Sketchy is the word that describes 'Aaja Nachle' as the film has no depth at all and becomes just another half-baked Yashraj fairy tale. With so many talented people associated with this project, my expectations were high. 'Aaja Nachle' isn't exactly the worst film of the year and it is quite watchable and forgettable.
Seeing now that Aditya Chopra wrote the screenplay, I am not surprised at all by how the story turned out. The plot itself is nothing new. Why didn't the director focus more on Diya's passion for art and her desire to bring back the culture that she too got disconnected to? Instead it's only about how Diya will get the people to act in 'Laila Majnu' so that the theatre will be prevented from demolition.
The dialogues though are witty and sharp just don't suit the characters. For instance when Madhuri's character tells Akshaye Khanna that she never loses, one wonders about her marriage and her parents and friends disowning her. Also why is she shown to teach aerobics in America? What happened to the dance she learned in India? One of the major disappointment is how the Ranvir Shorey-Madhuri Dixit love angle was totally left unresolved. In one scene we see Shorey thinking wanting to tell Madhuri about his feelings and then we see Akshay Khanna flirting with her and visiting her in America. Wasn't Khanna's character an MP? What did he just quit his post? Yes, there will be many more questions. Too many. The film is supposed to be about dancing, singing, art and culture and how that unites people but this point is too superficially tackled. Even the execution is very poor as the sets look artificial.
In the opening scene we see Madhuri poorly do some tap dancing and aerobics and I was wondering whether she lost it. Then she did some wonderful dances in the title track and the Laila Majnu sequence and she reminds that she's indeed great with the Indian dance. I've always thought of Madhuri as an average actress and never found any of her performances outstanding but like many people, even I expected something different and better considering that she'd be wiser (as her career was already filled with bad film choices. Of course there are a few exceptions). I'm also appalled by reading some comments where people have stated that they're glad that she still hasn't lost her old charm. Why should she? She's only 40.
However, she picked the wrong film as a comeback. Her acting ranged from mediocre to decent but in all fairness it's the writing and direction that has let her down and she probably couldn't do much else with the role. Every single actor suffer from sketchy characterization. Akshay Khanna, Vinay Pathak, Divya Dutta and Irfan Khan are totally wasted. Kunal Kapoor is unintentionally funny as the goon. Ranvir Shorey manages to shine and Konkona Sen Sharma does the best she could with her part. Darshan Jariwala is awful.
I really enjoyed the Laila Majnu sequence. Though, its presentation does not fit well with the rest of the film e.g. the zoom-lens camera from the top focusing on the bed, how did Diya manage to pay for rebuilding the theatre so spectacularly. Nonetheless it's a beautiful sequence and IMO the best thing in the film. I also enjoyed the audition sequence especially Konkona's pathetic attempt to get the role. Her dance was laugh out loud hilarious. By the way, she makes a cute Laila.
'Aaja Nachle' is quite a blunder. Coming from the Yashraj factory, it's no surprise but knowing the numerous talents involved, it's a miserable surprise.
Seeing now that Aditya Chopra wrote the screenplay, I am not surprised at all by how the story turned out. The plot itself is nothing new. Why didn't the director focus more on Diya's passion for art and her desire to bring back the culture that she too got disconnected to? Instead it's only about how Diya will get the people to act in 'Laila Majnu' so that the theatre will be prevented from demolition.
The dialogues though are witty and sharp just don't suit the characters. For instance when Madhuri's character tells Akshaye Khanna that she never loses, one wonders about her marriage and her parents and friends disowning her. Also why is she shown to teach aerobics in America? What happened to the dance she learned in India? One of the major disappointment is how the Ranvir Shorey-Madhuri Dixit love angle was totally left unresolved. In one scene we see Shorey thinking wanting to tell Madhuri about his feelings and then we see Akshay Khanna flirting with her and visiting her in America. Wasn't Khanna's character an MP? What did he just quit his post? Yes, there will be many more questions. Too many. The film is supposed to be about dancing, singing, art and culture and how that unites people but this point is too superficially tackled. Even the execution is very poor as the sets look artificial.
In the opening scene we see Madhuri poorly do some tap dancing and aerobics and I was wondering whether she lost it. Then she did some wonderful dances in the title track and the Laila Majnu sequence and she reminds that she's indeed great with the Indian dance. I've always thought of Madhuri as an average actress and never found any of her performances outstanding but like many people, even I expected something different and better considering that she'd be wiser (as her career was already filled with bad film choices. Of course there are a few exceptions). I'm also appalled by reading some comments where people have stated that they're glad that she still hasn't lost her old charm. Why should she? She's only 40.
However, she picked the wrong film as a comeback. Her acting ranged from mediocre to decent but in all fairness it's the writing and direction that has let her down and she probably couldn't do much else with the role. Every single actor suffer from sketchy characterization. Akshay Khanna, Vinay Pathak, Divya Dutta and Irfan Khan are totally wasted. Kunal Kapoor is unintentionally funny as the goon. Ranvir Shorey manages to shine and Konkona Sen Sharma does the best she could with her part. Darshan Jariwala is awful.
I really enjoyed the Laila Majnu sequence. Though, its presentation does not fit well with the rest of the film e.g. the zoom-lens camera from the top focusing on the bed, how did Diya manage to pay for rebuilding the theatre so spectacularly. Nonetheless it's a beautiful sequence and IMO the best thing in the film. I also enjoyed the audition sequence especially Konkona's pathetic attempt to get the role. Her dance was laugh out loud hilarious. By the way, she makes a cute Laila.
'Aaja Nachle' is quite a blunder. Coming from the Yashraj factory, it's no surprise but knowing the numerous talents involved, it's a miserable surprise.