This Valentine’s Day offering O Romeo is produced and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and stars Vishal Bhardwaj’s favorite Shahid Kapoor who is paired with Tripti Dimri and the third pivotal character is Avinash Tiwary. While Tamannaah Bhatia also makes a special appearance alongside Nana Patekar.
O Romeo is a black film, quirky and at times depressing all throughout it’s run of almost three hours. It isn’t a bad film but it depends on one’s taste of movies. Based on the book Mafia Queens of Mumbai by Hussain Zaidi and it draws inspiration from real life. Vikrant Massey, Disha Patani too are in special appearances.
The film is about Afsha (Tripti Dimri) who decides to avenge her husband Mehmood Qureshi’s (Vikrant Massey) death through Jalal (Avinash Tiwary). Set in Nepal, highlight of the film is a splendid bullfight in Spain. As a gritty crime drama steeped in crime and gore, the film also weaves in romance, after all that is Vishal Bhardwaj’s specialty. There is black drama as a motif.
The film O Romeo depicts the trials and tribulations of Tripti in her search for her husband’s killer. Performance-wise, I would say that Shahid Kapoor is excellent as usual. For a newcomer, Tripti Dimri is very competent, but credit is due to Avinash Tiwari because as Jalal he has done a job which we have never seen him doing before. And it would be appropriate to speak about the other actors as well. Like Nana Patekar in a small appearance, Tamannaah Bhatia as Rabia in a small appearance. Vikrant Massey too has a small role in this film, as Tripti Dimri’s husband and has also done his part very well.
With lyrics by Gulzar Sahab and music composed by Vishal Bhardwaj the music is excellent. This film is for those who want a dark drama, as there are quite a few sequences during 3 hours, which may disturb you. For fans of Vishal Bhardwaj and Gulzar, you will like this film.
Vishal Bhardwaj has brought out everyone’s performance brilliantly., including that from Vikrant Massey, who has been wasted because he is playing a small role as Tripti’s husband. Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwari and Shahid Kapoor stand out among all the actors. Particularly Avinash Tiwary who has risen several notches up in his performance in this film. Wondering how Vishal Bharadwaj must have convinced Farida Jalal to play that character that is opposite to her image on TV and films.
For those who like Black, Evil genre of films, O Romeo is a drama spanning 178 that is so gory and dark.
– Review by Jyothi Venkatesh
Credits of O Romeo:
Production companies – Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, VB Films
Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala
Screenplay, Dialogues and Direction by Vishal Bhardwaj
Additional Screenplay by Rohan Narula
Based on Mafia Queens of Mumbai by Hussain Zaidi
Cinematography – Ben Bernhard
Edited by Aarif Sheikh
Music by Vishal Bhardwaj
Cast of O Romeo
Shahid Kapoor as Ustara
Triptii Dimri as Afsha Qureshi (Rani Sharma)
Nana Patekar as Ismail Khan
Avinash Tiwary as Jalal
Farida Jalal as Dadi
Hussain Dalal as Chhotu
Rahul Deshpande as Inspector Pathare
Vikrant Massey as Mehmood Qureshi “Billu” (special appearance)
Tamannaah Bhatia as Rabia Jalal
Disha Patani as Julie (special appearance)
Rohit Pathak as Shankar
Resh Lamba as Anjum Anasri
Shaurya Shah as Meerasi
Karunakar Dubey as Lamb Chop
Allauddin Khan as Bhagheera
Gourav Sharma as Ram
Goutam Sharma as Shyam
Shiv Kanungo as Kaka Machchi
Sarthak Khurana as Anwar Ali
Alok Jain as Jayesh Duggal
