Naach
Naach
| 12 November 2004 (USA)
Naach Trailers

A struggling middle-class couple is trying to adjust to life in modern-day Bombay, but the unexpected appearance of someone changes things completely.

Reviews
Dorathen Better Late Then Never
Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Darin One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.
mily_g In spite of all its drawbacks Naach is a pretty good movie. The story is interesting, the characters are unusual, the songs and choreography too try to do something different. Abhishek Bachchan acts very well. Antara Mali is not bad when she is doing the serious, unsmiling scenes but the one emotional scene by her is rather ghastly. Her utter lack of makeup is very nice though. The songs and dances even though a bit weird, are acceptable as different. What pulls them down are the minimalist costumes, which consist of strange Jurassic feathers and wings and scraps of chiffon. The story is about Reva who wants to achieve her goals but on her own terms and Abhi who will do whatever it takes to achieve his. They become a couple but of course their ideologies had to clash at some point.
Sherazade Abhishek Bachchan annoyed me with his turn in this film. Thank God for Antara Mali who plays the other lead, I would have puked or something. I loved the premise of the film because it revolved around dance (hence the title 'Naach' which means "Dance" in Hindi) which I absolutely love and Miss Mali danced her tush off in this one! But, there just has to be a but and it comes by way of ABHISHEK BACHCHAN!!! He just acted like a spoiled-brat-out-to-get-some-action when he spots Mali's sexy (a great dancer who aspires to work and bring something new to the Bollywood dancing scene) character. She is a newbie in town who defied what her family had lined up for her, to come to Mumbai in search of her own dream. He is an out-of-work youth who is also defying his parents by going after his own dreams.While Ram Gopal Varma handles their attraction and love scenes very well, it was impossible to mask Jr. B's pouting and sulking. He falls in love with the girl, she teaches him how to dance and how to get in touch with his inner self, and when he becomes a big star, he expects her to just submit to his charms and forget about her own dreams. Mali's character doesn't mind the ultimatum, in fact, she sticks it to the ultimatum he gives her and she actually walks away. Sooner (than later) she is spotted by a new chassis (played by the charming Ritesh Deshmukh starring a Bollywood director) and a relationship is instantly implied. Once Jr. B sees this in the papers and shoots, his spoilt rich star self (which I'm sure is not very far from the man he is in real life) starts to act crazy, sulk more and ultimately demand that he gets the girl in the end. And ultimately in the end, he does.
jks81 Naach is an incredible story. I liked it, as I have all RGV movies. It is based in the reality of human emotion and not just the heightened emotions of technicolor love stories, although I like those movies too. Antara Mali and Abhishek are a great pair. Wonderful performances. And the cinematography is great, fantastic-- superb. I liked that this film is set in the world of Bollywood. Everyone knows it is a hard business, but this illustrates the struggle of these artists without being schmaltzy. The dancing is so abstract, but I admired it. Some songs I fast forwarded through because they slowed the film down. The dialogue is good and I recommend the film as long as you can control the remote. Ritesh Deshmukh also gives a great performance.
Abhishek Bandekar There are movies and there are MOVIES. Similarly, there are Ramgopal Varma creations and then there is NAACH! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, NAACH is Varma's best work till date. Agreed, the story is weak, the proceedings not quite comprehensive and the climax(to put it mildly) unconvincing and rushed. But then, this movie is not about story or characters. It is about Ramgopal Varma and his style of film-making. Varma has always defied the norms of Bollywood with his craft of the cinema. He refuses to crowd his movies with unnecessary song and dance routines, slapstick comedy, logic-defying action and most importantly, excessive melodrama. He doesn't play to the gallery at all! That is the reason why his 'SATYA' is still considered the most hard-hitting portrayal of the dark underbelly of the Mumbai underworld. His characters(SHOOL, AB TAK CHAPPAN) are just as believable and real as the person you cross roads with! His camera-work(KAUN, JUNGLE) is ever inventive and his editing(COMPANY), groundbreaking. And what is perhaps most surprising about this maverick film-maker is the frequency at which he keeps churning out movie after movie. And in doing so, he has created a niche audience for himself that waits for his films with earnestness! NAACH is Varma's tribute to this niche audience of his! Actually, NAACH is Varma's argument against all that is practiced in Bollywood which he would like to overthrow!NAACH is artistic masturbation at its best! And I have always been for artistic masturbation. GAJAGAMINI is one of the most criminally ignored films! The best works of Goddard, Almodovar and Tarkowsky have flowed(no pun intended) from labours of artistic masturbation. NAACH is Varma fantasizing about his vision of cinematic splendor and justifying his style of cinema. Therefore, in this process of presenting an artistic argument, the story and characters become collateral! And hence, inconsequential!NAACH then revolves around the lives of Abhinav(Abhishek Bachchan) and Reva(Antara Mali). Abhinav is a struggling actor and Reva an aspiring choreographer. Both intent on making it in the world of Bollywood. But their ideologies are different. Abhinav has no problems subscribing to the accepted to make his name, inspite of the fact that he resents formula cinema himself. Reva, on the other hand, wants to revolutionize the style of dance and music. Obviously, the idealist takes a long time to climb the ladder while the pragmatic reaches there instantly. But despite the success, Abhinav craves for the company of Reva. What Varma establishes here is the dormant yet inherent desire inside every actor to satisfy his creative and artistic urges that no amount of money and fame can satiate! In telling the stories of Abhinav and Reva, Varma also informs us about the machinery of Bollywood that governs what is produced and what is rebuked! Star-tantrums, artistic differences and egoistic upheavals determine the outcome of the final product. Reva(a play on Ramgopal Varma's initials- RV) is Varma's personification of his idea of beauty and cinema. Just as she defies the conventional style of dance, Varma uses her body to define grace. In fact, in every contour of her body, Varma shows us true beauty. So pure are his metaphorical references, that none of the scenes can be thought perverse. If people find this movie vulgar, then every sculpture at Khajuraho and Elephanta and every painting at Chola temples are vulgar too!There is a scene in the movie when Ritesh Deshmukh tells Antara Mali that her ideas are ahead of her times. Ironically, so is this movie! NAACH is unlike any Varma movie, but it is about Varma movies! Go see it, and devour this large canvas of beauty!Rating- ****** Poor ** Average *** Good **** Very Good ***** Excellent