Shortcut Romeo Review

One Line Review: A slackly crafted and shocking game of a cat and mouse with lots of jolts and surprises.

Positive Points: First half, social message, enchanting Kenya safari, action sequences, twists and turns, rapidly moving story

Negative Points: Direction, wrong placement of songs, stretched second half, dialogues

Plot: A good for nothing urchin from Goa named Sooraj (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is always criticized for his way of choosing the shortcuts for materialistic pleasures in his life. He is rowdy, fierce, furious, daredevil and most importantly notorious for everybody. Getting tired of Sooraj's tarnished acts, his mother calls his uncle in Mumbai and his uncle asks him to shift to Mumbai. Sooraj believes that honesty is the worst policy and wants the shortcut to become rich. He gets agreed and moves to Mumbai. There, his directionless life takes a sharp turn when he notices a rich businessman's wife Monica (Amisha Patel) who is heading a sexless life with her saintly husband Rahul (Rajesh Shringarpure) having fun in a golf club with Ashish ( Jatin Grewal). Monica is an unfaithful wife who is having an extramarital affair with her husband's friend Ashish. Sooraj keeps his eyes on this illicit couple and one night, he catches them in an uncompromising situation in the golf turf. He tapes their unlawful activity in his video camera and threatens them to make it public if they don't pay him. Monica's husband Rahul is an innocent , good hearted person but is smart enough to catch the feathers of the flying bird.

Thwarted by his warning Monica agrees to become an ATM for Sooraj who wants to live a rich man's life. He then calls his other good for nothing friends to Mumbai and starts enjoying life to the fullest. He demands to go on the tour of Kenya. Monica pays for their trip but is smart enough to play the game. Sooraj finds his love Sherry (Puja Gupta) on his Kenya Safari trip. But here, Monica plays her cards and traps Sooraj in a thorny situation. Thus begins the game of cat and mouse with lots of twists and turns in which the opponents try to oversmart each other by playing their ace cards.

Will Monica be able to get the evidence from Sooraj?

Will Sooraj hand over the evidence of infidelity of Monica to Rahul?

Direction And Other Technical Aspects: The director Susi Ganesan may have played safe by remaking his 'Thirutu Payale' in Hindi, but this time he has failed to make the film of his regular standard. 'Shortcut Romeo' has lots of twists and blind turns but still the story is predictable. The story runs very rapidly but it is unable to create an edge of the sit thrill and excitement for the audience. There are many unwanted sequences in the movie which makes it lengthy and stretched out. Ganesan could have easily avoided the grand and enchanting 'Kenya Darshan' with the 'wild safari' and could more speed up the story. For wild animals and on screen safari, one can always shift to the National Geographic or Animal Planet channel. The song sequences are unnecessary and wrongly placed. The twists and turns are bizarre and the story runs on the express way. As asked by the director, the cinematographer has perfectly caught the beauty of Kenya on his lens. The dialogues are too cheesy and appear melodramatic at some moments. The action sequences are eye catching. Despite of flaws, the director scores good as he has given an important social message to today's money-oriented youngsters that 'there is no shortcut to success' and 'honesty is the best policy'. In short, we can say that Susi Ganesan's 'Shortcut Romeo' is a stylish shocker which constantly stays one step ahead of the viewers.

Performances: Neil Nitin Mukesh proves that if given an opportunity, he can prove his mettle. He has given a mesmerizing performance as a rowdy, vicious urchin. He steals the show with his expressions and body language. Amisha Patel too delivers a fabulous performance in her gray shaded character of an unfaithful wife. Puja Gupta looks beautiful as Romeo's short-skirt Juliet and charms as damsel in distress. Jatin Grewal perform at par as Monica's slimy lover. And finally Rajesh Shringarpure shines in his limited role as a saintly business tycoon who is good, innocent but not fool. He effectively plays the cold blooded businessman who loves his wife more than anything.

Music: Himesh Reshammiya has given a wishy-washy music this time. Only 'Khali Salam Dua' can be remembered but it has a short shelf life. The background score is good and effective.

Final Verdict: 'Shortcut Romeo' is a composedly crafted game of a contrived action involving constant pursuit, near captures, and repeated escapes. You can watch it only for its swift twists and turns or wait for the satellite release.