Any Body Can Dance 2

ABCD 2 is a dance sequel to the 2013's ABCD of the same genre. It stars Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor and Prabhudeva in pivotal roles. The story revolves around a group of dancers who join hands with a dance instructor in order to compete in a world hip-hop dance competition in Vegas and to regain their honour. ABCD 2 delivers on what it promises to give; dance. But that's all that's there to this film. While the first film gave a different spin to the dance genre with a proper storyline and some heart, the sequel pales in comparison. It doesn't know what it's trying to be, except that there must be dance. And this is where the film falters. Instead of trying to be a normal film with a SLIGHTLY higher number of dance sequences, it succumbs to an over-stretched 2h20m compilation of dance sequences. Since the film has a completely different plot from the first one, it immediately starts in the heat of the plot with literally no time to get to know the characters; not that there is much to know since hardly any detail is given to each of them. Hence, most of the film's flaws are due to its script and poor writing. For example, Prabhudeva's character, Vishnu, who had so much depth in the predecessor, is simply confusing in this one. It seems that neither him nor the viewers know what he's up to. And that's just the icing on the cake. The story doesn't know whether its trying to be a Disney G-rated film, or a serious drama. Its either trying to be childish, or sometimes overdoing it with serious preptalks and all throughout annoying you with several (sometimes unnecessary dance sequences.) The acting is quite "half-baked". If acting was dancing, every respective actor or dancer, passes with more than flying colors; including Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor. Dhawan, who proved to have major acting chops in his previous flick, Badlapur, tries to add a charm to a poorly-written Suresh, whose the hero in this film. While his efforts are noticed, there's still not much screenplay due to a new dance sequence sprouting after every five minutes. Shraddha Kapoor is wasted in this film as she hardly has any moments to shine except for her solo song, Sun Saathiya. Lauren Gottlieb, being a great addition to the group, only shows up in the last 45 minutes of the film. In conclusion, ABCD 2 completely messes up the great reputation its predecessor set up for the name 'ABCD.' It tries to follow the example of Hollywood's dance series 'Step Up' by taking a great dance film and following it with unnecessary and mindless sequels. ABCD 2 did have great potential, but its wasted by being extremely loud and annoying with a dance at every nook and corner. The film does practice what it preaches; everyone dances to express rather than to impress, and Any Body Can Dance... except it would have made more sense to take its predecessor's example and add a sensible story to it rather than simply showing us viewers that anybody can dance. ABCD 2- 4/10

Beginning with the downers, ABCD 2 is completely based on a routine formula with no great storyline or script as such. There is a competition lost in the beginning and there is an international contest to be won in the finale as usual resulting in a stale plot. Plus despite having a real life Mumbai dance group as its basic inspiration, the film can still be easily called a clever mix of STEP UP series of the west, the last half an hour of Farah's HAPPY NEW YEAR and the basic plot of replacing an injured co-dancer taken from Yash Chopra's DIL TOH PAGAL HAI hinting towards a love triangle. There are too many illogical cinematic liberties taken by the writers in the film like no reason given for why they copied initially, no problems in the foreign travel by the entire young troupe, the boys easily finding a perfect replacement in an unknown foreign city, a huge difference in Prabhudeva's elegant staircase and the interior of his adjacent room and the undisclosed ailment of one of its key dancer finding no mention towards the end, clearly affecting the end-product.

Plus the biggest disappointment remains its weak soundtrack that though sounds fine while watching the film in the theater, but doesn't give you anything to go for a second listening later after the show is over. Moreover, along with the uninspiring writing, okay dialogues and a sudden end, it's the over-length of the film going into more than 150 minutes that honestly reduces the overall impact on the viewers and they somehow feel 'served less than the promises made' due to the very reason.

Having said that, the film's all clichéd formula still largely works reaching its young target audience since it has one thing in abundance and that too in the purest quality form, i.e. Dance, Stage Performances and their Amazing Moves. So one witnesses a loud applause whenever the youngsters get to see their favourite ones performing on the screen and mind you this doesn't include either Varun or Shradha expectedly. In fact Remo uses his three main underdogs quite intelligently at intervals and the move really works wonders when you get to hear shouts or whistles each time Dharmesh, Punit, Raghav or Lauren (post interval) enter the scene with a quick, smart build-up grooving to some inventive steps.

As ABCD 2 (Any Body Can Dance 2) is solely based on its plot of spellbinding dance performances, the film has an outstanding choreography that is sure going to be loved by the ones who are actually into this particular dance form of Hip-Hop and doing similar stage performances as a team (with an appreciative mention of the actual inspiration behind the theme, Suresh Mukund and Vernon Monteiro in the end credits playing it rightly). So even if you are not a dancer yourself but do enjoy the act of dancing naturally, the spirited dedication and the huge effort is sure going to make you feel the excitement, tapping your foot along with the musical beats, particularly in all its well-conceived stage sequences and the patriotically charged climax.

The film has a remarkable production value, eye catching set- designs, fabulous lighting and superb cinematography (watch out for the love songs) generating a stunning visual end-result, especially in the spectacular opening sequence, a Chaplin inspired performance in the mid and then the charged up finale devoted to Lord Ganesha (along with a tour of the neon-lights lit Las Vegas as an added attraction). Besides this time for a change the 3D technology really becomes a major plus giving you something to cheer for and not just added for the sake of it as usual.

Coming to the performances, this is one of those rare films that is collectively supported by the entire team and not just dependent upon a single person alone due to his or her star-status. Both Varun and Shraddha perform earnestly, displaying a great amount of homework done for their demanding roles and they do impress a lot particularly Varun Dhawan. Here I would specifically like to applaud the two bigger stars for not throwing any tantrums and letting every single person in the film perform freely (taking the center stage) without any ego issues. An example that truly puts these two new generation actors much ahead than their seniors who were known to cut their opponent's role in a film using their star-influence in the industry.

But having praised Varun-Shradha for their generous professional approach, the real heroes of the film still undoubtedly remain the famous performers of the dance reality show, namely Dharmesh, Punit, Raghav, Sushant and the gorgeous Lauren Gottlieb also doing well in the acting department. Prabhudeva continuing from the first part as Vishnu Sir surprises you with a well handled emotional act besides his repetitive yet (always) impressive dance moves. Also the cameos of Tisca Chopra, Kapil Sharma, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Pooja Batra and Ganesh Acharya do contribute a bit in their given scenes.

To give the entire team their deserving respect, a film like ABCD 2 is certainly not an easy one to make conceiving a differently engaging dance act for every individual artist, for every major event in the script progression, for all its love-songs and the pumped up finale involving hundreds of artists performing together in the same frame on the lavishly designed bright sets.

However if only Remo could have stressed more on the storytelling part, reducing the overall duration of the film giving less emphasis to its full length love songs having a better edit, ABCD 2 would have reached a much wider audience offering a non-stop music and dance festival moving ahead than its original hit.

Clearly if some people blame Mad Max for having so less dialogues, they must see ABCD 2. I can easily count the dialogues in the movie, on my fingers, of one hand.

Lets start with the plus point, the choreography and the music for those competitions was really new, refreshing and adequate for a movie based on dance. But remember, it is still a MOVIE based on dance, so there must be some story in it, here it wasn't.

About the dance numbers also, they are very long, you don't have to show it all, if you have choreographed it, where are the editors? This movie also displayed the cliché of the previous one when they show you the glimpse of performance of other groups and when THE group come on the stage, the group on which the movie is based, they present a very long performance with everything in it. In the end they will put sentiments for the movie goers by presenting something Indian in every performance.

So, yeay! to all the dance but noooo! to everything else. Wanna see dance with a few dialogues stuffed in between, go see it.

The sequel to the 2013 film ABCD: Any Body Can Dance, 'ABCD 2' is A Decent Dance Flick, that has some awe-inspiring dance numbers & lighthearted moments working on its advantage. Remo D'Souza offers a visual delight, however, the story is entirely predictable & is also a bit too long.

'ABCD 2' Synopsis: After being ridiculed for copying a dance performance in India, a group of underdogs, with the help of a mentor, pursue to compete in a World Dance Champion in Las Vegas.

'ABCD 2' is the regular rags to riches story, about underdogs in search for redemption. Remo, who's mastered dance with his successful career as a choreographer, impressively directs this energetic dance fare, with some of its dance numbers leaving a striking impact. I'd like to single out 2 dance numbers, 1 being the Charlie Chaplin tribute & the other being in its climax. The choreography & the execution by the dancers, both, are marvellously done! Remo definitely deserves credit for churning out a dance flick, that isn't lazy or unimpressive. The hard work shows & how! A Special Mention for Sachin-Jigar's foot-tapping soundtrack!

But, 'ABCD 2', as a film, is predictable to the core. 20-Minutes in & you know exactly what's gonna follow next. Tushar Hiranandani's Screenplay is clichéd. However, the light moments are nicely placed in the narrative, which are definitely good to watch. Mayur Puri's Dialogue range from ordinary to average. Also, the film is a bit too long. At a 146-minutes, 'ABCD 2' overstays its welcome by at least 25-minutes. Some Trimming was most definitely needed!

Performance-Wise: Prabhu Deva shines. As the mentor, the dancing legend grooves with impeccable grace & his performance too, is credible. Varun Dhawan oozes energy in the dance numbers & has performed well. Shraddha Kapoor is okay. She doesn't really suit the part, as her dancing chops lack quality. Among others, Raghav Juyal & Dharmesh Yelande leave a mark.

On the whole, 'ABCD 2' has its share of pluses & minuses. Dance Lovers should have fun!

I watched the movie first day, first show and according to me it was not worth it. It was all over ABCD(2013) again except it had a better cast to attract more viewers this time. For a matter of fact, I like dance and respect every form of art so there is nothing like personal bias. I think the plot wasn't strong enough to keep the audience enthralled. There were many dance performances (some you may find meaningless) but the last one is surely gonna steal your heart but there is no storyline and one may feel that the movie is getting boring at times. Though there are no distractions such as a side love story or anything like that but we can't figure out what the movie is trying to convey. I would suggest people to go out some place other, rather than wasting their time and money on the movie. In anticipation of better dance movies in future.