It is in the last half hour that Aaja Nachle loses its step. In what was till then a charming contemporary fairy tale of a long-lost angel flying in and changing an entire town with one grand thumka, fizzles out with what was meant to be the showstopper act. That’s because a Laila-Majnu dance drama does not have the draw of a tension-filled cricket/hockey match and even though the episodic nritya aur sangeet is brilliantly choreographed and almost flirts with Lars Von Trier’s sensational staged Dogme cinema, it soon gets too tedious. And that’s where, without any apparent goof-up, Aaja Nachle falls well short of a Lagaan.

For those convinced that Aaja Nachle is only about a certain Madhuri Dixit, well, it is not. It’s much, much more. Yes, it does revolve around her and has a couple of vintage Madhuri dance numbers but it’s also about the neighbourhood mastaan, the lovelorn chaiwalla, the kabaddi-playing tomboy, and most importantly the town of Shamli whose viraasat is threatened by the relentless wheels of modernisation.

Where does Dia (Madhuri) fit into all this? Well, 11 years back, the Shamli ki stylegirl fell in love with a National Geographic ka phirangi photographer. Her parents obviously weren’t too happy with the (d)alliance but Dia, egged on by her dance guru, eloped with her lover to the US. Kyunki... woh duniya ki ishaaron pe nahin, dil ki dhadkan pe naachti hai...

It’s that same streak that brings Dia, now a divorced mother of an eight-year-old, back to Shamli. This time, though, it’s for the Ajanta Bachao Andolan. Ajanta, the amphitheatre where Dia once danced her heart away, the theatre whose pillars reverberated with her steps, the theatre to be broken down for a shopping mall. The local MP is met and the Lagaan die is cast — to put up a dance drama within two months by, with and for the people of Shamli.

More than anything else, Jaideep Sahni’s writing and Anil Mehta’s direction hold together the story (Aditya Chopra) reeking of formula in every reel. You know what’s up next but it is the way it’s told that you do not mind laughing and crying with the Ajanta Bachao Committee. Rather than the main story of saving the stage, it is the small sub-plots that work magic. Whether it’s the romance between Kunal and Konkona or Vinay’s attempt to impress his wife or Ranvir’s unflinching love for Madhuri, it’s a delightful ride. But once Laila Majnu starts you wish there was a remote control somewhere with a fast forward button.

Making Aaja Nachle what it is, is the most gifted set of actors rallying around Madhuri. There are also three lovely cameos punctuating the 150-minute saga. Of the songs (Salim-Sulaiman), it is the title track and Show me your jalwa which stay on while the complicated shots are perfectly captured by Mohanan.

So, finally, how’s Madhuri? Well, let’s get this straight — she is not the femme fatale anymore, the one who used to Maar daala with her Dhak dhak. And she doesn’t try to be one except in the flashback when there are flashes of that jaadoo. This is an all-new Madhuri who is ready to play a character to be part of the contemporary Bollywood idiom. The smile is the same and she still dances like a dream. Don’t ask for more.