Roadside Romeo

Roadside Romeo




Promotional Poster for the film
Directed by Jugal Hansraj
Produced by Aditya Chopra
Yash Chopra
Walt Disney Studios
Written by Jugal Hansraj
Starring Saif Ali Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Jaaved Jaffrey
Music by Score:
Salim-Sulaiman
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni
Distributed by Yash Raj Films, Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s) Flag of Kuwait October 23, 2008[1]
Flag of India Flag of the United States Flag of the United Kingdom October 24, 2008
Running time: 93 min[2]
Country: India, United States
Language : Hindi,English
Budget: US$7 million (Rs. 34.77 crore)[3]

Roadside Romeo is a 2008 computer-animated film, and the first major one to be made in Bollywood. It was written and directed by first-time Jugal Hansraj, who acted in films such as Mohabbatein (2000) and Salaam Namaste (2005), and was produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner.[4] A co-production of India's Yash Raj and the United States' Walt Disney Pictures,[5] it was released on October 24, 2008 in those respective countries.

The title character, a dog living in the city of Mumbai, is voiced by Saif Ali Khan. His girlfriend, Laila, is voiced by Kareena Kapoor. Neither of them had previously appeared in an animated production.[6]

The film utilizes computer animation done entirely in India by Tata Elxsi's Visual Computing Labs (VCL) unit.[5][7]

Prior to Romeo, the Pentamedia company was involved in the making of India's first CGI features, released in 2000: Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists and Pandavas: The Five Warriors.


[edit] Plot

Romeo (voice of Saif Ali Khan) is a dog who once lived in luxurious surroundings. Unfortunately, for him, his owners decide to migrate to London and he is left at the mercy of the servant of the house, who dumps him on the street. Left to fend for himself, he is soon cornered by the local "goons" — Guru, Interval, Hero English and a dog-wannabe cat, Mini — who tell him this is their domain. Romeo does not know the street lingo and is at a loss for words at first, but then turns his charm around to win these very strays as his close pals.

Together, they set up a successful dog-grooming business until Chhainu (Sanjai Mishra), the right hand of gangster-dog Charlie Anna (Javed Jaffrey), arrives to collect hafta (protection money) in the form of bones. Romeo throws Chhainu out, and the others, terrified, go to Charlie to plead their cause. Charlie threatens them with his trio of ninja dogs, whom he calls his Angels (prompting him to crack a Charlie's Angels joke), but Romeo tricks Charlie into allowing his friends to leave unhurt.

Romeo meets Laila (Kareena Kapoor), who is singing on a rooftop, and falls in love. To win her over, Laila tells Romeo he must dance with her in front of everyone at the Moonlight Club where she performs. Romeo says yes, unaware that the dangerous Charlie Anna has long wanted her, and anyone who dares go near her is dealt with severely. However, Romeo braves the odds and dances with Laila to win her heart. Love blossoms, enraging Charlie, who captures and terrorizes Romeo. Thinking quickly, Romeo promises Charlie that he will win Laila for him [Charlie].

Romeo does not intend to lose Laila, but plans to deflate Charlie's ego by having a disguised Mini pretend to be Laila and make it clear she's not interested. This works, but only exacerbates Charlie's ire, forcing Romeo to promise him a second meeting with Laila. The night of the appointment, however, Chhainu catches Romeo kissing Laila, who then learns of Romeo's deal with Charlie and angrily says she never wants to see him again. A furious Charlie and his Angels chase Romeo and the gang, capturing them. In the end, however, Romeo's selflessness saves Charlie Anna from the dog catcher; the two become friends, and Charlie himself brings Laila to Romeo in a train boxcar scene reminiscent of a similar, famous scene in the film Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, causing Charlie Anna to remark, "Where have I seen this before?" In a dance number at the end, Romeo shows his left arm tattooed with Laila's name. "Bloopers" follow during the end credits

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia