There is no one really like her nor will there ever be. Charming, Beautiful, Graceful and with a smile that ruled millions of hearts worldwide - Madhuri Dixit weaved magic for more than a decade in Bollywood and after a 5 year long wait she makes her comeback. She is arguably one of Bollywood’s most talented and popular actresses ever. Directed by cinematographer turned director Anil Mehta, Yashraj Films presents Madhuri Dixit’s Aaja Nachle.
Aaja Nachle is about a women’s journey back to her hometown to teach the importance of art and artifacts, rekindling lost relationships and bringing back to life the theatre where she learnt the lessons of life, love and dance.
Dia Srivastav (Madhuri Dixit) returns to her hometown Shamli from New York to meet her ailing guru (Darshan Jariwala). On reaching she finds out about the death of her guru and adding to her distress, she is informed about the Government’s decision to pull down Ajanta Theatre, the place where she was taught to live, love and dance. To fulfill her guru’s last wish Dia takes it upon herself to save the monument from destruction and bringing back to life the art of music and dance. With the help of her Guru’s friend Doctor (Raghubir Yadav), Dia takes up the challenge of putting together a show in two months time casting the people of Shamli.
Wining the hearts of the people of Shamli town, overcoming the offenses of politicians and a powerful contractor, finding her member cast and producing a theatrical show is not an easy task. How and will she succeed in saving Ajanta from demolition? This forms the rest of the story.
The movie starts off slow, with the first 15 minutes being dull but soon gathers momentum. The audition sequence is interesting and also comical at times. Post interval the pace slackens and tends to get over dramatic. Although director Anil Mehta’s execution is good, the script lets him down. The characters in the movie, barring a few, don’t make an impact. The sequences had to be more intact and effectual. Madhuri’s character lacks appeal. Neither do you feel for the character nor do you feel like cheering her to victory. If only the pain of her mortification was stressed, her fight and her predicament would have emerged more personal and throbbing. Also even though she is visiting her hometown after 11 long years, she never really makes even an attempt to find out about her parents.
The last 20 – 30 minutes is boring and disappoint big time, the Laila – Majnu drama is too long. Cinematography is great, dialogues are interesting, the sets are mind blowing. Choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant is vivacious and commendable. Music by Salim and Sulaiman Merchant is just average, should have been much better as the movie in itself is a dance musical.
Madhuri Dixit shines throughout the movie with her pleasing beauty, unmatchable acting and dancing skills. She is just her charming usual self. Konkona Sen Sharma has set such high standards for herself that she disappoints. Akshay Khanna is excellent in his limited role. Rang De Basanti star Kunal Kapoor is natural and efficient. Vinay Sharma’s and Sushmitha Mukherjee’s characters were interesting and the two have carried their role with ease. Ranvir Shorey is fantastic. Darshan Jariwala, Irrfan Khan, Divya Dutta and Dalai (Madhuri’s daughter in the movie) are good.
Aaja Nachle is not the perfect comeback vehicle Madhuri Fans would have been hoping for. Also the movie is never consistent, just entertains in bits and pieces. At the Box-office, Madhuri’s presence would ensure a good opening. Can it sustain? Don’t think it would!
For an actress who strongly believes that dancing awakens spirituality in one's self, no other movie can be a more suitable comeback to Bollywood than Yash Raj Films' song and dance musical, Aaja Naachle.
After a five year break since her last release - Devdas (2002) - Madhuri Dixit once again steps into her dancing shoes ready to mesmerise Bollywood fans with her dancing skills.
Aaja Nachle sees Madhuri playing the role of a theatre actress. It focuses on a woman's journey back to her roots, rekindling lost relationships and bringing back to life the theatre where she learnt the lessons of life and love.
She now faces her toughest challenge as she fights against all odds to bring back to life her beloved theatre.
Director/cinematographer Anil Mehta's Aaja Nachle meaning lets dance also stars Akshaye Khanna, Konkona Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Divya Dutta and Ranvir Shorey in pivotal roles. ... More ... Collapse
Aaja Nachle is a tad slow and monotonous, however Madhuri does manage to liven it to an extent with her earnest performance. It is an average film which is about Madhuri and for Madhuri. The script is in keeping with the popular theme of today?s times, triumph of the underdog, the deterioration of our culture due to modernism etc. However the main reason for the film being just average is its staid, placid screenplay which drags along. Madhuri tries to enliven this lackluster screenplay with her lively performance but unfortunately the film gets too monotonous and dreary. The film lacks high drama and enthusiasm; the subject of the film where an NRI returns to India to save her beloved theater where she learned to dance, sing and live amongst all obstacles is a tad boring. Overall Madhuri is the only saving grace and finally it is simply her presence that saves the film from being a complete let down.
Aaja Nachle is a musical which has been produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Anil Mehta. The story and screenplay has been done by Jaideep Sahani etc. The music of the film has been composed by Salim-Sulaiman. Star cast for the film includes Madhuri Dixit as Dia, Konkana Sen Sharma, Kunal Kapoor, Ranvir Shorey, Irrfan Khan, Vinay Pathak, Akshaye Khanna, Divya Dutta, Yashpal Sharma, Juggal Hansraj, Darshan Jariwala etc.
Madhuri Dixit plays Dia, a dancer who lives in New York. However after living for ten years in New York, Dia gets a phone call that changes her life. Dia learns that her dance guru is dying and that the beautiful Ajanta Theater where he learned to dance and live is in ruins and will soon be lost forever. Dia decides to revisit her painful past by coming back to the town which abandoned her when she chose to marry an outsider. Now after ten years, a divorced single mother Dia returns to the town of Shamili to save her beloved Ajanta Theater from being replaced with a new swanky mall.
Dia has a formidable task ahead of her, in order to save the theater she has to put up a spectacular musical and her characters in the play have to be from the town. However this seems like an impossible task when Dia gets no volunteers for her play. Dia then adopts the policy of roping in any one she can manage to. What follows is a bunch of oddballs who get together but know nothing about song, dance or acting. Dia has two months to teach them the ropes, so will she manage to do it and save the theater from being completely wiped out?
The subject of saving the ruined theater by means of staging the ?Laila Majnu? play itself appears to be boring; moreover the screenplay is not infused with enough of drama and enthusiasm to keep the viewers entertained. The pace drags and the proceedings get monotonous. Jaideep Sahani?s screenplay lacks the punch to keep viewers riveted to the film?s proceedings. The screenplay does not have enough energy and drama. Anil Mehta?s execution too is unimpressive. Yash Raj films attempts to move away from the NRI and glam films that they are associated with, but in this quest their end product seems too dry and unglamorous which does not go down well with the audiences.
Jaideep Sahani is known for his characterizations, but unfortunately in ?Aaja Nachle? the lack of depth in his characters clearly comes across. Be it Konkana, Kunal, Vinay Pathak, Ranvir Shorey etc, their characters don?t have a strong background which goes against it. Nonetheless what lifts these lifeless characters is the actor?s neat performances which infuse them with the much required spunk. Also many clich?s have been used in the film. The music of the film is disappointing, as none of the tracks have that special musical quality. Title track ?Aaja Nachle? is average. Choreography by Vaibhavi Merchant is again average, but one would have expected something spectacular from Madhuri. Cinematography is strictly okay, especially considering that Anil Mehta is himself an ace cinematographer. Dialogues are fare.
Performances are good with Madhuri leading the pack, Madhuri is energetic and her expressions too captivate the audiences once more. She has a central role in the film and does complete justice to it despite her hiatus from bollywood. She looks fit too. Konkana too manages to hold her own and gives a good performance. Kunal Kapoor delivers an able performance and the rest of the cast too lends good performances providing good support. It is perhaps the decent performances which also manage to make the film average.
However the film's script and screenplay is what takes the film lower and does not seem worthy of a film for Madhuri?s comeback. But Madhuri shines in the film and her performance does not disappoint her fans. At the box-office though, it will do average business due to Madhuri's presence and the competent performances from the rest of the cast. ... More ... Collapse
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