natural acting than she does in the movie. Irfan Khan is invisible in his short role. Akshaye Khanna's character does not convince me. I love the supporting cast which always happens to be the strongest factor in a Jaideep Sahani screenplay – be it Khosla ka Ghosla or Chak De India. I'd really look forward to Jaideep Sahni writing another supporting cast-driven movie than Anil Mehta be allowed to direct again. Music is so-so. The only songs to have impress me are "Show me your Jalwa" and "Dance with me." Technically, there are several plot holes and consistencies but you'd bypass a lot of them considering it be mere "cinematic liberty," but no former superstar can save your show when your screenplay is leaking and got holes all over it. The scene where Nazma confesses to Dia could have been far better and thrilling if Divya Dutta would have been written to enter the scene with a bang. The conclusion is predictable but Jaideep has forgotten to close some plots he opened. What happened to the other lady who was replaced by Nazma? What about the deal between Chaudury sahib and Irfan Khan's character? And why does not Dia teach her daughter to speak Hindi when she is so much in love with her cultures and traditions? Some bad screen writing done there but the rest of the movie makes up for those blunders.

This movie would not get repeat audiences. At least I'm not going to watch it again. Not even in DVD. It does not get high scores from me. Well 6/10 should do fine. That's all I'd accommodate for a good visual treat.

When I first saw the promos, I thought it will be a desperate attempt of a veteran (Madhuri Dixit) to make it back. But, I just wanted to see if Madhuri Dixit has lost the grace and charm after the break. And I am really glad to say that she's still easily the best of actresses Indian Film has seen.

The plot is not new (Swades, Lagan and so on have the same type of plot), but the way story was told was really good. There were times when they dragged the scenes a bit long. But only to emphasize on different emotions.

In the End, the Laila-Majnu play was just amazing. The sets and the costumes were really good. We have to give credit to that. Although the music was not so great but was good enough to keep the audience in theatre. Kon Kona Sen Sharma was amazing. If you have to take names, then the list would not end. Everyone did their best for a movie that dared to showcase art. Two thumbs up!

BOTTOM LINE: Its a bold attempt to show the art as it should be and not attempting to appeal to the new generation. That is the best thing I loved in this movie.