Roadside Romeo (2008)

My ten year old, admittedly now weaned on Dickens and Austen, asked to walk out after ten minutes. Without doubt the worst film I've ever seen. Suddenly the 'Golden Compass' seems coherent, the animated 'Anastasia' tasteful and 'Armageddon' a serious addition to the sci-fi genre.The poster was extremely misleading. It did not make it clear this film was in Hindi with English subtitles. That it was a animated musical. It said it was a co-Disney production (which made a difference to me). Nor did it make it clear that the people involved were clearly not professional film makers, and deserved to be tied to the roof of the Sydney Opera house and gently pelted with seagull droppings.The only reason we went was to be out of the house and avoid my wife's piano quartet rehearsal. Nothing - I reasoned - could be worse than that. Damn but I was wrong.

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.

the performances of the sidekicks-javed jafri and Sanjay Mishra (apple singh) are laudable(their voices)and in particular light up the entire movie. this is a complete family entertainer. this movie has certain scenes taken from old bollywood(Hindi) movies, and it would put a smile to your face if you could relate to the scenes. saif does a decent job with his dialogue delivery.kareena hardly has any role(read dialogues). don't put it off as a kids movie,adults who are in tune with their funny side can definitely have a go at it. finally if you are looking to show a movie to your kids, this is it. jugal hansraj has done a pretty cool job as a debutant director and writer.

I was beginning to think that Yash Raj Films were losing their touch after delivering a list of box office flops which is Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, Laaga Chunari Mein Daag, Aaja Nachle, Tashan & Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic but not after watching Bachna Ae Haseeno & Roadside Romeo. Roadside Romeo is the film which set to launch the animation era in Bollywood is co production between Yash Raj Films and Disney. The love story, revolving around talking dogs, has the voices of real-life couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor.The film was really good, funny, lively and keeps a smile on your face throughout. I intended to see it because it is the first proper animated film of Bollywood and that is a milestone. Javed Jaffery has given the best vocal performance of the comic villain Charlie Anna who is a bulldog. The animation was really great although it can't match with Pixar animation but still it's good for a Bollywood movie. It has all the Indian masala like music, songs, dancing and a love story but it wasn't long and was about 1 hour 40 minutes. The songs were really good that will get better after you watch the film. Overall this is an absolute entertaining flick for all the kids & adults.