Bollywood World

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 19th June, 2015
Time : 154 minutes
Director, Writer : Remo D�Souza; Music : Sachin-Jigar
Starring : Varun Dhawan, Shraddha Kapoor, Lauren Gottlieb, Prabhu Deva, Dharmesh Yelande, Sushant Pujari



Disclaimer : I haven�t seen ABCD � the first film

Some great dance sequences. Some ordinary ones. An over-stretched movie and plot, replete with storm-in-the-teacup kinda conflicts and emotional, melodramatic moments that fail to move you at all



Our heroes from the first one are caught up in a scandal as they copy an international act, move for move, in a local competition. Rapidly becoming the nations biggest punching bag, they seek redemption by going for an international hip-hop dance competition, with the auditions in Bangalore and the finale in Vegas� Along the way, merely after watching him dance once, they decide they must have Prabhu Deva as their choreographer



Varun and Lauren, among the main leads, are excellent on the dance floor. Shraddha is good but not in the same league. Dharmesh Yelande is good too but the one who really catches the eye through his dance moves is a deaf-mute character (though not during a forgettable emotional side-track he is burdened with).




Dance films � Indian or international � suffer from being predictable. This one is no different. The story tries to add a layer of redemption, of national pride (ho-hum, what�s new?) but pays only lip service to either storyline. The whole drama around Prabhu Deva�s back story turns out to be quite laughable. The songs are quite ordinary � nothing to really stick. The choreography, sets are super, though, as are some of the touches of humour. They could�ve dialed down on the melodrama and probably could�ve wrapped up the movie in half hour less, and done away with one or two �twists� of the literal and non-literal kind�

Rating : 6/10
Release Date : 5th December, 2014
Time : 144 minutes
Director, Writer : Prabhu Deva; Co-Writer: Shiraz Ahmed; Music : Himesh Reshammiya
Starring : Ajay Devgn, Sonakshi Sinha, Manasvi Mamgai, Yami Gautam, Kunaal Roy Kapur, Anand Raj, Ketan Karande, Puru Raaj Kumar



Much to my surprise, and despite its senseless story, over-burdened script, I enjoyed this one. Its one of the rare Hindi film�s where the second half is actually better than the first (quite ordinary, standard tapori stuff with the romance thrown in). The film suddenly shifts gears in the second, almost as if, directed and styled by a different director, becoming a homage to Kill Bill / Shoot �Em Up � way over the top but then reveling in it being so. And no one relished their roles more than Ajay Devgn and Manasvi Mamgai (Ooh, La La !), who both stood out with their performances, physiques�



The story, if one can call it that, is all over the place. The first half is about a small-time Mumbai villain, Ajay Devgn, with his side-kick, Kunaal, earning their money by bashing up people. There is also a long romance with Sonakshi, with her trying to reform him. And then, suddenly, in the second half, the film becomes a story of an international crime-lord, Anand Raj, his lustful, psychotic sister, Manasvi and our ball-busting, ass-kicking hero, Ajay Devgn, in his Action Jackson avatar, protecting Yami Gautam from them.



There are plenty of silly moments, cheap laughs � none more so than the motorcycle ride in the beginning with pani puri playing a key role or even Sonakshi�s belief that her luck will change if she see�s Ajay naked. Almost inevitably, this is mixed up with moments of cringe-worthy sentimentality � the school admission / the neighbour�s glowing recommendation � as our hero has to have a heart of gold. The second half, despite again having distracting songs which slow down the pace and some moments of redundant comedy, works better simply because its better styled, slicker and has stuff which you haven�t seen before in Hindi films � the action sequences go a bit beyond just people flying in different directions / slow mo shots of bones breaking. And Manasvi, till her role makes her half-crazed, is simply wow ! (Did I mention that before ?).



Prabhu Deva�s mind popping moves with the end credits are not to be missed. And its important in an over the top film that the actors perform their roles with a knowing smirk, helping the audience realize not to take them too seriously. Which Ajay pulls off with elan.