Santacruz Movie Review: A dance movie that gets heavy-footed

Story: Santacruz, a dance troupe based in Fort Kochi, sees friendship, love and betrayal with the story of Danny and Meera Review: Danny (Aniish Rrehman) and his dance troupe, comprising four of his friends, make their livelihood through taking part in competitions and shows in Fort Kochi and nearby area. One day, Danny meets Meera (Noorin Shereef) at a show and it is love at first sight for him, though it is unrequited. Gradually though, when they start working together, they get close, but while Danny wants to marry Meera, her father, a retired military officer (Major. Ravi), he fixes her marriage with ACP Eshwar Das (Rahul Madhav). Will Danny and Meera come together forms the rest of the story. Santacruz resembles Bollywood dance movies, such as ABCD and Dil To Pagal Hai, which, in the backdrop of dance, tell stories of love or revenge, amid competitions. There is also a Madhuri Dixit-Karishma Kapoor type dance-off. Santacruz is a story of friendship, love and revenge. The first half, with fun, romance and friendship, is feel good. The second half with an overdose of emotions, lost love and misunderstandings, drags on too much. The run time of two hours 27 minutes is too much with such a small story.The camera work by Selvakumar is good, nicely capturing Fort Kochi and Goa, especially the nightlife. The love songs and dance sequences between Danny and Meera, especially the night scene, are very beautiful. Sibu Sukumaran’s music gels well with the film. The story is good, but writer-director Johnson John Fernandez should have made the screenplay crisper for it to be more engaging. The unusual pattern of storytelling is interesting, though. Aniish Rrehman is average, while Nooren Shereef shows onscreen magic, particularly her entry with a Michael Jackson number. Major Ravi as Meera’s ‘new-age father’ and single parent does a great job. Rahul Madhav’s character with negative shades is well played. Aju Varghese and Indrans are also good in their roles. as John mash have small roles to play but are well played. Seenu Sohanlal is hilarious as a politician. Santacruz might be a film that pulls in youngsters for a fun weekend watch.V Vinod Nair