Romeo: On a trip to Rome

October 10, 2014 06:17 pm | Updated May 24, 2016 01:23 pm IST

Sairam Shankar and Adonica

Sairam Shankar and Adonica

Cast: Sairam Shankar, Adonica Judith

Direction: Gopi Ganesh

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Music: Sunil Kashyap

Plot: Girl ditches fiance as she discovers love for a stranger

The title suggests it is a love story but the director walks that extra mile and takes you right into Verona. The pace of the narrative may be annoying but the camera takes you on a sight seeing trip of Rome, drawing attention to the balcony of Shakespere's heroine and the courtyard where there is Juliet’s bronze statue that lovers like to touch her right breast believing their love comes true. As you soak in the visual delight, Sairam Shankar who plays the character Kittu rudely reminds us that we are watching a Telugu film by placing both his hands on Juliet’s breasts.

The film opens with Samantha (Adonica) travelling all over Europe with her digital camera and is stalked by a stranger from Visakhapatnam named Kittu. The entire first half of the film has Kittu following Samantha as she gives a running commentary while recording the moments and monuments in Rome. In the second half, Samantha is behind Kittu because he has her passport and emotionally blackmails her to travel to Visakhapatnam..Reason — his dead girlfriend Paddu is an exact resemblance of Samantha and he wants Samantha to meet Paddu's bedridden, grief-stricken parents. Meanwhile Samantha's fiance Subburaju is peeved with Kittu wooing Samantha and wants him out of the way.

The second half is predictable, but the narration and the background it is set against makes it worth a watch.

Just when you had given up on Sairam Shankar, director Gopi Ganesh gives him a fresh lease of life. The auteur has worked on the hero's strength and blacked out his limitations making him a tolerable watch. Adonica is vivacious and a perfect choice for the character; her voice is dubbed by Chinmayi. Ali comes in for a few seconds but pulls the house down with his Vizag dialect.

Gopi Ganesh's screenplay could have been racy, otherwise it is an interesting debut, he shows a spark but being Puri Jagan’s protege, he shows a heavy hangover / influence of Jagan's approach to dialogues and women on screen. Cinematography by P G Vinda enhances the value and songs are just okay.

The film's release has been delayed for years, yet it doesn't seem outdated because of the script. It comes as a relief amidst the series of template films released since January this year. If you've been putting off a holiday plan, Romeo will push you to buy a ticket to Rome instantly.

Bottomline: You can actually sit through this film

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