WILL NAACH do for Antara Mali, giving it all in this Ramgopal Varma film, what Rangeela did for Urmila Matondkar when the Masoom actress was down and all but out? Before you get the answer this Diwali, the director puts all such speculations to rest, "Naach is not Rangeela. Rangeela was light as feather, Naach is tough as nails. If the characters of Rangeela were the sort every viewer could identify with, the characters of Naach are larger and more intimidating than life."

Pitted opposite Yash Chopra's much-awaited Veer-Zaara starring Shah Rukh Khan with Preity Zinta and Rani Mukerjee, Naach may just prove to be the dark horse. At stake here is Antara Mali's career — even she cannot remember her last hit, and the last time Ramu made a film for her in Main Madhuri Dixit Banna Chahti Hoon, he burned his fingers. Then there is Abhishek Bachchan, for a change riding on a crest in the wake of Dhoom. Not to forget the lip lock everybody is talking about in this tale of Abhi and Rewa, the guy is a wannabe actor, the girl a struggling choreographer. Both are emblems of insecurities, wild dreams, and desperate wishes.

If the story is vaguely similar to Rangeela, blame it in part to selective amnesia, in part to the inevitability of trade.

The plot is ready. The date is decided. The director is bold. The actors bolder still. They are talking of lilting music and choreography too. Time for Naach?