Plot
The events of the film take place in Bombay, 1994, and revolve around Ustara, a feared gangster and hitman who kills his targets using a barber's razor. Ismail Khan, an Intelligence Officer had saved Ustara from Jalal, a gangster established in Spain after Ustara killed Jalal's brother a long time ago, has been using Ustara as a covert operative for himself since. Ismail gives Ustara the contract of killing Dahesh Duggal, Jalal's Financer. Ustara finds Duggal in a theatre and takes down a swarm of bald bodyguards. Just as Duggal is about to escape, Ismail enters and kills him. Fed up of working for Ismail, Ustara plans on escaping to Fiji. Ustara then meets Afshan, a widow, who wants him to kill Inspector Pathare, Ansari, Shankar and Jalal. But Ustara refuses and humiliates her.
It is revealed that her childhood love Billu, began working in Jalal's gang for money. After Afshan tells him to leave the gang, Billu attempts to do so, but, Shankar and Pathare kill him. Advocate Ansari fabricates fake evidence and frames Billu as dangerous criminal and Pathare as an honest officer, thus leaving Afshan no choice but to take matters in her own hands.
A few days later, Afshan steals Ustara's gun and unsuccessfully attempts to kill Inspector Pathare at a cafe, but then finds Ansari alone in the cafe washroom and points her gun at him, but Ansari decieves her, grabbing her gun, and as he is about to kill her, Ustara enters and slits his throat.
Ustara, upon seeing her conviction, cancels his plan to escape India and decides to help Afshan. With time Afshan and Ustara bond and he falls in love with her, but as Afshan is scared and reluctant to pursue her quest for revenge further, Ustara motivates her and trains her in combat and shooting. Ismail orders Ustara to help seize Jalal's upcoming drug shipment in Kathmandu, Nepal. Ustara, Afshan and the gang leave for the mission to seize Jalal's docket, but the gang is trapped and caught by Jalal's men, and several of Ustara's gang members are killed. After Afshan helps the gang to escape, Ustara cremates his dead men, and confesses his love to her.
The next day, Ustara finds Afshan missing and Jalal orders his men to double the drug production, as Dahesh Duggal, the financer who could have helped them cope with the losses, had been killed by Ustara as well. Jalal's wife Rabia is revealed to be psychologically unstable after losing her child, for which Jalal considers Ustara responsible. As Jalal has recently suffered a huge loss, and has speeded up the drug work to cope up, Ismail suggests Ustara that it would be a great time to attack Jalal's drug factory and eradicate Jalal's drug empire in India. In return, Ustara asks for Ismail's help to find Afshan.
A few days later, enraged by still not finding Afshan, without consulting Ismail, Ustara singly handedly storms and burns down Jalal's drug factory. Enraged, Jalal orders Pathare and Shankar to kill Ustara within a week. Ismail, worried about what might happen to Ustara orders him to leave the country. Meanwhile, Ustara learns that Afshan has been secretly working with Ismail and has been acting as Pathare's wife under the false name "Rani Sharma" to get close to Shankar. One day, amidst the chaos of Ganesh Chaturthi, Afshan kills Shankar.
Pathare, further enraged by Shankar's death follows Ismail in hope of finding Ustara whenever the two meet. Ismail enters a local train to meet Afshan. Pathare gathers his team on the next station to illegally encounter Ustara. Ustara gets tipped about Ismail and Afshan's meeting and Pathare's plan by his men, and frightened that Afshan's Identity might be revealed to Pathare, he enters the train to warn the two. But before Ustara can explain, the situation heats up and Ustara and Ismail have to act as bait in order to let Afshan escape.
Pathare enters the train, leading to a shootout in which both Ismail and Ustara are shot brutally injured. Pathare takes his wife Afshan "Rani Sharma" to Jalal's Carnival in Portugal for Honeymoon. There, she tries to kill Jalal but gets caught, as Pathare had found her Id from Ismail's pocket during the shootout and knew her true identity all along. Jalal then forces Afshan to kill Pathare for his mess ups, and then imprisons her.
A few months later, Ustara envades Jalal's palace, and encounters Rabia while killing his bodyguards. It is revealed that a few years ago, it was the then pregnant Rabia, who informed Jalal's terrorism plans with the ISI to Ismail, however she had got caught by Jalal's brother Mohsin and had accidentally shot him dead in the commotion. The trauma caused Rabia to lose her unborn baby in a stillbirth. In order to save her, Ustara had took the blame and had fled with Ismail's help. In the present, Rabia sides with Ustara out of gratitude and hands over the keys and directions to Afshan's cell. Rabia flees the scene and arrives at Jalal's bullfighting arena, while Ustara reunites with Afshan and subsequently kills Jalal's men in a shootout, then enter the arena with his gang members.
One of Jalal's henchmen who had survived Ustara's ambush informs him about Rabia's truth on a phone, and enraged Jalal confronts the unstable Rabia and beheads her. In the arena, Ustara and Jalal fight, and Ustara brutally injures Jalal with his razors, and Afshan takes his life with a sword.
The film ends with Afshan becoming a classical music teacher like her father and a hospitalized Ismail reminding Ustara that until all drug lords like Jalal are finished, Ustara shall always dance on his orders.
Reception
Critical response
O'Romeo received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for the performance of Shahid Kapoor, cinematography and action sequences, but criticism for the story and screenplay.
Kashvi Raj Singh of News18 rated the film 4 stars out of 5 and wrote, "In a time of blood fatigue in films, it is easy to dismiss O’Romeo. Had it come before films like Animal and Dhurandhar, it could have been better for the film. Yes, O’Romeo has its share of gore, but it is also different, and it deserves attention. It combines both good performance and technical brilliance." [23] Dhaval Roy of The Times Of India rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote "Despite frequent pacing issues that demand patience, O' Romeo is worth watching for its performances, atmosphere and cinematic brilliance." [24] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "O'Romeo is at once a love story, a revenge saga, and a crime drama. Every seemingly conflicting strand merges with the others without the lines separating (or linking) them being unduly overt. Rarely does a Hindi action film use the spirit of music and poetry to buttress emotional turmoil, physical strife, and excessive violence to the extent that this one does." [25]
Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "O’ Romeo is undoubtedly a complete massy entertainer, but the script never thins down. A big shout-out to Vishal Bharadwaj for giving such a solid film with quirky dialogues, brilliant music, and engaging performances by each of the actors." [26] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated the film 3.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "In the end, the film is held together by its performances. The actors commit with such conviction that they make even the wildest flourishes feel momentarily plausible. You may roll your eyes at the excess, but you will not be bored. Like any good opera, it demands surrender. And if you give in, it rewards you with spectacle, passion and performances that linger long after the curtain falls." [27] A critic for Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote "On the whole, O'ROMEO delivers several well-made moments and strong performances from the lead cast. However, the uneven writing and the ordinary soundtrack prevent it from creating the kind of impact it aims for." [28]
Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "Overall, O’Romeo has moments that remind you why Bhardwaj remains one of our most distinctive filmmakers, but they are scattered across a narrative that loses emotional clarity along the way. Despite Shahid’s wild energy and a few stylish flourishes, the film struggles to find its emotional core. It is watchable, even fun in parts, but rarely affecting in the way Bhardwaj’s best work is. You walk out entertained in flashes... and strangely unmoved." [29] Tanmayi Savadi of Times Now rated the film 3 stars out of 5 and wrote, "O’ Romeo isn’t a bad film nor a masterpiece. It has a lot of loose ends and unexplained connections. Due to this, it becomes difficult to join dots and feel characters and their purposes. With excellent performances, and Vishal’s ability to tell a fairly engaging story for 3 hours, O’ Romeo can be watched with loved ones and parents, only if violence, abuses and bloodshed are palatable." [30]
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 2.5 out 5 stars and stated that the film is "high on style and swag, low on substance". [31] Sana Farzeen of India Today rated 2.5/5 stars, saying "Shahid Kapoor-Vishal Bhardwaj fail to recreate Haider, Kaminey magic" "despite poetic frames and intense performances, the film struggles with an uneven screenplay and an underwhelming emotional pay-off." [32] Sakshi Salil Chavan of Outlook India rated with 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "The film does not redefine the gangster saga, yet it offers sufficient spectacle and emotional voltage to warrant a theatrical viewing. The final act regains urgency and culminates in a rousing yet foreseeable crescendo. With a more disciplined edit though, ‘O’ Romeo’ might have achieved the narrative stature its ambition seeks." [33]
Anindita Mukhopadhyay of India TV rated 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "What begins with promise slowly loses grip, especially in the second half where the writing weakens and the emotional impact fades. It looks beautiful, it sounds good, but it doesn’t stay with you the way it should. It’s not a bad film. It’s just not a fully satisfying one either." [34] Abhishek Srivastava of Moneycontrol rated 2.5/5 stars and wrote, "‘O’ Romeo' is like a grand building: impressive from the outside but not what you expect inside. This is Bhardwaj’s most commercial attempt, and it both succeeds and misfires. The film is worth watching mainly for Shahid Kapoor, who owns the role completely. While the story and pacing falter, the visual style, action sequences, and quirky moments keep it watchable." [35] Mukund Setlur of Deccan Herald rated the film 1.5 stars out of 5 and wrote, "There are some brilliant scenes, but for a cinematic nightmare of three hours, a few scenes are not worth the time. Some songs are likely to become chartbusters but mar the pace of the film! It looks like Bhardwaj was at crossroads while making directorial choices — to tell a story to appeal to the masses and in that process has failed to play to his strengths." [36]
Anuj Kumar of The Hindu noted "Shahid Kapoor soars, Vishal Bhardwaj struggles in this meandering romantic action drama". [37] Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India wrote that the film "fails to make a dent in the Bombay gangster-epic landscape". [38]
Box office
The film collected ₹8.25 crore on opening day. [39]
