Very Entertaining!

By Movie Talkies, 25 October 2008 3.5 / 5

Yash Raj Films and Walt Disney Pictures come together for an animation film, whose story is completely filmy as we know it. And the product works. It has a typical Hindi film story, lovers, villains, love triangle etc, but it also has a certain loveable quality which works in its favor tremendously, despite the animation not being of the quality of, say, The Lion King, Shrek or Finding Nemo. But it is still the best seen in India, so far. Debutant director, Jugal Hansraj manages to finally make it, at least as a director. However, the script penned by him is clichéd to say the least, with hardly anything special or novel to say. But it still works. A lot of it has to do with the animation itself, the dialogues and the voiceovers, which have been done by Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor and Javed Jaffrey. The stars do a fantastic job and really lend a certain distinction to their characters. Besides them, actor Sanjay Mishra as the villain's sidekick also does a terrific job in the voiceover department. The story is hardly novel and one is not sure whether it is really kid's fare as it seems to be a straight lift from a regular Hindi masala film. Romeo (Saif) is a roadside English speaking dog, who falls in love with a poodle like Laila (Kareena Kapoor), who sings at the local bar. Also in love with Laila is Charlie Anna, the neighborhood don, who collects hafta. Romeo refuses to pay the hafta and dares to eye Anna's girl. This sets the scene for a conflict between the two, with Romeo relying more on his wits than force to outwit his adversary. Both have their sidekicks, who prove to be quite entertaining. The only problem with the movie is that one feels the director is confused about his target audience. He is not sure whether he is targeting the kids or the adults. Some of the scenes, dialogues and the 'Chule Na' song seem quite out of place in a kiddies' film. The climax is, however, lifted from Yash Raj's evergreen Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, and goes down well. The music of the film could have been peppier one feels. However, the film does begin on a very peppy note and there is never a dull moment throughout its duration. The dialogues are punchy and the characters have been very well delineated. Hence, despite the film's story giving one a sense of having seen it all, in totality, Roadside Romeo is a very endearing and entertaining film.

A Benchmark for all Animated Films

By Movie Talkies, 20 October 2008 3 / 5

Roadside Romeo marks Walt Disney's foray into animation films in India albeit as a co production with Yash Raj Film. It also marks the first animation film in India which can truly be compared to the likes of animation films in Hollywood, to the extent that the each of the characters have also been dubbed for by major stars and the actor's have been kept in mind while developing the final characters. Unlike earlier films, Roadside Romeo is an animated film which aims beyond just the children's audience which was quite clear with the first set of character promos that were rolled out. Roadside Romeo could change the way we look at animated films in India and so there is a great deal of intrigue around the music of the film which has been composed by Salim Sulaiman. Main Hoon Romeo is a peppy number which for a minute gives you a flavour of Hum Tum. Kunal Ganjawalla suits the song perfectly and he even fits Saif's personality well, who is the voice of Romeo in the film. This song establishes Romeo's character and his fun, carefree attitude. The remix is a pacer version of the same. Well even animated films can have item number songs, especially when the character Laila has the voice of Kareena Kapoor. A salsa number, Chhoo Le Na, sung by Sunidhi Chauhan, KK and Sudesh Bhonsle is foot tapping. This song establishes Laila's character and the RD Burman voice by Sudesh is superb. One can only imagine how these cute animated dogs will look on screen will swaying to this number. Some interesting arrangements which give a true salsa feel and even though it is an animated film, the mix of English Hindi lyrics and the style of the composition, the song has been crafted to suit the requirements of the film, in terms of the narrative. The remix version is also a nice listen. Cool Cool is an interesting song which will grow on you after a couple of listens. Saif Ali Khan's rap is amazing as this is the first time he has ever sung and Jaaved Jaaferi is also fantastic in this number. True to its title, it's a cool song with a little bit of attitude where the two rival dogs talk about their formula of winning over Laila. After a long time we hear real life couple Kunal and Gayatri Iyer coming together in So Right which is an essentially Western romantic composition. Again the element of seeing a romantic song in an animation film has a lot of intrigue, but even on its own, this song is a lovely composition with the saxophone used so beautifully and complimented with perfect singing. With a title like Apni Dumm Bhi Oonchi Ho, you don't really know what to expect. Sung by Kunal, Earl Edgar, Jugal Hansraj, Salim Merchant and Anushka Manchanda this is easily the weakest song in the album. Maybe the situation of the song and the way it is presented will make it more interesting, but as a composition it is passable and not even fun like the earlier numbers. Rooftop Romance is a nice instrumental number with numerous instruments like the violin, piano and saxophone which has combinations of all the main melodies of the songs in the film. Although on first listen the songs sound just average, it is when you remind yourself that these songs have been picturized on animated dogs, wherein they are being treated like real life characters would be treated in any other Hindi film that you realize that, all of a sudden the songs sound a lot better and in fact this is an album which should be applauded as a new benchmark for music in animated films. Even the mix of English and Hindi lyrics have given the entire album a very contemporary feel in an attempt to find appeal amongst not just children but even college going kids and family audiences.

Thanks for your review.