Chance Pe Dance [Hindi] Movie Review

No Chance!

Just as we imagined that we’ve had enough of Hollywood movies on hip hop and street dance with Step Up, its sequel, Honey, and the likes, UTV films brings us yet another one, and if that weren’t bad enough, it is intermingled with typical bolly drama, crappy sound tracks, tacky lyrics, and hopelessly punctured comedy.

Just as the promos spell out, Sameer (Shahid Kapoor) is just one of those thousands struggling to make it to fame in this oh-so-evil city. Naive and as inexperienced as you might imagine a small town guy to be (some might perceive him as slightly foolish), he gets carried away by wave after wave of bitterly cruel directors and producers. It simply breaks your heart.

And there, is Genelia, bubbly and easy to look at (as opposed to the beef on Shahid’s shoulders that is sometimes visually tiring), as Tina, the doting and supporting girl friend. And the theatrical trailer makes it look like she’s has plenty of dances too, when in fact; she has all of 3 minutes to move.

There are obvious glimpses of Jack Black’s School of Rock, with Shahid teaching children to dance, and gallantly bringing out the best in each one. The plot is clichéd, and easily predictable even before the intermission. Everybody keeps pulling him down, and shutting their doors on his (slightly feminine) face; and he is so poor, living out of a car, and a huge life-changing talent hunt makes him forget his dialogues and break out in an impromptu tribute to his mother. Aw. No prizes for guessing who wins the talent hunt. If you’re expecting a twist in the tale here, you’re evidently far more creatively inclined than the makers of the movie. Its attempt at the victory-of-the-honest-and-hardworking, and triumph-and-chutzpah, is quite blah.

Overall, even the scenes of touching drama, and the teary goodbyes seem very pretentious, because we all know who is going to win the talent hunt (even though our dear winner turns up after the final auditions are over and done with). The story being so focused on him and his life, they didn’t even care to show any of the other contestants dancing. This just adds up to an all the more banal ending. Probably the biggest surprise in the movie is that the junior artistes dancing in the back know each one of their moves perfectly, and what’s more, they’re just as good at it as he is.

In the likelihood of you craving another dance movie, watch Chance Pe Dance, by all means. The choreography is excellent, and Shahid Kapoor is undoubtedly a great dancer. But the continuous repetitive techno-hip hop tracks and watching those jerky movements begins to eventually grate on your nerves and ultimately the cons weigh more than the pros. One might come to the conclusion that such a dance movie would suitably highlight Shahid’s talent, but surely we could all do with a plot that is just a wee bit more intellectually stimulating. Chance Pe Dance displays some crude insensitivity towards those of us in the audience who are simply dying of boredom, and craving a slightly memorable story line.

So, indeed it is a game of chance. One door closes and another opens. With luck it will be the one marked EXIT.

-Movie Review By Dipika Nadkarni in Mumbai.

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• Chance Pe Dance Movie Stills