Dance Dance (1987)

Dance Dance (1987)
Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Smita Patil, Amrish Puri, Shakti Kapoor, Mandakini
Director: B. Subhash
Music: Bappi Lahiri
Synopsis: The Ultimate Disco Sociodrama – the benchmark for all Dance Movies

“Oh my god, o-mi-god, o-mi-god, o-mi-god” my mind raced, pulse rate through the roof at the mere prospect, but then I was rudely yanked back to the reality of the distinctly charmless environment of Palika Bazaar where I had just scored the hit of a lifetime. For a paltry Rs. 45 (much more if you happen to earn in increasingly worthless scraps that is the beleaguered Pakistani currency) to have in my possession a shiny, spanking new, genuine DVD of arguably the most fantastic classic of its kind. Bless you, Moserbaer and Indus Video and that too in never-before-experienced 5.1 Dolby Surround sound.

I needed steadying at the mere thought of the giddy heights that I would soon be experiencing again, reliving an experience that comes once in a lifetime, if even that. For most, Dance Dance would suggest yet another run of the mill Disco based film; nothing too novel. Just another B grade affair but, beware of being tricked into complacency. This film is nothing short of being one of the life-altering moments in the lifetime of an ordinary mortal. Dance Dance is a film that captures the magic and the wonder of cinema in totality—justifying the existence of the movie camera. A unique experience for the human senses blessed to us by The Creator so that we could indulge in an early slice of heaven; B. Subaash Movie Unit’s unique cinematic and life experience Dance Dance.

Years ago, in the 80s, during the height of the Mithun-Bappi-Subaash craze, Dance Dance arrived onto the scene as nothing short of a revolution. Not only was the plot a new genre-defining moment in cinema history, but the sheer quality of Bappi Lahiri’s genius wove a web of disco vibes, unlike the world had ever experienced before. By the time Dance Dance was released, Mithun was a master craftsman of his trade; his pelvic movements chiselled and honed to frightening precision and juxtaposed with the vibrant, chubby, undies-flashing innocence of Mandakini made for cinematic wonderland.

The plot was spellbinding, involving music and dance competitions, disco boogie wars, copyright abuse, and of course, love, honour and betrayal. A lusting and all-powerful villain brutalise parents who sing and dance for a living. Kids lost and forced to fend for themselves from the footpath to packed stadiums and superstardom. Eventually, cracks in the bands’ unity, greed, deception begin to surface. This film had all the bases covered and how. Still, on the dance floor, Dance Dance explodes into scintillating action, proving it to be the ultimate version of The West Side Story with shades of Roller Boogie, Titanic, Purple Rain and A Star Born thrown into the mix. You may think Dance Dance is just another crappy 80s disco movie, but it is so much more than that. The finds master craftsman Bappi Lahiri in top form. The massive success of his soundtrack led to a significant attempt to crossover as an International Pop Star, much like his idol, Michael Jackson. The heart-stoppingly brilliant Super Dancer, Everybody Dance with Pa Pa Pa, and the poignant Aa Gaya Aa Gaya Halwa Wala Aa Gaya. Perhaps it is in the films simplicity and purity where the magic lies.

It is a film that lulls a viewer into its own Disco laced sense of security before startling them with the most heart-wrenching emotions and pathos and sheer drama that will have you questioning the very existence of God and the meaning of life. It is a film that challenges man’s basic concept of survival to the core and demands the viewer to come up with some soul searching answers. Dance Dance offers nothing less than a blueprint for a new way of life. However, the movie can appear no more than a light-hearted, frothy disco-revenge-romance social family drama that can easily be accessed and embraced by the entire family, especially the pet hamster.

As a dance musical alone, the film would be setting standards that have yet to be matched, although the film is decades old. Class is timeless, and the standards that Dance Dance has set will forever be the unachievable level that the rest of the world’s filmmakers can only dream of reaching.

Dance Dance is the Citizen Kane of Disco drama but so much more because it has all that Citizen Kane has to offer yet so much more. Bappi Lahiri proved once and for all that he was and is God of mujik, and even his piffle is worth worshipping such as Thora Resham Lagta Hae, Thora Sheesha Lagta Hai, a song that made America what it is today “Great Again”. Also, would you trust your Teeny Bopper Disco Band if the drummer was Shakti Kapoor?