Madhuri Dixit smiles. She winks. She scintillates. And of course, she dances. Many years ago, a certain film called 'Hum Aapke Hain Kaun' made a billion rupees on her steam. Aaja Nachle may not make that amount of money but Madhuri Dixit still has all that steam.
Aaja Nachle is a very entertaining film. It has a predictable but sufficiently engaging storyline. Diya Shrivastava (Madhuri Dixit) comes from New York to a small Indian town where she grew up. Her mission in hand is to save the theater, where she learned to dance and perform, from being pulled down to construct a shopping mall. Does she and how? That is Aaja Nachle.
What really makes the film work are the character artists. They are all hand-picked good actors. Their roles have been thought over and come out very well on screen. Raghuvir Yadav, Ranvir Sheorey, Vinay Pathak and Divya Dutta shine. Konkona Sen is a great actress and lives up to her reputation. Kunal Kapoor does OK.
Aaja Nachle is a musical the way Indians understand that genre and enjoy it. The film is unabashedly musical. The song lyrics are conversational and the choreography is of all sorts - street celebration, costume extravaganzas, sensual movements and vintage Madhuri Dixit moves. The dance-drama in the climax is very well done.
This is Anil Mehta's directorial debut. He has worked earlier to make Madhuri Dixit look great on screen as an ace cameraman. This time around he has given her a worthy comeback vehicle. Jaideep Sahni has written the screenplay. This seems to be his year. Another good job done after 'Chak De India'.
Aaja Nachle is a film of limited ambition but goes on to meet it. It is a nice weekend treat. Watch it.
P.S : I watched Aaja Nachle at a multiplex near my home today, the first day of its release. Madhuri Dixit appeared in all her glory for the song 'Nachle'. She moved like a divine charm. But guess what - not a single whistle ! I sometimes miss the 'cinema halls'. I missed more not having learned to whistle.
Aaja Nachle is a very entertaining film. It has a predictable but sufficiently engaging storyline. Diya Shrivastava (Madhuri Dixit) comes from New York to a small Indian town where she grew up. Her mission in hand is to save the theater, where she learned to dance and perform, from being pulled down to construct a shopping mall. Does she and how? That is Aaja Nachle.
What really makes the film work are the character artists. They are all hand-picked good actors. Their roles have been thought over and come out very well on screen. Raghuvir Yadav, Ranvir Sheorey, Vinay Pathak and Divya Dutta shine. Konkona Sen is a great actress and lives up to her reputation. Kunal Kapoor does OK.
Aaja Nachle is a musical the way Indians understand that genre and enjoy it. The film is unabashedly musical. The song lyrics are conversational and the choreography is of all sorts - street celebration, costume extravaganzas, sensual movements and vintage Madhuri Dixit moves. The dance-drama in the climax is very well done.
This is Anil Mehta's directorial debut. He has worked earlier to make Madhuri Dixit look great on screen as an ace cameraman. This time around he has given her a worthy comeback vehicle. Jaideep Sahni has written the screenplay. This seems to be his year. Another good job done after 'Chak De India'.
Aaja Nachle is a film of limited ambition but goes on to meet it. It is a nice weekend treat. Watch it.
P.S : I watched Aaja Nachle at a multiplex near my home today, the first day of its release. Madhuri Dixit appeared in all her glory for the song 'Nachle'. She moved like a divine charm. But guess what - not a single whistle ! I sometimes miss the 'cinema halls'. I missed more not having learned to whistle.