DICK STEEL
I guess the number of dogs in Disney's repertoire isn't enough, and this year they're looking to grow the kernel which houses the likes of the 101 Dalmations, Goofy, Pluto, Lady and the Tramp with Bolt, Beverly Hills Chihuahua and of course, Roadside Romeo and his pooch friends hailing from India.Touted as the first Indian full length CG-animated film, the end credits reveal just how much Disney's participation here likely amounted to, being primarily consultants to what was mostly work done by Tata Exlsi Visual Computing Lab. And it's a pretty fine job those guys there are doing, because if you were to strip away the Hindi language and end credit roll so as not to cue in on production details, you're more than likely to think that this was made by Disney themselves. So it's absolutely not a bad effort at all, for a first film.Animation aside, this is as Bollywood a movie as it can get, with distinct song and dance sequences rooted in Bollywood spirit. Storywise, it's kept really simple with one main plot running and no sub plots trying to complicate matters. The characters too seem to leap out of a typical Bollywood film with over the top villains and their slimy incompetent henchmen, err, dogs, coupled with the propensity to switch to English with constant plurality and grammatic errors in efforts to impress everyone.Saif Ali Khan voices the titular character of Romeo, once a dog living the life of luxury, before given the boot onto the streets when his owners take off to settle overseas. Left to fend for himself, he relies on his street smarts, suave ways, quick wit and smooth talking to garner himself a posse of abandoned dogs and one cat, putting into use his fashionable skills with the scissors to open a salon for the neighbourhood hounds.Adversary comes in the form of a Don Corleone Godfather type bulldog named Charlie Anna (Javed Jaffrey), who has three "angels" for protection (and to fuel plenty of tired Charlie Angels jokes and references) and to dish out torture, running a protection racket which Romeo and gang run afoul of given their new enterprise, and on a personal level, the rivalry for the affections of Laila (Kareena Kapoor), which becomes the centerpiece in the second half of the film. The first half did seem a bit of a drag though, especially with the expanded introduction of Charlie Anna and subsequent scenes just to demonstrate what he's capable of, together with some repetitive threats of torture that definitely tested patience.Otherwise, once the seeds of romantic rivalry has been sown, with Laila being marked as Charlie Anna's romantic target, it led to a number of hilarious playful cross-exchanges between Charlie, Romeo and his gang Guru (Vrajesh Hirjee), Interval (Suresh Menon), Hero English (Kiku Sharda), and cat Mini (Tanaz Irani), which the victim given its focus on these characters was Laila, being reduced to an unfortunate supporting presence.For some strange reason, Roadside Romeo needed some getting used to as the dogs prance around on two hind legs most of the time, which brought back some memories of The Barnyard. But once you come to terms with it (just like how the Barnyard's bulls all have udders), it's quite an enjoyable and light piece of animation that should do well with its intended demographic, though to an international audience, some nuances because of one pooch's frequent impersonation of Bollywood legends might be woefully lost in translation.
Mohit Srivastava
Just stepped out of this movie,my 50 cents:Strong Points:Charlie Anna by Javed Jaffrey. Released on the Festival Diwali.Weak Points: Weak/No - Story Line,Dialogs,Character Study Dialogs copied from Yashraj Movies Should have had a better voice than Saif for the Character Romeo (He Lacks the Variation in his Voice),so at least the main characters could hold the audience in the theater!Conclusion: Walt Disney, please live up to the expectations that have been set by Legends like WALL.E
cool11011
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.
springsunnywinter
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.
