Another Good Review of Dance....

Reviews: Powerful human drama

Dance Like A Man
Starring Shobhana, Arif Zakaria and Anoshka Shankar
Showing at: Inox

Very few filmmakers show such profound understanding of art forms. Pamela Rooks can be credited with this unique quality for her recent work Dance Like A Man. Based on Mahesh Dattani's play, this National award winner for the Best Movie in English is a masterpiece. Based on one of India's classical dance forms, Bharatnatyam, this movie depicts the difficult life of dancers in our society. It is a reminder of those times when dance used to be considered the "raft of prostitutes" in India. A woman as a dancer was bad enough but a man trying to become a dancer was an unheard thing. Dance Like A Man is a powerful human drama, which provides an insight into contemporary India's social scene. The movie shows a strong willed woman surviving in a man's world. Revolving around two generations, it is an interplay of the past and the present. With this movie, sitar maestro Ravi Shankar's daughter Anoshka Shankar makes her debut in the films.

Ratna (Shobhana) and Jairaj (Arif Zakaria), two dancers past their prime live in an antique filled mansion that once belonged to Jairaj's father Amritlal Parikh. The movie opens with the two making preparations for their daughter Lata's (Anoshka Shankar) debut. From arranging the mridangam player, to requesting the media to cover the event, the mother is taking care of everything. Into the scene comes Lata's fiancee Vishal (Sameer Soni). Exposed to an environment alien to his own, he unknowingly becomes the catalyst of the revelation of many dark secrets of the family.

Two decades back, Bharatnatyam brought Ratna and Jairaj together. With no other means of livelihood, the couple were on the mercy of Jairaj's father who disapproved his of son's passion for dance. There were testing times and difficult situations and one tragedy, which made them both give up their dancing career. Today, Lata is constantly under pressure to "achieve all that her parents couldn't". She often tells Vishal that she "wants to dance for herself and not to please anybody."
Talented, Lata is and her debut is a huge success. She becomes a sensation overnight. The problems don't end here. With their daughter's success as a dancer, the couple is confronted with the dark secret they had buried between themselves for years.

To follow a passion is not easy in this country. Dance Like a Man is a brillinatly told tale of this painful reality. Pamela Rooks has done justice to this beautiful play. The movie doesn't leave any lose ends. Everything has been done to perfection.

While all the performances are laudable, Shobhana steals the show. Dance Like A Man is a proof of her acting prowess as well as her dancing abilities. The dance sequences (choreographed by the actress herself) are a delight for any art lover. Expressive face and graceful steps, Shobhana is great as a dancer. And she doesn't fade on the acting front as well. She looks perfect as the strong women who dedicates her life to dance. Anoushka Shankar is not very impressive. Shobhana's brilliant performance overshadows her. Her dance as well as acting are too amateur. Arif Zakaria and Sameer Soni's performance deserve appreciation. Dance Like A Man is one of the rare good movies in our times.