Shortcut Romeo Movie Reviews

Director Susi Ganeshan has remade his own Tamil hit Thiruttu Payale (2006), into Shortcut Romeo. The film revolves around an unscrupulous youth Suraj (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who wants to make it rich with short cut methods. He chances upon a high society desperate housewife Monica (Ameesha Patel) having an illicit affair and blackmails her into sponsoring his rich dreams. His ladylove Sherry (Puja Gupta) encourages him to mend ways and give up the life of con. Whether he succeeds or not forms the crux of the story.

The film does have the required plot twists but the uneven pace make us lose interest. A tauter screenplay and defter editing would have certainly helped. The songs were totally unnecessary and eat into the movie’s runtime. Doing away with them would have helped cut the flab. And were the scenes in Kenya necessary? Because they read like an extended tourism brochure of the place and nothing else. The camera captures more of the savannah than romance between Neil and Puja.

The plot has several loopholes. Why was Ameesha Patel seeing her paramour in a golf course? Couldn’t they have hired a hotel room? How did Neil suddenly land a job in Kenya towards the end? Why don’t Ameesha and her husband have a separate room for their kid, (he sleeps between them on the bed) when their penthouse balcony is bigger than most peoples’ homes. The fight scenes look unintentionally comic, especially when Neil is shown fighting seven foot tall African tribals.

The performances somewhat redeem the hole-ridden storyline. Neil Nitin Mukesh acts his heart out as the quick-witted cad who loves to play the cat-and-mouse game with his victim. Ameesha Patel too keeps within her character as the lustful housewife. Her character could have been explored more. She could have been more badass but sadly the director tamed down her seductress avatar into a repentant soul instead. Puja Gupta hasn’t got much to do but makes a good job of looking pretty. Susi Ganeshan makes a cameo as a private investigator and his thick accent could have acted as a buffer against the 30-feet waves at Marine Drive.

It could have been an edge-of-the-seat thriller if more care was taken. Sadly, Shortcut Romeo leaves the viewer with an unsatisfied taste in the mouth.