Afterthoughts

I've been hard on this movie. From a technical viewpoint, that is warranted. The movie had many flaws, in editing, pacing, story, sound engineering, the list goes on. As for the actual content of the film... well I will admit that this is clearly a product of its time, and as such loses a massive amount of credibility seen more than twenty years later.

I was born just a little too late to really "get" the appeal of disco, so any of the nostalgic feelings that this movie might have drawn out of someone that truly enjoyed disco for what it was ended up being lost on me. Yes, the costumes are ridiculous to us now in 2006, but for all I know that was the height of fashion for the Indian disco set in 1983. Something tells me that isn't the case, but I'm willing to allow a little bit of wiggle room on that point.

Ordinarily I go into specifics on each of the actors and how they did. There's not a lot to say for this specific film. I think that almost everyone did the best they could with what they were given, and that's all we can realistically ask for.

I have a message from Beth, the author of Beth Loves Bollywood. As the provider of this film, I offered her the chance to have a say on it here to defend/deny/rebut anything I had to say about her choice. She writes:

Army of Monkeys graciously offered me the space to write a rebuttal to what he feels is my heinous sin of introducing him to this movie. Regular readers of both AoM and Beth Loves Bollywood will have already realized that we specialize in very different kinds of Bollywood. I mean, he hasn't even seen Bunty Aur Babli and he thinks Main Hoon Na is "good" with nary a "superwow" in sight. He watches scary movies - both ones that were deliberately so and ones that just wound up that way because of bad special effects and action sequences. He watches god-awful Deol brothers action movies. He loves the 90s and Urmila. And you can get him to do anything you want by dangling the notion of Manisha in front of him (although I do wholly support his campaign, failed as it is, as I too know the thrills of a fake-pretend movie significant other).

So when it came up one day - as these kinds of things are wont to do - that he had never even heard of Disco Dancer, I just knew something had to be done. Sort of like how Akshaye [Khanna] needs the love of a good woman, AoM needed the love of a good fellow webmaster, as he delightfully calls me, who would gently take his hand, sit him on the sofa, bring him a peanut butter sandwich and a cold Fresca, and put in the DVD player this most rare and sought-after jewel in the crown of Bollywood kitsch. He needed to see it, and it was my responsibility, now that I knew of this gaping hole in his Bollywood experience, to bring him to the light - the glaring, blinking, candy-bright light.

It's important to note that I do not actually like Disco Dancer. It is, as we all know, a terrible movie. But it is necessary. How can anyone call himself a fan of bad Hindi films without having this under his belt? Even I, who lean towards the pink and fluffy and Rani-laden, knew that much. Here he was, all proud of his ability to be amused by droll stunts, to find delight in non-punches, to laugh his way through Jaani Dushman (which I think is going to be his revenge on me - stay tuned after I get back from India), and he didn't even know of the existence of this...um...this....

That brings us to an interesting point, actually: what is Disco Dancer, exactly? If you've seen it, you understand my question and you already know the deep, inexpressible answer. It has its share of nasty villains - so debauched they stumble over their own excesses but only after dancing to a misguided tribute to "Video Killed the Radio Star." It has its share of non-punches - and Bob Christo and flying mannequins and force-field snapping fingers that the Jets and Sharks only wished they had had at their disposal. It has its share of jaw-droppingly bad special effects - death by electric guitar, anyone? It has all this and so much more - and you cannot predict the fear of tippy-toe prancing and the lunacy of black tube socks with powder pink capes until you see them for yourself. This is where AoM and I reached agreement - at the very least, Disco Dancer has to be seen to be believed.

So, AoM, do you believe?

Bang bang indeed.

I believe that yes, this movie must be seen to fully appreciate the impact that it can have on the human psyche. There's a lot to bear witness to here. The dance scenes and the fight scenes are memorable experiences that will burrow their way into your eyes like a parasite. Let's not forget that terrifying child at the beginning of the film...

Anyway! Out of all of the movies I've watched and written about, this one is a bit unique. I haven't seen any quite like this, and I doubt (and hope!) that I will never meet another of this caliber.

Negatives:

Positives:

I normally try to have an even number of positives and negatives, but unfortunately that just isn't possible at this time. If I can think of more positives to say I will add them, but for now, this is about all I can come up with!

Here we have Sam, going through his final stages of madness after Jimmy conquers his guitar phobia. I felt much the same way by this point in the film. Note I rated the Entertainment Value rather high. This is not without a warning - if you can tolerate the amount of disco in this movie, you will probably be able to enjoy it as a silly reminder of those halcyon days. If you are opposed to disco, feel free to take a point or two off.

Disco Dancer (1983)

Quality:         (Out of 5)
Entertainment Value:     (Out of 5)

 

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