Roadside Romeo

I ended up watching this yesterday while a few of us had 2hrs to kill before dinner. Seems, it is the only excuse you can really have to watch this movie. It really is not worth the effort to take time out, drive to the cinemas and dedicate a part of your evening for Roadside Romeo - it will be too much of a disappointment.

The bad: - Animation might be a big step for audiences used to only Bollywood movies, but it's not really much for international audiences, even when compared to a decade older Pixar. - Too many songs!! What in the world was the director after, we have no idea. Possibly nothing else to fill in the gaping holes of the narrative. - The painfully overused and redone masala story that now every Indian is born with the knowledge of. - Bad (or mediocre) voice work by most of the cast incl. Saif & Kareena.

The good: - Javed Jaffery. Actually, he can do a lot better than he has done here, but it still is very good. The guy is hilarious as the Madrasi-accented top-dog "Charlie Anna", accompanied by three bitches he calls Yangels - "Charlie's Yangels" - and he names them.... Silk Sunitha, Nylon Nandai & Polyester Padmini!! - Sanjay Mishra as Chhainu, Charlie Anna's sidekick. This is a gifted comedian, and possibly the strongest character in the movie. Even in his relatively smaller role, he does such a great job with his Tapori-ishtyle quips. - Kiku Sharda as Hero English. Again, a small character, but with such great humor in him. He has a tendency to repeat everything he says in a literal word-by-word English translation. For example, he announces "Charlie Anna aa gaya!! Charlie Anna come go!!" or the hilarious "Wo tumko Jaan se maar dega! He will hit you with life!"

Apart from this, there is one good idea of the dog-world in the movie, that explains why dogs love to howl so much in the middle of the night (it's a game they play!)

All-in-all, an easy one to forego. But equally easy to sit through if you have to wait for 93 minutes.

My rating --> 2 of 5.

This is a mediocre attempt at an Indian CGI animated film. It's the same old hackneyed storyline of a typical Bollywood romance with the characters all dogs. There is little evidence of any further imagination on display. The constant references to Yashraj films annoy. The voice work is unremarkable and both Kareena and Saif seem to be essentially reprising their well known off-screen personae. Only Javed Jaffrey leaves an impression as the villain Charlie Anna. One plus point- the animation quality. While not even close to international standards, it's leagues ahead of anything previously made in India.

Overall 4/10

In a world where Pixar sets the gold standard in animated films, Yash Raj Film's Roadside Romeo (incidentally Dinsey's foray into Bollywood as well) will find it hard to even pass the QC test. Both the animation and the story leave a lot to be desired and the only positive outlook for the movie is that being the only major release this Diwali and potentially a hit with the kids, it should barely manage to trudge along. The story of a dog, Romeo (voiced by Saif Ali Khan) who was living the lavish life and suddenly finds himself on the mean streets of the city is clichéd to a fault. Romeo falls for Laila (Kareena Kapoor) who also happens to be the crush of bad dog Charlie Anna (Javed Jaffrey) and predictable mayhem follows. Jugal Hansraj's direction relies too much on borrowing from Bollywood lore (Yash Raj film scenes and dialogs are copied galore) and too little on character study. It is an earnest effort perhaps but if anyone thought animation didn't need a story, they should ask the studio that made the animation movie event of the year, Wall•E. The film hardly has any genuinely funny moments, and the background sets, though well detailed, lack punch. The redeemer is eventually Javed Jaffrey, who is the only one who seems to know how to voice an animation character. He brings out the quirks of Charlie Anna superbly to life and provides the few laughs there are in the film. The tepid songs and a basic background score do nothing to add to the appeal. Ultimately, the gag reel during the end credits turns out to be funnier than the movie itself. And that's saying a lot.

In every sense one is glad Indian animation has come such a long way. It would be wrong to say that so far we have been doing an inferior job in comparison to our Hollywood counterparts. However the quality hasn't been at par. With Roadside Romeo, Indian animation films have taken a giant leap forward and kudos to Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Studios for being the one to raise the bar up by many notches.

Bottom line is the fact that Roadside Romeo is ultimately a movie that has stemmed from the land of masala films, so expecting anything different is sheer blasphemy. The film has lovers, a villain and great humor - the ultimate essentials for a Bollywood caper. But then being animated and convincing is what whisks this film away from clutches of the inane Bollywood film monster.

Romeo (Saif Ali Khan) the quintessential lover dog is thrown onto the streets, where he meets newly found best mutts. Soon enough he bumps into the love of his life, Laila (Kareena) who happens to be a nightclub performer. Besides falling in love, the biggest mistake Romeo commits is having rubbed Charlie Anna (Javed Jaffrey) the wrong way. With a villain to combat and love to win over, the film is all Romeo and tons of heart.

One can't stop gushing over the fact that Yash Raj Films and Disney have brought to India what can be called India's first world class animation film. It's not perfect, but nonetheless still great. Had the movie been made into a live Acton one, perhaps it would not have worked. Even story-wise the film is extremely light. But it is exactly these aspects that make Roadside Romeo lovable. The film is entertaining, funny and light. There is little that your mind needs to work on and it's escapism at its best.

Roadside Romeo does indeed start in a very captivating way. I liked the idea and the film does start very strongly with quite a stirring opening scene. But overall, it just didn't do it for me, just too bland and hackneyed. Granted, the animation is pretty good, not outstanding but the backgrounds and sceneries were at least striking. Also Javed Jaffrey is a lot of fun here. However, the writing is sadly awful on the whole, while the story is too hackneyed and predictable. Then there is the music, it was the same with the singing, it got too much and became distracting. Jaffrey aside, the remainder of the voice work is inconsistent, ranging from so-so to barely adequate. I'm sorry to say I didn't really feel anything for the characters, they were dull mostly or annoying. The pacing started off great, almost riveting, but when the story meandered just before the halfway mark the pace dragged until the final result was as limp as a bad hair day. In conclusion, started off promisingly but lost its momentum making it forgettable and altogether very unexceptional film. 4/10 Bethany Cox