- When a capable dancer is provoked by the evil design of his employer, naturally he will be out to prove his mettle.
- For Vishnu (Prabhudheva), widely regarded as India's best dancer, dance is more than a passion - it's the reason he lives! So when he finds himself thrown out from the swish dance academy he himself set up, by his manipulative business partner, it feels like the oxygen has been sucked out from the air he breathes. Heart-broken, Vishnu decides to give up dance and leave Mumbai forever. However the night before his departure he witnesses a most amazing sight - a group of dancers preparing for the upcoming Ganpati Dance Battle - an annual festival that pits Mumbai's best dance groups against each other. Watching the raw talent of these amazing dancers helps Vishnu arrive at a decision - he will take this disparate group under his wing, help them overcome their personal rivalries and past demons and turn them into India's best dance squad! From India's biggest film studio, UTV Motion Pictures, and renowned choreographer & director, Remo D'souza comes India's first dance film in 3D - a spectacular entertainer that proves yet again that if you dare to dream, impossible is nothing!—UTV Motion Pictures
- Vishnu (Prabhu Deva), a choreographer for Jehangir Dance Company (JDC) quits his job after having a bitter disagreement with his friend and manager Jehangir Khan (Kay Kay Menon) about the latter's abuse of power and influence to win a dance competition "Dance Dil Se" for his team. Jehangir uses his celebrity clout to fix the competition to ensure that Vishnu's team (who are employed by Jehangir), wins the competition despite making a bunch of amateur mistakes on stage and their competitors having a far better and flawless performance. Even Vishnu is ashamed as he knows that his team did not deserve to win. Jehangir argues that competitions are not won by talent, but by politics and clout. To further rile Vishnu, Jehangir appoints Chris (Mario Fernando Aguilera) as the new choreographer for JDC and relegates Vishnu to an administrative role in the company. Vishnu says that he has equal stake in the success of JDC, but Jehangir insults him and says that Vishnu is merely a choreographer and calls himself as the real power behind the brand and the its success. Vishnu quits his job, and in retaliation, Jehnagir takes back the house and the car that had been given to Vishnu by the company.
Vishnu moves in with his friend Gopi, who lives in a Chawl, and plans to return to Chennai in 2-3 days whenever he gets a train reservation. Vishnu observes several proteges of Gopi (Ganesh Acharya), using Parkour to evade the police. Vishnu can see that the guys have the basic ingredients to be dancers. Despite their raw talent, they lack the discipline required to become serious dancers. They demonstrate this disastrously at a local event for a politician, where they set the stage on fire. Vishnu confides in Gopi that 15 years of his work came to nothing, as his dream to create an identity for himself remains unfulfilled. Gopi tears Vishnu's train ticket and says that he will not allow him to return home, till he fulfills his dream.
After witnessing the youngsters show their dancing abilities at Ganesh Chaturthi against their rival neighborhood, Vishnu decides to start his own dance group -- Dhongri Dance Revolution (DDR) -- with them, ultimately preparing them to compete in Dance Dil Se. Gopi talks to local politician Vardha Bhai (Pankaj Tripathi) to get a shack for Vishnu, where he can organize his dance classes. Vishnu offers to teach his students for free. However, the lack of discipline among the dancers and rivalry between the two factions in the group led by Danish "D" Qureshi (Dharmesh Yelande) and Rocky (Salman Yusuff Khan) leads to multiple creative and emotional blocks. Only Rocky and his gang are initially willing to attend the free classes, but D and his friends soon gravitate towards the studio.
They are soon joined by Chandu (Punit Pathak), a troubled but extraordinarily talented man suffering from drug addiction (Vishnu had saved Chandu from the police when he first came into the dance class, as Chandu was hiding from them), Shaina (Noorin Shah), a bar dancer, and Rhea (Lauren Gottlieb), a Westerner who was JDC's star dancer until Jehangir tried to inappropriately touch her during a "private instruction". Jehangir had appointed Rhea as the lead dancer of his group, as an excuse to hold her back for further training, so that he could get some alone time with her. Rhea meets Vishnu for coffee and asks for a spot in his group as a student. Rhea immediately becomes the new star of the group. Both D and Rocky are interested in Rhea. Though the students are initially skeptical of Shaina because of her profession, Chandu defends her in front of the class despite teasing from his peers. The pair quickly fall for one another.
Despite repeated pleas for peace in the studio, the two gangs continue to clash, driving Vishnu to his wit's end. D and Rocky cannot agree on anything, including their choreography or even the central theme of their performance. The students seem to improve and as a reward, he gives them money to buy new speakers, but they nearly lose it all when Rhea takes them to an elite dance club where they challenge the resident champions, a professional dance crew called Fictitious Crew. Vishnu arrives at the last minute and wins back the money. Vishnu tells his students that they are not ready for an intense competition like Dance Dil Se. Vishnu is furious and wants to return home to Chennai. He forgives them after many apologies, and they return to class with greater discipline and drive, only to suddenly be thrown out on the street after D's father Afzal (Milind Wagh) (who is a butcher in the Chawl) calls the cops. Vardha Bhai was out of town, and hence could not come to help. The community complains that their children should not be wasting their time on dance. They perform an impromptu dance to convince their families of their talent. However, D's conservative father refuses to accept that his son desires to be a dance, even though the rest of the Chawl applauds their performance and accepts them as serious dancers. Afzal insists that D cannot step back into the house if he goes to dance. D has to leave his house, to be with his crew.
The crew head to Dance Dil Se and audition, but when Rocky and D fight onstage for Rhea, their chances of appearing on the show in the first place seem bleak. Jehangir, to humiliate Vishnu publicly, persuades the judges to take the DDR crew on as the show's "jokers".
Faced with ridicule and the idea that they are a joke, Vishnu asks Rocky and D to do a step that requires a great deal of mutual trust from both, but they cannot muster the trust to manage it. Vishnu blindfolds D and Rocky and tells them they are performing the same step with the different dancer, when in fact he had put D and Rocky together. They have no issues in completing the step blindfolded. Vishnu then states that unless the two manage to do the step without blindfolds none of the dancers would be allowed to go home for the night.
Several abortive and unsuccessful attempts later D and Rocky take a break and Chandu talks to D and tells him about Bhavana's (Bhavana Khanduja) secret love for D. Bhavana (who is from Rocky's camp) and D get together. D also accepts Rhea's relationship with Rocky. D completes the move successfully with Rocky, and the two factions begin to trust each other. They even perform a dance act full of comedy dressed as jokers to get back at Jehangir's comment.
2 hours before the semi-finals, Chandu prepares to propose to Shaina, but he meets his old drug dealer on the street. Now completely free from the hold of drugs he refuses to fall back into that world, but the irritated dealer tosses the ring intended for Shaina at him and it falls into the street. As Chandu retrieves it, he is hit by a truck and killed, leaving the team devastated. Vishnu asks the team to help retrieve Chandu's body from the morgue, but Shaina intervenes and asks the team to complete their semi-final performance first. Shaina, though barely able to stand from grief, becomes the center piece of the team's semi-final routine, in which they express the loss of their friend, bringing the audience to tears.
The team and the community come together to cremate Chandu, and DDR resolves to continue in the competition in Chandu's memory. Mayur (Mayuresh Wadkar), a performer in DDR tempted by Jehangir's offer of a main lead role in JDC. Mayur feeds information to JDC which leads JDC's dancers to copy DDR's choreography. Faced with losing, DDR crafts a new routine on the spot, based around Lord Ganesha. Their heartfelt and spontaneous performance reminds Jehangir of his old friendship with Vishnu and why they started JDC in the first place and is humbled. The DDR crew are rewarded with a thunderous applause and victory in the competition.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
By what name was ABCD (Any Body Can Dance) (2013) officially released in Canada in English?
AnswerMore from this title
More to explore
Most anticipated Indian movies and shows
Percentage shows amount of top page views.