Dance Dance starts with a disturbing sequence where a married couple who perform as artists at an event are abducted by an influential man - the husband is killed, and the wife raped and taken captive for years. Their little kids are driven out of their rented house and grow up to become aspiring artists themselves. They are played by Mithun Chakraborty and Smita Patil. The film is a true musical - it has numerous songs throughout and is really very entertaining. The dance numbers are fun too, and they present the trademark Mithun style. Bappi Lahiri's soundtrack is wonderful although some numbers are unoriginal. Among the songs, "Dil Mera Todo Na", the opening number "Zooby Zooby" (a remake of a popular Modern Talking song) are still famous today, although my favourite numbers are the title song "Dance Dance" as well as "Super Dancer". The film is one of Alisha Chinai's first jobs as a playback singer. She was a teenager at the time and did a wonderful job. It also starred Mandakini, that gorgeous young starlet who really suits her role here as Mithun's love interest as well as the energy of this film.
The film is only benefitted by its charismatic star, Mithun Chakraborty, who happens to be an excellent actor and whose commanding presence always rises above the films he's in. Dance Dance is his show all the way, it's a variation of many of his other films, but it's a good one, and his performance totally warrants great entertainment. This is also one of the last films by one of India's finest actresses, Smita Patil, and the film released shortly after her death. Watching this film is heartbreaking in a way, but it's also really nice that Patil, who was known for her challenging roles in serious films, had constantly experimented with mainstream cinema. And interestingly enough, even within the limitations of an enjoyable but fluffy film like this one, her role has relatively greater depth than one would expect, and she is fantastic here. In later portions of the film she plays the battered wife with great conviction. The sibling relationship between Mithun and Smita is wonderfully portrayed. To sum it up, this is a great nostalgic film and always fun to revisit. I might be biased, but I like it.
