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Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Film: ‘Chance Pe Dance’; Director: Ken Ghosh; Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Genelia D’Souza Rating: ***
At one point in this heartwarming journey into the life of a Bollywood struggler, one of the kids in the school where our hero teaches dance wonders how he manages to wear such trendy T-shirts when he lives in a car and has no money for food.
‘Arrey, those are duplicates of branded T-shirts, you can get them at Rs.150 on the pavement,’ retorts a know-all kid. That one fleeting moment sums up what ‘Chance Pe Dance’ strives to squeeze into two hours of fluid playing-time.
Right from the credit titles, where we see our struggler-hero prepare for another day of selling himself to an unthinking entertainment industry, a slightly seamless splendour lurks at the heart of this film about a Dilliwallah’s struggle to become a star in ‘Big Bad Bollywood’.
Cliched theme? Yup. But some times, some of the most endearing truths of life emerge from situations that work in a direction opposite to the unique.
The fact that Shahid plays the struggler helps…really helps. Here’s an enormously-watchable actor who can take away the ‘acting’ from a character and just make you look at what is being said and done on screen without the baggage of the actor’s personal life being carried forward.
Shahid’s Samir is a portrait of a struggler in all its shades. Samir has defiantly left for Bollywood while his dad (Parikshat Sahni) is left wondering why his son needs to be a film hero in the first place.
Shahid goes through the predictable grind, but with such extraordinary sincerity and involvement, you suddenly realise the one truth about life’s vagaries. Every struggle, no matter how similar on the surface, is different underneath.
Shahid brings out all the shades, nuances and layers in the struggler’s inner life without bending the rules of commercial hero-giri. This is a far better performance than it outwardly seems.
Whether romancing the funny girl next-door, manifesting the disappointments of a struggler who’s getting emotionally worn-out waiting for the big moment, or interacting with the kids in school…Shahid just goes with the flow with a fluidity that goes beyond the dance floor.
Oh, about Shahid’s dancing…is there a better dancer in the film industry today?
While Shahid struggles for stardom, the narrative glides along at its own even pace seeking out the wannabe star’s life as a homeless road-dweller who sleeps in his car, and smirks at life’s cruelties.
There are very few characters in the plot. There’s Genelia D’Souza playing a choreographer. Satish Shah, Mohnish Behl and Vikas Bhalla come and go like images seen from a moving train. Director Ken Ghosh keeps the narrative free of complexities beyond the struggler’s immediate preoccupations. And that suits the film’s moderate temperature just fine.
Some moments, specially with the kids, exude the warmth of a ray of sunshine peeping through a partially open door. Watch the sequence where the kids share their lunch with their famished teacher… You’ll go Awwwww!
Though the choreography is uneven and the climactic dance a bit of a disappointment, Shahid comfortably keeps us watching the predictable but perky progression of this penniless pilgrim from the backseat of a car to the red-carpet.
While giving groovy guru-gyan to his students dance teacher Shahid mentions Michael Jackson, Govinda, Prabhu Deva, Hrithik Roshan and Shiamak Davar among the best dancers. We can easily add Shahid’s name to the list.
Keep Checking for the latest updates...
‘Arrey, those are duplicates of branded T-shirts, you can get them at Rs.150 on the pavement,’ retorts a know-all kid. That one fleeting moment sums up what ‘Chance Pe Dance’ strives to squeeze into two hours of fluid playing-time.
Right from the credit titles, where we see our struggler-hero prepare for another day of selling himself to an unthinking entertainment industry, a slightly seamless splendour lurks at the heart of this film about a Dilliwallah’s struggle to become a star in ‘Big Bad Bollywood’.
Cliched theme? Yup. But some times, some of the most endearing truths of life emerge from situations that work in a direction opposite to the unique.
The fact that Shahid plays the struggler helps…really helps. Here’s an enormously-watchable actor who can take away the ‘acting’ from a character and just make you look at what is being said and done on screen without the baggage of the actor’s personal life being carried forward.
Shahid’s Samir is a portrait of a struggler in all its shades. Samir has defiantly left for Bollywood while his dad (Parikshat Sahni) is left wondering why his son needs to be a film hero in the first place.
Shahid goes through the predictable grind, but with such extraordinary sincerity and involvement, you suddenly realise the one truth about life’s vagaries. Every struggle, no matter how similar on the surface, is different underneath.
Shahid brings out all the shades, nuances and layers in the struggler’s inner life without bending the rules of commercial hero-giri. This is a far better performance than it outwardly seems.
Whether romancing the funny girl next-door, manifesting the disappointments of a struggler who’s getting emotionally worn-out waiting for the big moment, or interacting with the kids in school…Shahid just goes with the flow with a fluidity that goes beyond the dance floor.
Oh, about Shahid’s dancing…is there a better dancer in the film industry today?
While Shahid struggles for stardom, the narrative glides along at its own even pace seeking out the wannabe star’s life as a homeless road-dweller who sleeps in his car, and smirks at life’s cruelties.
There are very few characters in the plot. There’s Genelia D’Souza playing a choreographer. Satish Shah, Mohnish Behl and Vikas Bhalla come and go like images seen from a moving train. Director Ken Ghosh keeps the narrative free of complexities beyond the struggler’s immediate preoccupations. And that suits the film’s moderate temperature just fine.
Some moments, specially with the kids, exude the warmth of a ray of sunshine peeping through a partially open door. Watch the sequence where the kids share their lunch with their famished teacher… You’ll go Awwwww!
Though the choreography is uneven and the climactic dance a bit of a disappointment, Shahid comfortably keeps us watching the predictable but perky progression of this penniless pilgrim from the backseat of a car to the red-carpet.
While giving groovy guru-gyan to his students dance teacher Shahid mentions Michael Jackson, Govinda, Prabhu Deva, Hrithik Roshan and Shiamak Davar among the best dancers. We can easily add Shahid’s name to the list.
Keep Checking for the latest updates...
I'm single and ready to mingle: Shahid Kapoor - The Super cool actor tells Karan Johar
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
"I want to clarify that I am not dating Priyanka Chopra or anybody else," added Shahid.
Lift Kara De features 20 celebrities, who feature one by one each week, and get to meet their biggest fan. The episode featuring Shahid will be on air Friday at 8 pm IST.
Keep Checking for latest news gossips reveiws and more...
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
"I want to clarify that I am not dating Priyanka Chopra or anybody else," added Shahid.
Lift Kara De features 20 celebrities, who feature one by one each week, and get to meet their biggest fan. The episode featuring Shahid will be on air Friday at 8 pm IST.
Keep Checking for latest news gossips reveiws and more...
REVIEW: Chance Pe Dance is annoying - A thumbs down for Ken Ghosh?
There are three moments in Chance Pe Dance that I can't get out of my head. The first involves a small kid, digging his nose furiously, followed by a tight close-up of his booger. The second is that of a Parsi gentleman in a sudreh, scratching his hairy chest and armpits incessantly. The third is a scene in which Shahid Kapoor scrapes his nails against a blackboard, the shrill sound of which is deafening.
Evidently each of these scenes is intended to make you turn away, to be repulsed even. The thing is, director Ken Ghosh needn't have tried so hard. Chance Pe Dance is an annoying, exhausting film that entirely fails to entertain.
Shahid Kapoorstars as Sameer Behl, a struggling actor chasing the Bollywood dream. He faces rejection every day, until finally his killer dance moves get a prominent film director to notice him and subsequently sign him up as the lead in his next film. Not much later, he is dropped from the film.
Sameer has no money for rent and finds himself living out of his car. He has no money for meals, and must take up a dance teacher's job at a school. It doesn't take a genius to predict that he will lead his oddball students to victory in an inter-school dance championship, and despite all odds, he will become a movie star after all.
Chance Pe Dance doesn't work because you feel no empathy for its protagonist. The film's writers – if you can call them that, considering there is no script to speak of – fail to invest even a hint of vulnerability in Sameer. More so, Shahid Kapoor's surface-level performance doesn't help convey the desperation his character's supposedly feeling.
The obligatory romantic track between Sameer and an upcoming choreographer (played by Genelia D'souza) is so random, it adds no dimension to the central plot. This is a film without any character arcs, or plot progression.
The obligatory romantic track between Sameer and an upcoming choreographer (played by Genelia D'souza) is so random, it adds no dimension to the central plot. This is a film without any character arcs, or plot progression.
The dance portions here are impressively performed by Shahid Kapoor, but you could interchange each of the sequences and it would make no difference to the final film. Much of the blame for that must by shared by composer Adnan Sami who delivers an uninspired soundtrack of indifferent tunes.
Chance Pe Dance is only a little over two hours in running time, but feels much longer because the screenplay limps lethargically in no particular direction.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
Keep Checking For the latest gossips, reveiws and more...
Evidently each of these scenes is intended to make you turn away, to be repulsed even. The thing is, director Ken Ghosh needn't have tried so hard. Chance Pe Dance is an annoying, exhausting film that entirely fails to entertain.
Shahid Kapoorstars as Sameer Behl, a struggling actor chasing the Bollywood dream. He faces rejection every day, until finally his killer dance moves get a prominent film director to notice him and subsequently sign him up as the lead in his next film. Not much later, he is dropped from the film.
Sameer has no money for rent and finds himself living out of his car. He has no money for meals, and must take up a dance teacher's job at a school. It doesn't take a genius to predict that he will lead his oddball students to victory in an inter-school dance championship, and despite all odds, he will become a movie star after all.
Chance Pe Dance doesn't work because you feel no empathy for its protagonist. The film's writers – if you can call them that, considering there is no script to speak of – fail to invest even a hint of vulnerability in Sameer. More so, Shahid Kapoor's surface-level performance doesn't help convey the desperation his character's supposedly feeling.
The obligatory romantic track between Sameer and an upcoming choreographer (played by Genelia D'souza) is so random, it adds no dimension to the central plot. This is a film without any character arcs, or plot progression.
The obligatory romantic track between Sameer and an upcoming choreographer (played by Genelia D'souza) is so random, it adds no dimension to the central plot. This is a film without any character arcs, or plot progression.
The dance portions here are impressively performed by Shahid Kapoor, but you could interchange each of the sequences and it would make no difference to the final film. Much of the blame for that must by shared by composer Adnan Sami who delivers an uninspired soundtrack of indifferent tunes.
Chance Pe Dance is only a little over two hours in running time, but feels much longer because the screenplay limps lethargically in no particular direction.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
If the cast, Genelia D'souza saddled with a half-baked role and left pretty much to her own devices, screeches through her scenes and strums up none of that buoyant energy one has come to expect from her. Shahid Kapoor for his part, makes too many faces throughout the film, and lets his chiselled abs and his nimble feet do the talking. Unfortunately, that's not enough.
Keep Checking For the latest gossips, reveiws and more...
REVEIW: Chance Pe Dance Shahid Kapoor Genelia D'Souza film is a complete bore???
Mohnish Behl playing the role of a filmmaker in Chance Pe Dance (CPD) exclaims to Shahid Kapoor (playing a struggler), 'Corporates! Aaj kal filmmaking ek business ban ke rah gaya hai!'
He actually vents out the sentiments of the viewer. One sees the 'in-film branding' of UTV, the film's production house, so many times that one feels the whole film was structured around it.
In CPD, Shahid plays Sameer Behl, a Delhi lad who is struggling in Mumbai for over three years to become a big star in the big bad Bollywood. His initial days, however aren't as impactful as they were shown in films revolving around the similar subject – Luck By Chance and Superstar.
Sameer finally gets a break with a hotshot filmmaker (Mohnish Behl). But unfortunately on the same day, his landlord throws him out of his house. Forced to live in his Maruti car, Sameer waits for his film to begin shooting. But again, there is heartbreak in store for him as the maker unceremoniously dumps him and decides to choose his main lead by holding a reality show contest, blaming it on his corporate producers.
To make ends meet, Sameer picks up a job as a dance teacher in a school and continues living in his car. After much motivation from his choreographer girlfriend, Tina (Genelia D'Souza), he decides to enter the same reality show that might make him the main lead of the same film.
Meanwhile, Sameer also succeeds in winning the best dance group trophy for his troupe. After a very 'filmy' audition where the judges allow him to speak his own lines as an ode to his dead mom, Sameer makes it to the finals.
But then again, problems crop up as his father's (Parikshit Sahani repeating his 3 Idiots act) sari shop is razed in a demolition drive. Sameer goes back to Delhi but comes back for the finals on his father's insistence. What happens next is anybody's guess.
Keep Checking for the latest gossips news and more reveiws...
He actually vents out the sentiments of the viewer. One sees the 'in-film branding' of UTV, the film's production house, so many times that one feels the whole film was structured around it.
In CPD, Shahid plays Sameer Behl, a Delhi lad who is struggling in Mumbai for over three years to become a big star in the big bad Bollywood. His initial days, however aren't as impactful as they were shown in films revolving around the similar subject – Luck By Chance and Superstar.
Sameer finally gets a break with a hotshot filmmaker (Mohnish Behl). But unfortunately on the same day, his landlord throws him out of his house. Forced to live in his Maruti car, Sameer waits for his film to begin shooting. But again, there is heartbreak in store for him as the maker unceremoniously dumps him and decides to choose his main lead by holding a reality show contest, blaming it on his corporate producers.
To make ends meet, Sameer picks up a job as a dance teacher in a school and continues living in his car. After much motivation from his choreographer girlfriend, Tina (Genelia D'Souza), he decides to enter the same reality show that might make him the main lead of the same film.
Meanwhile, Sameer also succeeds in winning the best dance group trophy for his troupe. After a very 'filmy' audition where the judges allow him to speak his own lines as an ode to his dead mom, Sameer makes it to the finals.
But then again, problems crop up as his father's (Parikshit Sahani repeating his 3 Idiots act) sari shop is razed in a demolition drive. Sameer goes back to Delhi but comes back for the finals on his father's insistence. What happens next is anybody's guess.
Keep Checking for the latest gossips news and more reveiws...
Thursday, January 21, 2010
No chance for this 'Dance'
While 3 Idiots still continue to rock at the Indian box-office, the first three weeks of January has gone without a single film making a mark both with the audience as well at the box-office.
But with UTV's Chance Pe Dance, there was a ray of hope, primarily because the film was touted to be a tale of a talented struggler and secondly it was the first film when two teen heart-throbs Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'souza were coming together on the big screen.
The promos depicted the struggler in Shahid and nothing extra-ordinary was expected of the film except that people wanted to see the chemistry of the lead pair Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'souza.
A lacklustre attempt, supported by a weak script, the only factors that stand out in the film are Shahid and Genelia. Their chemistry is great and so is their performance. But the deplorable script doesn't lift the film beyond ordinary stuff.
At the box-office, the film had a lukewarm start domestically. The occupancy for morning and noon shows ranged between 15 to 25 per cent. The film doesn't look like having a good future.
The opening has come as a rude shock since Shahid's Kismet Konnection as well as Kaminey had a flying start.
All eyes now lie on Salman Khan's Veer. Going by the promos, the film holds promise to be a money churner.
But the ultimate reviewer is the audience!
But with UTV's Chance Pe Dance, there was a ray of hope, primarily because the film was touted to be a tale of a talented struggler and secondly it was the first film when two teen heart-throbs Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'souza were coming together on the big screen.
The promos depicted the struggler in Shahid and nothing extra-ordinary was expected of the film except that people wanted to see the chemistry of the lead pair Shahid Kapoor and Genelia D'souza.
A lacklustre attempt, supported by a weak script, the only factors that stand out in the film are Shahid and Genelia. Their chemistry is great and so is their performance. But the deplorable script doesn't lift the film beyond ordinary stuff.
At the box-office, the film had a lukewarm start domestically. The occupancy for morning and noon shows ranged between 15 to 25 per cent. The film doesn't look like having a good future.
The opening has come as a rude shock since Shahid's Kismet Konnection as well as Kaminey had a flying start.
All eyes now lie on Salman Khan's Veer. Going by the promos, the film holds promise to be a money churner.
But the ultimate reviewer is the audience!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Its a busy award season for Shahid
It hasn't even been a month to the New Year, and Bollywood star Shahid Kapoor has already swept three awards for his performances in 2009.
While he was named the most popular male actor at the STAR Screen awards, Shahid also won the heartthrob of the nation award at the fifth Apsara Film and Television Producers Guild Awards.
The 28-year-old also walked away with the Editor's choice best actor award at the Stardust awards for his portrayal of Guddu and Charlie - the ruffian with the endearing lisp and the simpleton who stammers respectively - in Vishal Bharadwaj's "Kaminey" (pictured above receiving this award from Aditya Panscholi).
Last year saw Shahid's transformation from a chocolate hero to an intense actor.Though his latest release "Chance Pe Dance" hasn't been able to pull in a lot of audiences, Shahid is looking forward to good times this year. He will be seen in Parmeet Sethi's untitled movie for Yash Raj Films apart from his father, veteran actor Pankaj Kapoor's directorial debut film.
Indo Asian News Service
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Chance Pe Dance Poster
Chance Pe Dance
