Spoiler Warning: This section has additional observations, other than the ones noted in the main review. It may have some details that could distort your experience while watching the movie.

Story:
Dia (Madhuri Dixit) wants to revive an old and long forgotten dance theater. A theater that she is in love with. There are people who don’t want this to happen. We see the drama unfold with a lot of singing and dancing.

What worked:

  • The opening sequence - Cut to the chase, no riff-raff, straight to Madhuri Dixit dancing.
  • The crane shots - beautifully framed.
  • Editing in all of the songs. Nicely interspersed with the story.
  • Costumes in the flashback - reflected the trends from 11 years ago.
  • The exchanges between Madhuri Dixit and Akshaye Khanna.
  • The way Sushmita Mukherjee delivered one of the most clichéd dialogues.
  • The way the crowd cheered Irrfan Khan’s entry!
  • Madhuri Dixit’s graceful hip movements - would put Shakira to shame.
  • Too much energy is not spent on the action scenes. Smart move, since the movie is not about the action. The camera takes over and is done with it.

What didn’t:

  • Yet again, a white is portrayed as a dimwit - chews off a chili as if he doesn’t even know what a chili looks like and that it is supposed to be super-hot.
  • What was dada’s source of income? How does he get money to get himself filmed?

    • Is pizza was supposed to be an indicator of how educated and “foreign return” Raja saahab (Akshay Khanna)?

  • How did Dia organize the first dance!? Overnight everything is cleaned up and the stage is set for a grand performance. All too easy.
  • The abrupt cut into Akshaye Khanna playing golf. Very distracting.
  • The one glaring loophole - the entire village knew about Dia’s infamous past. Then why does her friend’s statement make any difference at all. Not a very smooth way to get the friend into action. There surely must have been a better way.
  • Divya Dutta’s dialogue delivery in the scene where she comes to clarify things. Too melodramatic.
  • Najma’s husband’s (Irrfan Khan’s) transformation in the end. Totally uncalled for and unnecessary.

Nitty-gritty:

  • The difference in height between Kunal Kapoor and Konkona Sen Sharma seems to magically disappear in the scene where he has an outburst and tells her off.

Rating: Watch for sure, preferably in theatre

Rating Scale (best to worst):
• Must see - on the big screen
• Watch for sure, preferably in theatre
• Wait for video release
• Watch if you have nothing better to do
• Switch channels if it’s on cable!

This review was also published on meetu’s website.