124. Street Dancer 3D; movie review

STREET DANCER 3D
Cert PG
146 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language, sex references, violence

Why do movies about street dance troupes always follow the same path?
I have no qualms about spoilers to Street Dancer 3D because its direction is obvious from the opening five minutes.
Sure, you can't take away the quality of the routines during Remo D'Souza's movie but its storyline is tepid and character exploration superficial.
And its attempt to address illegal immigration into the UK is, frankly, laughable.
Ok, the difference between this and other street dancer movies I have seen is that it pits Indians against Pakistanis in London.
The portrayal of the English capital in Indian movies is often ludicrous and, sadly, this is no exception.
For starters, most young people who are brought up here speak perfect accentless English and tend not to mix only with folk of the same colour skin.
And the police don't tend to sit down with potential troublemakers watching cricket on TV in the off-chance that a food fight might kick off.
And then there is the link to London's homeless - and, in particular, those who have moved from South-East Asia with the hope of improving their economic situation.
The problem here is that D'Souza skirts across a very complex problem, giving only a superficial example of a band of drummers who are seeking their fortune.
The deeper reasons for their emigration are not explored nor is why they were so poorly researched before paying the film's lead character, Sahej (Varun Dhawan) a substantial amount to smuggle them in.
Actually don't get me on how easy that was.
I digress.
Sahej is a self-obsessed dancer who wants to win competitions at all costs - even if he offends family and friends.
His team are all of Indian decent and pretty good but probably not as sharp as a Pakistani troupe led by a feisty young Inayat  (Shraddha Kapoor).
During the film's first half, the rivals spend much of the time as rivals but no-one takes the need to win as seriously as Sahej.
Then there is a diversion because Inayat discovers how many homeless immigrants are on the streets near her London home.
"Had she gone around with her eyes closed?", I hear you ask.
Anyway, somehow the plot is engineered so that flash-dancing will be of benefit to those on the streets.
Is it convoluted? Yes. Is the acting captivating? No. Is the dancing any good? Yes, it is mind-boggling. And that is probably all the fans need to know.

Reasons to watch: Sensational dance routines
Reasons to avoid: The thinnest of plots

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 4.5/10

Did you know? It has been estimated that there are around 10,000 concealed sheds and garages used to home illegal immigrants in and around London from which greedy landlords charge extortionate prices to illegal immigrants.

The final word. Varun Dhawan: "There was a documentary on SWAT (Seek Welfare and Awareness Team) which works in the UK in rehabilitating people from different countries who don’t have homes and need shelter. It’s a very interesting topic that’s been mixed in a small way with dance in this film. In fact, some of them have been featured in the film as well. There’s a good cause in the film and that cause was the reason I wanted to do it." Telegraph India

Share this post