All audience reviews of ABCD 2

NAGATEABCD --Not as good as the earlier ABCD

AOODBTVRP--- An overdose of dance similar to TV reality shows

MFDL-- Mainly for dance lovers

At the risk of repeating myself I have to say that this is yet another sequel where even my 8 year old relative said that the earlier ABCD was better. Only if some more attention was paid to the story telling and dialogue things would have been much better. Clipping the length by 25 minutes would have also helped.

Basically an all out dance movie, this film will be loved by all dance lovers. It is the extended version of a TV dance reality shows and the presence of Remo D'souza, Prabhudheva and Dharmesh, and Terrence make it all the more so. There is a heavy overdose of dance sequences with a bit of story in between. It is therefore quite dreary for normal audiences who are not into such dance films.

If you are therefore the type who does not see dance reality shows on TV, then keep away

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The plot of the film bears a strong resemblance to recently released "Happy New Year" and is definitely inspired by the"Step up" series. A motley group of Mumbai backstreet underdogs are out to redeem themselves by trying to win a dance championship at Las Vegas after being branded "cheaters" in a local competition here..Varun Dhawan leads this group with Shraddha Kapoor as his love interest and alcoholic Prabhudheva as his guru.

Director Remo D'souza and his team surely have worked hard to present the dance scenes in an attractive manner and there are plenty of them including the rehearsals.The movie never goes beyond these spectacularly dazzling dances since the story in between leaves much to be desired. The movie drags at places

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There is not much direction beyond the choreography and not much acting beyond the skill based vigorous dances. Both Varun and Shraddha put in hard work and generally do a good job but the dances which impress are the ones by Dharmesh and Lauren. Both score due to the superb choreography. less

ABCD 2 is an enjoyable movie for lovers of dance, specifically hip-hop. It is peppered with dancers from all over the world since it's set around an international dance competition and you get to see some really cool moves. If hip-hop is not your thing the dances may get a bit tedious after a while and look like an extended exercise session in very strange clothes.

A dance group gets disqualified for plagiarizing a Filipino act and then to salvage their dignity they decide to enter the World Hip Hop championship. They find a guru in an alcoholic and then head out to LA. The rest of the movie is about the dance competition.

The movie is quite fast paced and peppy. The actors are young and their energy and enthusiasm are infectious. The movie makes good use of 3D in the dance sequences to make them come alive. There are quite a few funny moments that keep the mood light and entertaining.

Varun Dhawan and Shradha Kapoor put up a good effort at dancing but are eclipsed in this aspect by the trained dancers like Lauren Gottlieb and guys like Sushant Pujari and Raghav Juyal. However, they make up for this with their star quotient. Prabhudeva is great to watch especially when he dances.

ABCD 2 is a simple and sincere movie and wears its heart on its sleeve. Remo loves dance and it shows in every scene. His passion will win you over even if his directorial skills leave much to be desired. Add some sunshine on a rainy day with this movie. less

Remo is taking the credit for the story. Unfair. Because it doesn't exist. The movie is about a group of dancers from different walks of life who participate in a reality dancing show. You know they are dumb, because the lead choreographers of their gang, Suru (Varun Dhawan) and Vernon (Sushant Pujari) arrive two minutes before they're up for their performance. Anyway, they beat that piece of irresponsibility by lifting an entire act from a Filipino dance troupe and get caught and publicly shunned. The group splits. So what does Suru do? He decides to participate in the Las Vegas Hip-Hop competition so he could try defeating his idols, the Filipinos and show the world what they're made of. Meanwhile, there is Vishnu (Prabhudeva) who apparently tries to be found by this group. Apparently he either overacts or tries too hard. He has a secret plan and that is something as dumb as running away with the money of the kids once they reach Vegas, because for him meeting his son matters. Why in eight years has he not made enough money to go to Vegas on his own is beyond understanding or logic. The group has a dumb/deaf guy for obvious sympathy votes who eventually is another irresponsible person who jeopardizes their entire performance knowing he is not in the best of conditions.

While we are still figuring out these random bits of a story put together with a lot of breathtaking dance steps, there is Olive (Lauren Gottlieb) who replaces Vinnie(Shraddha Kapoor). Maybe midway, the director and choreographer realised she really can't dance all that well. So, an injury would be just the right excuse. How convenient. While we are at that, why not just create a small love triangle? But eventually all this is churned into a major patriotic ending with Varun standing atop a human pyramid waving a national flag. Yes, the things our movie makers do, to bring the audiences to the theaters.

ABCD 2 biggest plus is a solo performance by Prabhudeva. At his age, doing what he did, takes some talent. Bu we know a lot about it already. Varun Dhawan is ripped beyond imagination. Shraddha Kapoor plays an almost dumb dove in love. But beyond it, the movie is really not much beyond some dance performances. There is not much heart or soul to it. Not much emotion either. If you love watching good dance, the first half will keep you entertained. But come the second half, the dance gets average, the choreography isn't impressive and the unnecessary soulless drama just leaves you wondering what the hell is going on really. In short, naive filmmaking.

It is about time our filmmakers realise that putting a national flag and calling the group Indian Stunners isn't really cool. We don't want our patriotic emotions, normally used only to boast about something someone with a distant Indian connection has done in some distant corner of the world, to be put to test in every silly movie with a non-existent plotline. And if you have a movie on dance, like the Step Up series, you better pick actors and actresses who can dance and then make sure the choreography is out of the world. ABCD's choreography doesn't even live up to what we have seen across various reality shows! less

One would imagine that after breaking through with a Step Up version for the Indian market, and tasting success,director Remo 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 foren 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.

Does the addition of Varun and Shraddha really add to this series? Not much. They arent really a star like Hrithik or Madhuri who is known for their dance skills. Neither do they have the acting chops to uplift the film in any which way. 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 Shradhdha 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 adverts 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 wathcing dance on the big screen is your cup of tea. less

ABCD released two years back and became an overnight sensation as it was touted as India's first dance movie. The announcement of its sequel created quite a buzz and just got bigger with the casting of Varun Dhawan and Shraddha Kapoor! Has it been able to live to the expectations? Has choreographer turned director Remo D'Souza been able to recreate the magic? I would say a big YES but only in terms of some spectacular dance sequences. But those who were expecting a good storyline and nice cinematic experience will be left very disappointed!

Based on a real life story of two choreographers Vishnu and Suresh, the story traces their journeys from the backstreets of a Mumbai suburb to winning an International dance championship. Along with them are other dreamers who become part of their team and support each other in their downfall and rise to fame!

The dialogues are badly written and sound too melodramatic at times. Even the editing of the movie is not up to the mark as easily 30-40 minutes could have been done away. Some shots have been done really well and Vegas moments are fun to watch.

The saving grace for the movie is Varun Dhawan who tries very hard to keep the movie alive with both his dance and acting skills. He is experimenting with different roles, which is a good thing but he also needs to make good choices in terms of script! Shraddha Kapoor is annoying at times but manage with the dance moves. Prabhudeva sir is still far from being a good actor. The highlight of the movie though is the supporting dancers who pack a punch in terms of their skills, be it Dharmesh Sir, Punit or Lauren!

In all, if you are a dance-lover you might love it, but if you are going for a good story, skip it! less