Dance dance dance. The film is all about dancing, even when they're not performing, their conversations revolve around it. So make sure you're in the mood to watch a film that is Mad About Dance.
The film is about Aarav who travels to Sheffield (UK) hoping to join Ceaser's highly popular dance crew. To his frustration, Ceaser and his dance crew are not easy to locate and his new Indian friends help him with his quest. Eventually, he gets the chance to prove his dancing skills hoping to be part of his dream dance team. However, he fails to reach the standard and is racially insulted. Aarav does not give up his passion for dancing and starts his own dance crew, his motivation being to prove that Indians and Asians in general can dance. The film is filled with dance sequences and battles and ultimately his crew competes against Ceaser's in a street battle, where the public decides the winner.
At this point I didn't like the turn the story took. How did the distinction between nationalities become so important to him?
1. Aarav starts an Asian dance group, so why is it that for most of the film it seems to represent only India? Even in the final dance, there are primarily Indian flags, with only a few very small flags of other Asian countries.
2. Speaks in Hindi to his team when some member are clearly not Indians.
3. Aarav won the final dance battle because he had the support of the local Indian and Asian communities. The dance routine is no doubt nice, but just because the crowd is cheering for his team, it doesn't mean that they are better, does it?
4. Aarav got bullied by another dancer from Ceaser's crew for his ethnicity. Had Aarav been British he would have been equally insulted. This film seems to imply that Indians are not welcome in the city and in the dance industry. The fact that an Indian girl who joins Aarav's group was previously in Ceaser's is proof of the exact opposite.
5. I found it too extreme to see the public clearly divided into two. One side India and the other England. Couldn't some Indians support the English team and vice versa? It is hard to imagine the public so neatly divided in two as Sheffield is an international university city, with people from all over the world. Even Ceaser's dance members are clearly a mix of nationalities. While the city is proud of its multicultural identity, Aarav made it all about nationality. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing to see the how Indians help each other out, but the line between "India" and the "Others" seems too extreme.
I think Aarav transforms into an aggressive and arrogant individual, the kind of person he didn't like in fact when he was bullied. The final dance looks in every way like a battle, crowd cheering and the dancers managing to aggressively defeat Ceaser's team, making them retreat from the dance floor.
Saahil Prem did a good job writing and directing the film. However, I don't think he was the best person for the main role. His dancing is good, but isn't dancing supposed to be about expressing emotions? Sadly, his face lacks any kind of emotion, happy or angry, he always looks the same. Great poker face or too busy trying to look good for the camera?
I recommend watching the film if you're passionate about dancing. However, I didn't like the undertones of the film.
The film is about Aarav who travels to Sheffield (UK) hoping to join Ceaser's highly popular dance crew. To his frustration, Ceaser and his dance crew are not easy to locate and his new Indian friends help him with his quest. Eventually, he gets the chance to prove his dancing skills hoping to be part of his dream dance team. However, he fails to reach the standard and is racially insulted. Aarav does not give up his passion for dancing and starts his own dance crew, his motivation being to prove that Indians and Asians in general can dance. The film is filled with dance sequences and battles and ultimately his crew competes against Ceaser's in a street battle, where the public decides the winner.
At this point I didn't like the turn the story took. How did the distinction between nationalities become so important to him?
1. Aarav starts an Asian dance group, so why is it that for most of the film it seems to represent only India? Even in the final dance, there are primarily Indian flags, with only a few very small flags of other Asian countries.
2. Speaks in Hindi to his team when some member are clearly not Indians.
3. Aarav won the final dance battle because he had the support of the local Indian and Asian communities. The dance routine is no doubt nice, but just because the crowd is cheering for his team, it doesn't mean that they are better, does it?
4. Aarav got bullied by another dancer from Ceaser's crew for his ethnicity. Had Aarav been British he would have been equally insulted. This film seems to imply that Indians are not welcome in the city and in the dance industry. The fact that an Indian girl who joins Aarav's group was previously in Ceaser's is proof of the exact opposite.
5. I found it too extreme to see the public clearly divided into two. One side India and the other England. Couldn't some Indians support the English team and vice versa? It is hard to imagine the public so neatly divided in two as Sheffield is an international university city, with people from all over the world. Even Ceaser's dance members are clearly a mix of nationalities. While the city is proud of its multicultural identity, Aarav made it all about nationality. Don't get me wrong, it's amazing to see the how Indians help each other out, but the line between "India" and the "Others" seems too extreme.
I think Aarav transforms into an aggressive and arrogant individual, the kind of person he didn't like in fact when he was bullied. The final dance looks in every way like a battle, crowd cheering and the dancers managing to aggressively defeat Ceaser's team, making them retreat from the dance floor.
Saahil Prem did a good job writing and directing the film. However, I don't think he was the best person for the main role. His dancing is good, but isn't dancing supposed to be about expressing emotions? Sadly, his face lacks any kind of emotion, happy or angry, he always looks the same. Great poker face or too busy trying to look good for the camera?
I recommend watching the film if you're passionate about dancing. However, I didn't like the undertones of the film.
