Boribandar Ka Dhurandar Meets Shakespeare’s Ghost

Boribandar Ka Dhurandar Meets Shakespeare’s Ghost. : My quick take on Vishal Bharadwaj’s “O Romeo” (theatrical release)

O Romeo arrives in an era dominated by alpha-male decibel festivals like Kabir Singh and Animal. So naturally, when you hear Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri are cast, you brace yourself. You expect testosterone with background music.

Surprise. This Romeo is not from that “growl and glare” league.

This is not afulltoo masala cinema pretending to be deep. This is Shakespeare adaptation-wala that has politely walked away from the Bard’s balcony and entered the mumbai’s underbelly inspired by Hussain Zaidi. Instead of roses and poison bottles, we get supari, gangland politics, and a love story that smells of gunpowder and attar.

The plot hovers around a suparibaaz and suparijaan played by Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri respectively. Shahid is the “unknown gunman” working under an IB officer portrayed by Nana Patekar in his trademark gravel-voiced, eyebrow-arched authority mode. Nana does not act. Nana declares.

Triptii approaches the suparibaaz (Vastara) with a contract involving four targets. One big don and three side dishes. Somewhere between bullet trajectories and moral debates, pyaar ho jaata hai. Vastara apna haath ki safai shuru kar deta hai. Romance blooms like a rose in a crime scene.

Now whether the director Vishal Bhardwaj stayed faithful to Zaidi’s original material or took cinematic liberties large enough to require planning permission is debatable. ‘Kuch bhi ho, masala ekdum mast ban gaya’.

The story carries all the tropes of a grand potboiler. It can comfortably give takkar to any Tamil or Telugu mass entertainer without needing subtitles for swagger. There are action set pieces, item dances, and twists that would make Abbas–Mastaan nod in approval from a revolving chair.

Performance-wise, Shahid shines as this tattooed, fedora-hat-wielding Boribandar cowboy. His swag is admirable. His dance moves? Electric. There are frames where a glamorously styled Disha Patani shares screen space with him, but your eyes stubbornly refuse to cooperate. You are glued to Shahid’s footwork. That, my friends, is screen presence.

Nana is Nana. IB officer mode activated. Dialogue delivery sharp enough to slice granite.

But the real cake? Triptii Dimri. Her role is so commanding that you feel tempted to rename the film “O Juliet.” She is not decorative. She is detonative.

The ensemble cast impresses. Classical vocalist Rahul Deshpande as corrupt Inspector Pathare is a delightful surprise. Farida Jalal, Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia and Disha Patani add texture in their respective avatars. Avinash Tiwary as the antagonist delivers what can only be described as a Mogambo moment. Unexpected. Slightly delicious.

And let us not forget: Vishal Bharadwaj is a musician first. So yes, the soundtrack does not disappoint. “Upar Gori Ka Makan” has strong potential to invade the next Ganesh Utsav playlist whether you are ready or not.

The pacing? Nearly three hours of time pass. Not intellectual meditation. Not arthouse brooding. Pure, unapologetic cinematic tamasha with polish.

If you entered expecting misogynistic machismo, you will be pleasantly confused.

If you entered expecting Shakespeare in pure form, you will be dramatically redirected.

If you entered expecting entertainment with attitude, bullets, beats and a surprisingly powerful Juliet… ticket paisa vasool.

Now the real question: Is Romeo in love… or is he on contract? . Watch it if you love mindless masala movies.