ABCD 2 Movie review - Average fair

Ameet Bhuvan

One would imagine that after breaking through with a Step Up version for the Indian market, and tasting success, director Remo D'Souza and makers UTV would invest in some newness to the series that ABCD is meant to be. Unfortunately, the only “upgrade” here is the presence of Varun Dhawan and Shradhdha Kapoor (that too is debatable, more of that later).

ABCD2 runs along expected lines with the passion of a worn down goods engine going through the motions in auto pilot mode. A group of dancers are eliminated from a reality show cause they copied steps from a foreign show. Their careers are destroyed since now they are labelled “cheaters” and copy cats (if only this would happen in the real world, ABCD would never have been made in the first place). These dancers are then given a chance at redemption by a dance guru who takes them to L.A. for an international face off where they represent India. There is a mother who died with ghungroo in her feet, dollops and dollops of unwanted cringe worthy chest beating in the name of nations pride, some scintillating dance numbers and an insipid attempt at a love triangle. Much of ABCD2 is predictable and drab, things liven up only when people begin to dance. Thankfully, that happens a lot often.

Remo is a choreographer. Not a story teller. His skills shine in the set pieces, made more beautiful owing to the talented bunch of dancers he has. Varun and Shraddha add to this bunch, sycing in neatly, even Shradhdha. None of them however can salvage the dismal acting department. The story plods along, never engaging, never hooking you. At the end of two and half hours, it is like watching Jhalak on a binge, with the acting bits replacing advertisements on the show.

The 3D is how most hindi film 3D is. The songs are an extension of what the first part had, nothing new and heavily meant to dance on. The acting is bad across the board, and the melodrama weighs heavily on what should have been a small simple story. Watch this only if it watching dance on the big screen is your cup of tea.

Rating: 1.5/5