Aaja Nachle: Madhuri rules

MADHURI DIXIT rocks! That, pretty much, is the succinct review of the film, but a review cannot be that short, and if you want to know more, read on.

The dance is amazing, choreography, scintillating and fabulous. If you think I am being generous with superlatives that is because they are well deserved. I was skeptical about Vaibhavi Merchant after Saroj Khan-Madhuri combo, but wow! She has made Madhuri do steps that we had never seen from her. As anticipated, Madhuri more than does justice to the rather difficult choreography.

The Laila Majnu production at the end deserves a very special mention, because, this sequence, for perhaps the first time, brings alive the magic of theatre on a film screen. The use of lighting, sequences and costumes made one forget for a while that this is not 3D theatre. For that production alone, the film is worth watching.

Madhuri has never looked better in silhouette, never done more Ada, except perhaps in that song from ‘Anjaam’ - athra baras ki kunwaari kali thi.. (See, I am a die hard Madhuri fan) and when she presents that opening shot in New York, the message is clear - I RULE!

I read someplace that the role was not conceived with Madhuri in mind. That is surprising, because only Madhuri could have brought life to this character. Only Madhuri can make Ajanta theatre look like a convincing cause.

So, where does the movie fail? It fails in more places than one.

For starters, the storyline has more holes than a cube of cheese, so I will not even go in that direction, but a couple glaring ones refuse to stay unstated. First, what happens to Ajanta theatre after Madhuri Dixit’s return to the United States? There is, as a corporate character would say, no succession plan in place. By that flaw alone, the entire concept of restarting theatre goes to the dogs.

The second, I am not sure what the message regarding love is. In the first part, Madhuri runs away and finds that it was a wrong decision. Worse still, her act leads to the demise of Ajanta theatre. In the second half, we again find a couple falling in love during the production. Needless to mention, we do not know if love alliances are accepted now in Shamli, or will this love story lead to a second demise of the theatre?

The costumes are good, well thought out and not too in your face. Madhuri could have experimented with her look, but she stuck to the pants, tight top routine throughout. Sad for her fans!

The cinematography could have done a little better. With those moves, a little use of light, creative angles and long shot-close shot balance might have produced a different result, but I was not on the sets, so take this with a pinch of salt. Perhaps, the cinematographer did bring out the best of what was on the set.

The music is less than memorable, except perhaps the title track, and the Khoobiyaan song. I loved that song! The lyrics are completely forgotten at the end of the film.

Nidhi Kaila, Meri News