Director: Anil Mehta

Stars: Madhuri Dixit, Kunal Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna

Madhuri Dixit, Bollywood’s diva of the Nineties, is back! Will the dancing queen be able to recreate the box-office magic?

When Dia (Madhuri Dixit), a New York dance tutor, receives a call from India telling her that her guru is dying, she decides to return to the country. It is a troubled homecoming as she eloped in order to marry Steve (Felix D’Alviella, from BBC’s Spooks), a white American.

Dia arrives too late: her former teacher is dead and dance academy Ajanta is on the verge of closure. She decides to save the academy by putting on a grand musical using local talent. This is a cumbersome task: Dia’s divorced status and disgraced reputation means that the villagers are wary of her. Will her dance production of Laila Majnu prove a hit?

Predictable from the outset with its familiar underdog theme, the film is primarily a comeback vehicle to showcase the talent and beauty of Dixit, arguably Bollywood’s biggest and most adored female star. Dixit rises to the challenge, dominating proceedings with a commanding performance and a dignity unsuited to the shallow script, in which few characters develop.

Since it is obvious that Dia’s show will be a success and everyone, including opportunist property developer Uday (Akshaye Khanna), will learn the error of their ways, it is difficult to engage.

First time director Anil Mehta rips off Brazilian cult film Xuxu Requebra and attempts to use the power of dance as a metaphor for learning to live life again. He fails. The music just doesn’t have enough soul.

It’s good to see an older, married actress in a lead role in sexist Bollywood, where women of a certain age are generally expected to retire or dye their hair grey to play mummy to their former leading men.

For a film which invites us to ‘come, let’s dance’, there is not a single number which encourages us to. Bring back the cheekiness of the choli!

PG, 150 mins, Subtitles

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