In this review for The Hollywood Reporter India, Anupama Chopra examines O Romeo, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, a nearly three-hour gangster romance loosely inspired by the real-life relationship between Mumbai contract killer Hussain Ustra and Sapna Didi, as chronicled in S. Hussain Zaidi and Jane Borges’ book Mafia Queens of Mumbai. Anupama finds a moving, tender tale of one-sided love buried inside the film’s many excesses — Shahid Kapoor’s Hussain pining for Triptii Dimri’s Afsha, a grieving widow who accepts him as tutor and guide but never as lover. She praises Triptii as pitch perfect, finding a unique mix of vulnerability and steeliness, and highlights the strong supporting cast including Nana Patekar as an IB officer, Farida Jalal as the maternal Dadi, and a fleeting, nostalgia-inducing appearance by Aruna Irani. Anupama notes how Vishal — who previously delivered the great Mumbai gangster film Maqbool and the memorable Kaminey — is the right fit for this material, weaving an elaborate web of violence, romance and poetry. However, Anupama argues that O Romeo derails halfway through and never finds its way back. A key fault line is the villain Jalal, played by Avinash Tiwary, who despite being a fine actor is badly directed here, resorting to a growling voice and unhinged killing that tips into the unintentionally comic — particularly once he starts fighting a bull bare-chested in a Spanish arena. What could have been a soaring mood piece becomes an eye-glazing dance of bloodletting, with Shahid’s committed performance ultimately defeated by the film’s unnecessary extravagances in both story and style. Anupama’s bottom line: O Romeo is proof that more isn’t always more.
