Chance Pe Dance is yet another telling audio-visual evidence that Bollywood writers and directors are struggling to keep up with the new kids on the block. Five years, countless reshoots, one heroine replacement, severely re-edited music videos later, director Ken Ghosh has not been able to deliver ‘a Shahid Kapur film’. Yet again a script has failed a star in below-par B-town.

It must have been difficult for Shahid to turn down his first director, especially when Ghosh and company promised to bring on screen the man’s own little story. How a Delhi boy with no industry godfather and no rich friends in Mumbai to fall back on, breaks into Bollywood edging past thousands in a nationwide talent hunt. That’s how Ghosh had cast Shahid in Ishq Vishk. Or so the story goes.

When you have parallels with reality, why not sugarcoat that reality? So, here you have Sameer Behl (Shahid) who gives a dozen auditions a day and is most content despite no one ever calling him back. His lungi commercial — ‘for easy air flow’ is the tagline(!) — has got him a second-hand car and Sam is happy to do some day job even as he keeps giving auditions with the broadest smile under the sun.

Can you guess how he reacts when somebody actually picks Sameer as the hero of a film? “Are you sure?”... “Are you sure?” he keeps asking the director, almost sounding apologetic that someone would cast him as a leading man. Yet, he is so confident about himself that for three years Sam has been staying in a battered studio apartment where the refrigerator doubles as the cupboard and the iron is used as a toaster. That’s until his landlord has him thrown out and yes, he starts living out of a car!

And if you find that unreal, just read what Sam’s lady love Tina (Genelia) is up to. She too has walk-in-the-clouds eyes and has been struggling to get a break as a choreographer in the movies. But when Sameer is dropped from the film — how else do you expect the reels to roll on? — Tina gives up her debut job as well! Remember Chance Pe Dance is a “sweet, feel-good film” not meant to show the mean machinations of Bollywood like Luck By Chance?

Hang on, we didn’t even tell you that for a good 45 minutes in the middle of all these big breaks and heartbreaks, there is a desi School of Rock happening. Shahid, of course, is Jack Black here, helping a bunch of kids win an inter-school dance competition. The lame link-up to the main plot? One of the kids (Zain Khan) is Tina’s brother.

Ironically the only real thing about Ken Ghosh’s film is the director, played by Mohnish Behl. He spots the talent in Sam, casts him as the lead in his film, gets a sponsorship that forces him to organise the hero hunt and then helps Sam when he tries again through the contest.

The two words of caution for insomniacs trying to catch a quick nap during Chance Pe Dance (the running time is under two hours): the Shahid-Genelia love story and, of course, the man’s moves. The two look cute together and provide the most watchable moments of the movie — when she drops him on her 30km/hour scooty or when he recites romantic dialogues from the script, straight into her heart.

As for the dancing, there are not too many better sights on the Bollywood screen these days than a Shahid Kapur boogie woogie. With or without those eight packs on view, this boy can dance, saala! It’s a pity that Adnan Sami’s songs do not help matters, even though the choreography (Ahmed Khan and Justin Timberlake man Marty Kudelka) is top notch.

Shahid Kapur the actor, though, needs to be careful. If you watch closely, you can see how Chance Pe Dance’s Sameer puts his left hand to his forehead while thinking, like Kaminey’s Guddu, or brings his hands together while explaining things, like Jab We Met’s Aditya. Shahid seems to have gone completely undirected in this film and that’s why the performance often slips from good to just about okay.

Given that her character lacks any backgrounding whatsoever, Genelia does a decent job, free-wheeling and endearing. Just getting used to her draggy diction can be bit of a problem.

Kya faida uss talent ka jise mauka hi na miley, asks Shahid in the climax. We ask you Ken: Kya faida uss chance ka jispe tum dance hi na kar sako?