Romeo

Romeo! Romeo! Romeoooooooo!!! The movie started with the song and I saw the quantum leap that India took in terms of animation content through this venture. It’s far ahead of all our previous ventures in animation whether its Hanuman, Krishna or Cheenti- Cheenti Bang Bang. The tag of Disney helps it seems but don’t be fooled by the Disney’s association with the movie. They are associated with it as a producer and the entire art work is handled by the team of TATA Elxsi- VLC. So yeah we have reached the international standard entirely on our own. It seems that the budget was the only problem for us to move ahead and let this movie start the revolution needed in the animation industry in India.

So have we arrived at the international stage yet? Well not exactly. The movie is a treat to eyes and provides exhilarating visual experience apart from minor blemishes. In hindsight, there were some issues with the animation as well. At some places the background did not combine well whereas what I found was that we still have some ground to cover before we are able to make our animated characters emote as if they are the real ones. Apart from these the animation is top-notch. Where the film lags behind is the screenplay and the story. The first half of the film drags a bit but the film is an hour and half long and so you never lose your patience as the movie has its moments. The amazing cat-dog date sequence or the bar dance sequence, these moments lit up your heart. And then there is a unique character of Charlie Anna which entertains you throughout. However, I do not agree on the accent chosen as the Tamil accent is sometimes difficult to understand. And then your heart never goes out for the protagonist. He is all ‘kooooooool ’ and suave and die-hard romantic but not quite endearing while the female lead ‘Laila’ has little role to play. The music also seems to be a weak link though the title track and the song ‘chu le na’ are actually good. However just don’t leave the theatre as the movie ends or you will miss the most hilarious and innovative part of the movie- ‘the credit roll’.

Being an animation enthusiast, this movie gave me pleasure to the fact that we are slowly reaching the international standards and will soon be able to give Hollywood a run for its money. Will I recommend this movie? I have actually done that. It is not a great work of art but provides a sense of achievement and hope for a new era in entertainment. So let the ‘Koochie Koochie Hota Hai’ and ‘Toonpur ka Superhero’ introduce to the world a new style of cinema -- A very Indian style.