Operation Romeo Movie Review: Not A Regular Romantic Thriller, But An Irregular Lesson For Possessive Romeos

When it comes to watching a remake film, one has to accept the fact that the impact will be one point less than the original. It works fine for first-timers who haven't seen the original because they experience it as a fresh film. For regular action entertainers, it is still okay, but for thrillers, it becomes more difficult because if you have seen the original, then you know all the suspense and twists already. Operation Romeo is a victim of that second statement. It's a remake of a romantic thriller that had no such thrills as to be called a thriller, but had plenty of twists that came as a shock. As I have seen the original, it didn't shock me that way, but for the first-timers, I think it will work. It worked for some people "in that way" during the screening.

Operation Romeo is not your regular romantic thriller. It has those regular social cliches that most people don't know, but those who have experienced this moral policing torture in their lives know how serious it is. Anuraj Manohar's original Malayalam flick, Ishq (2019), broke the silence on this unspeakable issue at the right time. It wasn't really that great as a film. It had its own flaws and plus points, but more than cinema, it was about breaking the silence on that semi-taboo topic. Operation Romeo is a faithful remake. If it has those flaws, it's because the original couldn't deal with them in the first place. If it works, then it's because of the original source material.

The film is about young lovebirds, Aditya (Sidhant Gupta) and Neha (Vedika Pinto), who go out on a night out together and get caught by a greedy and perverted cop, played by Sharad Kelkar. The story shows the unbearable mental torture any young couple has to endure under the term called 'moral policing'. It doesn't get that physical, but the verbal abuse is immensely brutal. Well, that's not it. The film unfolds many secrets in the second half and has some unconventional kinds of revenge segments that should be kept secret here. The basic script of Operation Romeo, or for that matter, Ishq, has a good message and a very important and serious social issue at its core, but somewhere, something is less out there.

Talking about the female side, Vedika Pinto and Bhumika Chawla haven't got the same screen space as the male actors, but otherwise they have done a decent job. Vedika doesn't have too many dialogues, but she speaks through her expressions as she has got a lot of close-up shots which cover small small nuances in her face. Bhumika tries to speak Marathi and somewhat makes it clear, but not fully. Appearance-wise, she looks like a suitable Marathi housewife. Kishore Kadam is one such actor who is always in his natural flow, and believe me, that's just too great to see. He does it again and just the same way you want it.

Being a thriller, Operation Romeo could have excluded the songs to keep the grip tight, but just like the original flick, this one too falters there. The songs are not that bad, by the way; it's just that they come at the wrong time. The screenplay is quite engaging and doesn't leave you with many boring moments, but yes, it has a few typical segments that might just make you sigh with anger. However, that loss is covered by the dialogues. Operation Romeo has a raw treatment, and the major reason behind it is those brutal and realistic dialogues. It makes you uncomfortable on many occasions, but that's what the motive was, right? I mean, the couples do go through such uncomfortable and irksome moments, no.

Director Shashant Shah has been making light comedy movies continuously (OTT projects not included), and this was his first attempt at a dark-toned thriller, so he can't be blamed completely for those lows. It wasn't really much about his direction because he just sketched the exact copy of the original – with the only difference being the canvas. If that's okay with you, then you should buy this painting.

Operation Romeo is not for all kinds of audiences, not just because it's a thriller, but anyway, because it's so conveniently unconventional and yet socially challenging. More than the romance and thrill, it's about exposing a serious issue that also caters to male ego and suppressed feminism – especially among love birds. As a whole, it has a lot to offer, but just fails to understand its potential as a cinema. It's not your regular romantic thriller, but it will definitely give all insecure and possessive romeos an irregular and hard-hitting message.