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January 14, 2010

Chance Pe Dance Review (Nikhat Kazmi, Raja Sen, Taran Adarsh, Filmfare)


Begin the count....How many times have you seen and heard the story of the bechara struggler who leaves his home town with a tooth brush in his backpack and a bag full of dreams that can only be fulfilled in maximum city, Mumbai. And then, how many times have you seen him eventually rise like the Phoenix over a relentless period of struggle which has him being shunted out of producer's offices, battling with rejection slips, shedding a salty tear of desperation on the salty sea front or giving himself some pep talk when the going gets really tough.

Umpteen times. And that's where Ken Ghosh's film slips. For, it offers you nothing new in terms of the script which ends up as the weakest link in this entire show. Sadly, it follow all the predictable twists and turns that comprise the star-is-born story. Yes, super-talented Sam (Shahid Kapoor) does leave his dad (Parikshat Sahni) to sell saris in saddi Dilli, in order to become an actor in big, bad Bollywood, minus a godfather and a grand daddy. Yes, he bides his time making low brow lungi ads and pitching in as a courier boy, hoping the empty promises of stardom might just come true. And yes, they do come true, but only after a prolonged period of struggle which goes through the usual grind of hunger, a homeless and penniless state.

Yet, what makes this film watchable is the passion that Shahid Kapoor injects in his delineation of Sam, the struggler with stars in his eyes. May be, it's the autobiographical strains of the film -- the advertisements, the dance school, the chorus boy act, the no-godfather syndrome -- that stoke the fire in him. But there is a ring of sincerity and authenticity in his `Hi, I'm Sameer Behl and this is my number, Sir,' stuff during the sundry auditions that seem to be going nowhere. Also, the interactions with the school kids, when he tries to make a living as a dance teacher, has a spontaneity about it. Again, perchance spilling over from his days with Shiamak Davar. The initial I-hate-kids attitude is absolutely delightful -- and refreshing -- too. Add to this the effervescence of Genelia as Tina, the scooty-riding choreographer who thinks from her heart and you have an adequate medley of some moments of fun, fuzz and fantastic moves on the dance floor. Although, we do confess the audio track (Pritam Singh, Adnan Sami, Ken Ghosh, Sandeep Shirodkar) isn't much to boast about, considering the film is actually conceptualised as a musical.

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7 comments:

Pardesi said...

Actually Om Shanti Om showed a struggling extra who dies struggling, and that as a superstar one has to be born into a star family!! Much more true to reality than the CPD and LBC scenarios that happen once in a blue moon but always happen to OUR HERO.

Kunal said...

So, can we count as a ppositive review??

Timing of this movie is pitch perfect, college exams over, no biggie in sight, I guess, 3i storm over, I hope, lets see how much Shahid power works here. This is his own territory.

Dance hai smokin',
dance hai moonwalk

na kar bheja fry, just give it a try
Naach bindaas, duniya bhaad mein jaaye

Pardesi said...

Shahid - the next superstar - NOT! ;-)

Pardesi said...

http://www.filmfare.com/articles/chance-pe-dance-375.html
Chance Pe Dance
Director: Ken Ghosh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'Souza
Quick Take: No chance baby!

Chance Pe Dance operates on the premise that stories about strugglers who slum it in Mumbai are interesting and identifiable. Unfortunately that isn’t to be. CPD is unexciting and boring. It has the personality of a worn out legwarmer. The story of Sameer, an aspirant who chucks up a career as a sari seller at his father’s Saket Vihar shop in Delhi to pursue the allure of the big screen, holds no fizz at all. There is a shocking lack of conflict in the film with each knot unraveling a bit too easily. Midway it turns into a confused tepid version of School Of Rock but quickly decides that it has to get back on its listless Sam-has-to-follow-his-real-
dream track. And for a film revolving around dance, the choreography is uninspired. We have seen better dancing in other Shahid Kapoor movies, for instance Jab We Met. CPD tries its best to be funny and quirky, touching and engaging and fails on all counts. Shahid is earnest and spot on in many of the scenes but his character fails him.His Sameer is prone to violent bouts of self pity which result in dramatic rants (there are two in the movie involving kismat, ma and duniya) and even though Shahid's histroinics are worthy, the scenes are just exasperating. Genelia D’Souza is her cute chirpy self playing the part of his supportive girlfriend to the best of her abilities but given the indifferent treatment to the film, it simply fails to hold. Wish the director had paid a little more attention to her character, giving the actress more to do. If you are keen on tracking a struggler’s angst in the Hindi film industry watch Luck By Chance. If you want to watch Shahid Kapoor at his talented best pick up DVDs of Jab We Met and Kaminey. Because CPD simply stands no chance whatsoever of entertaining you.

Pardesi said...

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/13814/index.html
By Taran Adarsh, January 15, 2010 - 11:10 IST
The film industry attracts thousands of hopefuls every single day. Most don't make it. But the struggle continues… CHANCE PE DANCE tries to present the story of a hopeful - his dreams, his aspirations, his struggle and his eventual triumph.

Last year, Zoya Akhtar's LUCK BY CHANCE depicted the struggles of an aspirant most effectively. CHANCE PE DANCE tries hard to present the story of one such aspirant, but fails miserably. However, a few clarifications before we delve deeper. It's not derived from STEP UP [2006] or Ramgopal varma's NAACH [the similarity starts and ends with the male lead being a wannabe actor and the female lead being a choreographer], although a significant track of the movie bears an uncanny resemblance to Jack Black's SCHOOL OF ROCK [2003].

Write your own movie review of Chance Pe Dance
What bogs the film down is that it's too predictable from start to end. However, predictability is not the sole hitch here. The story doesn't have the zing to keep you hooked to the screen for most parts and also, it unravels at such a lethargic pace that you break into a yawn at several points of the narrative.

The sole aspect that you carry home is Shahid Kapoor's earnest performance, who has consistently taken one step ahead with every film. This time, unfortunately, the shoddy script makes the actor's efforts null and void.

Final verdict? A chance lost!.......

CHANCE PE DANCE tells the story of a talented and passionate guy named Sameer [Shahid Kapoor]. ..
In his quest, Sameer has a lot of ups and down, hopes and disappointments. Not the one to be disillusioned and armed with a 'Never-Say-Die' attitude and dynamic talent, Sameer fights every hurdle that comes his way because achieving your biggest dream is never easy. In this journey, he is helped by a spirited choreographer Tina [Genelia D'Souza] and eventually, Sameer realizes that sometimes life gives you that one chance. The problem with CHANCE PE DANCE is its writing, which is tacky and bland at the same time. In today’s times, when every film-maker is striving so hard to narrate a new story, CHANCE PE DANCE harps on the same-old mundane, clichéd, tried-and-tested stuff that you’ve watched again and again and again. The journey of the protagonist is so lifeless that you don’t feel for him when he loses one battle after another. Conversely, during the climax, when he eventually emerges a winner, you don’t feel euphoric either.

Had the story remained faithful to the main plot - the struggles of an aspirant - it may've cut ice with the viewer. But the track of a dance teacher doesn't work. Also, the sequences with his father - right from the time his father's shop is demolished, to his father prodding him to chase his dreams - appears phony. The Mohnish Bahl track is also contradictory. At first he signs Shahid, later dumps him, but much later screams on TV channels that he always knew Shahid was a star… weird, isn't it? The ending is equally tame.

Director Ken Ghosh has filmed a few individualistic scenes well, especially the one at the interval point when a heart-broken Shahid finds solace in his students, but one sparrow does not a summer make. Adnan Sami's music is strictly okay. The movie clearly lacks a hit number to take it to dizzy heights. However, the choreography is top notch.
Shahid makes a sincere effort and the honesty shows in a number of scenes. But let's not forget that the best of actors cannot rise beyond a pitiable script. His dances, expectedly, are exceptional. Genelia looks cute and provides some pleasant moments, but the role doesn't demand histrionics. Mohnish Bahl is alright. Parikshit Sahani is getting typecast as the father.
On the whole, this dance stands no chance!

Pardesi said...

Class comment from Taran Adarsh - Parikshat Sahni is getting typecast as the father!! ROFL!!!

Caulfield said...

Raja Sen -

School of Schlock

A nothing movie with flashes of heart, Chance Pe Dance is a slow, indulgent watch -- meant strictly for the Shahid Kapoor fan.

Judging from the way over a dozen woman gasped as he appeared shirtless (and, naturally, six-packed) in the new film, this is a growing tribe. And while Kapoor might be likable enough to pull off a role in a film that goes nowhere at all, he still doesn't have the screen presence to shoulder a film on his own.

Director Ken Ghosh makes him try, though, setting up convenient loops for Shahid to bound through: he acts, he grins, he dances. Subtle Shahid makes an appearance, as does overdone Shahid, sucking in his cheeks as he pirouettes in front of the mirror. The pretty Genelia [ Images ] D'Souza, pitched over the top in a very weakly written character, just jars.

This is the story of a Bollywood struggler, and it initially feels refreshing to see the leading man be this clueless and this complete a loser. Yet success, which originally evades him -- making him sob -- eventually falls into his lap, and there's no great conflict for this boy who seems wonderfully comfortable living in his car night after night. Clearly, the Mumbai [ Images ] Police loved Kaminey [ Images ] and are letting him be.

Points should then be awarded, I guess, for unpredictability. The struggler doesn't struggle, the heroine doesn't once have an emotional showdown with him, and the smarmy director steps warmly aside to allow the lad a chance -- after all, he spoke about his dearly departed mother so well, didn't he?

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