O'Romeo review: A Complete Masala Entertainer For First 90 Minutes, A Mess for the Next 90 Minutes
Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest foray into the romantic action-thriller genre with O'Romeo starring Shahid Kapoor and Tripti Dimri is a chaotic, blood-soaked mixed bag that starts with immense promise but ultimately falls prey to a terminal case of "Second Half Disease."
Transporting us back to the gritty, neon-soaked underworld of 1995 Mumbai, the film attempts to capture an era defined by chaos and charisma. The film kicks off with a sequence so meta and nonsensical it almost breaks the fourth wall. This opening scene is mindless, bloody, and undeniably fun; it serves as a loud, crimson disclaimer for the level of carnage and unapologetic violence the audience should expect.
The narrative centers on Ustara (Shahid Kapoor), a contract killer with a flair for the dramatic and a penchant for throat-slitting. Having earned his moniker by "handling" his father’s murderer with a straight razor, Ustara is a man of simple, violent pleasures. His life takes a sharp turn when he encounters Afsaan (Tripti Dimri). Afsaan is on a warpath, seeking the heads of Navroz, Ansari, Shankar and the monstrous Jalal. Her motive is tragic: her first love, and husband Mehboob (Vikrant Massey), was brutally executed by his own boss. As the merciless Ustara begins to soften under the influence of love, the film attempts a delicate dance between a commercial masala entertainer and a dark romantic drama.
The first half of O'Romeo is surprisingly infectious. It’s an engaging, high-energy ride that manages to hook you from the jump. Even when the plot chooses to ignore the laws of physics or basic common sense, the sheer momentum of the storytelling keeps you invested. It’s a classic commercial entertainer that prioritizes "vibe" over "verification"—and for the first 90 minutes it actually works. You find yourself leaning in, willing to overlook the cracks because the pacing is so relentless and the atmosphere so thick with Bhardwaj’s signature style. Bhardwaj had intentionally added extreme gore and violent action scenes even in the first half to highlight how unhinged Ustara is while slicing throats with his razor (ustara in Hindi). The electric first half of O'Romeo actually made me believe that my long-standing thirst for a genuine, full-throttle commercial masala entertainer—one with heart, romance, and stakes—was finally being quenched. I was ready to call it a win.
Unfortunately, the "Curse of the Second Half" completely decimated those expectations, leaving me with a narrative hangover. As we enter into the second half and the runtime progresses, the violence stops being impactful and starts being exhausting. Bhardwaj displays such an obsession with the macabre that one begins to wonder if he has developed a literal blood fetish; the screen is so consistently drenched in red that the shock value evaporates into boredom.
The film also stumbles significantly with the introduction of its villain, Imaan (Avinash Tiwary). Despite being built up as a formidable threat from his base in Spain alongside his partner Nabia (Tamannaah Bhatia), Imaan feels less like a criminal mastermind and more like a Saturday morning cartoon character. The introduction lacks any real menace, leaving the audience wondering why such a "dangerous" man feels so profoundly hollow.
As expected, the film’s soundtrack is composed by Vishal Bhardwaj himself. While the melodies are undeniably rich, the director seems to have lost a battle with his own musical ego. He really should have controlled the urge to turn every emotional beat into a full-scale musical number. In a film that is supposed to be a high-stakes journey of cold-blooded revenge, the sheer volume of songs becomes a significant hurdle. Instead of heightening the tension the frequent musical interludes act as narrative speedbumps.
However, the film’s fatal flaw is a terminal case of "Second Half Disease." The final hour is an absolute train-wreck of storytelling. The "hidden secrets" and character reveals are so outrageous and fundamentally foolish that they defy human logic. In fact, I am convinced that after finishing a solid first half, Vishal Bhardwaj simply fed his notes into a rogue AI and gave it one specific prompt: "Make the ending as nonsensical and terrible as digitally possible." How else do you explain plot twists that feel like they were generated by a bot having a mid-life crisis?
If Bhardwaj is going to outsource his creativity to a malfunctioning algorithm for the second half of his film, I figured it was only fair to settle the score by using an AI of my own to polish this review. It’s officially a "fittus" between us now.
Despite the narrative nose-dive, the lead performances manage to keep the film afloat for a while. Shahid Kapoor delivers a grounded, gritty performance as the lethal yet lovestruck Ustara, and Tripti Dimri matches his intensity with a soulful, revenge-driven turn as Afsaan. Even the veteran Nana Patekar brings his signature gravitas to the screen, proving that class is permanent, even when the script is glitching. A genuine surprise, however, was Rahul Deshpande. For someone who isn't a trained actor, his performance was remarkably captivating and natural. He held his own in a cast of heavyweights, providing a refreshing breath of air in an otherwise stifling atmosphere.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of the ensemble. The supporting cast was utterly squandered, treated more like stage props than actual characters. They seemed to have no agency or purpose other than to stand stoically behind Shahid Kapoor like high-definition wallpaper. It’s a criminal waste of talent to hire a full cast only to give them the collective personality of a group of background extras in a loading screen.
O'Romeo is half a good movie buried under a mountain of digital absurdity and gratuitous gore. It’s worth a watch for the performances, but keep your expectations—and your logic—at the door.
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Tripti Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Nana Patekar
Writers: Vishal Bhardwaj, Rohan Narula, Hussain Zaidi
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
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