SHORTCUT ROMEO REVIEW RATING : * * 1/2

SHORTCUT ROMEO

Banner : Susi Ganesh Productions Pvt. Ltd.

Producer : Manjari Susi Ganesh
Writer-Director : Susi Ganesh

Music : Himesh Reshammiya

Jobless Suraj (Neil Nitin Mukesh) is thrown out of his family home in Goa and sent packing to Mumbai, where he finds Monica (Ameesha Patel) the unfaithful wife of wealthy businessman Rahul (Rajesh Shringarpure) having a sexual relationship with her golf-trainer Ashish (Jatin Garewal). He shoots Monica in the act and starts blackmailing her. Suraj begins to live lavishly and he invites three friends over. They go on a vacation to Kenya, where Suraj falls in love with a girl masquerading as Sherry. But Sherry’s real name is Radhika (Puja Gupta) and she was put up for the job by Monica. When Sherry disappears, Suraj realizes that he would prefer to live a truthful life for the sake of love, even in the face of torture. By now, Rahul thinks that his wife Monica is having two affairs with Ashish and Suraj. He confronts Ashish and kills him. In the climax, he also kills Suraj.

This a remake of the film-maker Susi Ganesh’s own successful Tamil film THIRUTTU PAYALE. Sadly, the writer-director forgot to rework the concept to make the story contemporary and suitable for our times. Performance-wise, Ameesha Patel is alright. Pooja Gupta is impressive. Neil Nitin Mukesh has an earnest approach. Rajesh Shringarpure is efficient. Jatin Grewal is passable. Vrajesh Hirjee provides a few laughs in his little role. Errol Peter Marks, Ashutosh Kaushik and Meherzan Mazda are adequate. Susi Ganesh appears as Suraj’s childhood detective friend, is appropriate. Anuradha Chandan, Yashodhan Bal, Kavita Wadhawan, Neelima Parandekar, Mohit Saluja, Rakesh Kirit Kadakia, Sultan Siddique and Naveen Prabhakar are okay. Mumaith Khan performs well in an item number.

Susi Ganesh’s Hindi debut vehicle as a writer-director features an ordinary screenplay and dialogues are dull. Himesh Reshammiya’s Khali Salaam Dua (lyrics by Shabbir Ahmad) is memorable. Cinematography captures Kenya’s Masai Mara well good but it is more irrelevant to the main plot. Actions by Silva and Kanal Kannan are alright. Editing by Dilip Deo and Hardik Singh Reen are okay. Production and technical values are average. The publicity was good. At the box office, the film faces an uphill struggle.