O’ Romeo Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating
Star Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Avinash Tiwary
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
O'Romeo Movie Review Synopsis:
O'ROMEO is the story of a lover on a killing spree. The year is 1995. Ustara (Shahid Kapoor) resides in Mumbai with his grandmother (Farida Jalal) and his gang members. He is on the payroll of Ismail Khan (Nana Patekar) from the Intelligence Bureau. Ustara used to work for the fugitive gangster, Jalal (Avinash Tiwary) and after their fallout, Khan has given Ustara protection. In return, Ustara does the dirty work of eliminating criminals for Khan. One day, a mysterious woman named Afshan (Triptii Dimri) meets Ustara in his hideout. Afshan asks Ustara to eliminate three people for her – a lawyer named Anjum Ansari (Resh Lamba), a cop named Pathare (Rahul Deshpande) and finally, Jalal. Ustara is amused by her demand and declines the job. A desperate Afshan steals a gun from Ustara's gang member and tries to kill Ansari. She fails to do and is about to be killed when Ustara saves her and bumps off the lawyer. Realizing how serious Afshan is about the killings, Ustara takes up the job. However, several challenges lie ahead. The next on her hit list is the cop, Pathare, which can be a risky affair. Khan might not approve of the mission. Moreover, Jalal, who is based in La Línea, Spain, is a terror and killing him is no cakewalk. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
O'Romeo Movie Story Review:
Hussain Zaidi's story is inspired by true events. Vishal Bhardwaj and Rohan Narula's screenplay has strokes of brilliance, but sadly, it isn't without its share of rough edges. Vishal Bhardwaj's dialogues are impactful.
Vishal Bhardwaj's direction is overall supreme. He is known for niche films but went somewhat massy with KAMINEY [2009]. With O'ROMEO, he returns to the genre yet again. Also, he peppers it with heartbreak and excessive bloodshed, which is in trend at present. Visually and artistically, the film scores. The hideout of Ustara on the ship is unique. The idea of him using ‘ustara’ for eliminating goons adds a quirky, distinctive edge to the action. While Ustara’s journey is packed with both eccentricity and pathos, it is Afshan who truly becomes the emotional anchor of the narrative. Interestingly, she is no damsel in distress and can go to any lengths when required. This gives a progressive touch to the story. The other strength of the film is that despite a run time of 178 minutes, the goings-on keep viewers hooked and don’t bore the viewers even for a minute.
On the flipside, the film loses steam in the second half. The love story, which is at the core of O'ROMEO, is underwhelming after a point. A few violent scenes seem to have a hangover of ANIMAL [2023]. The film is supposed to be commercial and hence cinematic liberties are a given. Yet, a few developments are very convenient and even silly. Lastly, the music is not as enticing.
O'Romeo Movie Review Performances:
Despite the blemishes, Vishal Bhardwaj, as expected, extracts bravura performances from his actors. Shahid Kapoor puts his heart and soul into the role. Ustara is a demanding character, and Shahid delivers a powerful, committed performance from start to finish. Triptii Dimri once again proves her talent and, after a while, comes up with a performance that matches her strong work in LAILA MAJNU [2018], BULBBUL [2020] and QALA [2022]. She keeps it subtle and controlled, and that restraint makes her impact even stronger. Avinash Tiwary has a late entry and he makes up for it with his power-packed performance. Nana Patekar is dependable as always and also raises laughs. Farida Jalal and Hussain Dalal (Chhotu) deliver adorable performances. Vikrant Massey (Mehboob) and Tamannaah Bhatia (Rabiya) do well in cameos. Disha Patani (Julie) adds to the glam quotient. Resh Lamba doesn’t get much scope. Rahul Deshpande is too good as the cop who is also into classical singing. Anubha Fathpuria (Chachi; Biryani eatery owner) and Kashyap Shangari (Mohsin) are okay. Natasha Bharadwaj (Nargis) leaves a mark.
O'Romeo movie music and other technical aspects:
Vishal Bhardwaj's films always have a memorable soundtrack, but sadly, the songs in O'ROMEO don't come under that category. All the songs – 'Aashiqon Ki Colony', 'Paan Ki Dukaan', 'Ishq Ka Fever', the title song etc – are well woven into the narrative though. Vishal Bhardwaj's background score is far better, especially in the Spain scenes.
Ben Bernhard's cinematography (additional cinematography by Konstantin Minnich and Saurabh Goswami) enhances the film’s scale. Mustafa Stationwala's production design is rich, while Maxima Basu's costumes are realistic yet classy. Dani Del Rosario and Vikram Dahiya's action is gory. Aarif Sheikh's editing is satisfactory.
O'Romeo Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, O'ROMEO delivers several well-made moments and strong performances from the lead cast. However, the uneven writing and the ordinary soundtrack prevent it from creating the kind of impact it aims for. At the box office, it is likely to take an average opening, and it will need a solid jump from tomorrow to stay in the race and recover its high costs
