You have seen him in 'Monsoon Wedding' getting involved in incest with an adolescent. He was also there in 'Dil Chahta Hai' playing Preity Zinta's kin. Now he makes watch you not himself but his work behind the screen. Welcome, yet another talented and offbeat film director, Rajat Kapoor. With a national award for short films and with more than two dozen ad films, Rajat makes his debut as a director with a film that has won many accolades already in India and abroad. The film has been doing rounds of film festival circuit for some time and now sees light of the day in theatres across the country. Made on a modest budget though, Rajat still faced tough time in getting finance.
It was with the help of unknown on-line friends whom he met on the net that helped him make this film. So, 'Raghu Romeo' also has a record to have maximum producers associated with any film numbering 35. 'Raghu Romeo' has many more wonders to watch on screen than to delve into its making. For starters it has a mesmerizing performance from Vijay Raaz whom many have seen as a marriage manager in 'Monsoon Wedding' eating flowers kept for decoration. It is only in such films that a talented actor like Vijay Raaz who otherwise does not have a chocolate face or a muscular body, can be seen in a leading role in Indian Cinema. 'Raghu Romeo' is a celebration for the new age cinema. It is meaningful yet entertaining. Having assisted like Mrinal Sen and Kumar Sahni, Rajat Kapoor manages a fine balance between art and entertainment in this film.
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'Raghu Romeo' is also a celebration of a common man who lives in fantasies. It is a narration of a man's life that feels a crush on a TV celebrity and what happens when fantasy meets real world. Raghu (Vijay Raaz) works in a nightclub and is an avid TV watcher. He sees this particular show 'Dard' of heroine Neetaji (Maria Goretti). He does not miss even a single episode of the serial and gets involved too seriously with the happenings in the soap opera. Raghu lives in a slum and is a waiter in a bar.
These make a local girl named Sweetie (Sadiya Siddiqui) take fancy for him. But he is oblivious of this fact and lives in his dreams with Neetaji.
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He talks to her in dreams and walks along with her in his fantasies. Raghu wants to be rich one day and meets his ladylove that is not sweetie but Neetaji in reality. Circumstances have it that a Supari killer is behind Neetaji and Raghu happens to come in the frame to save her life. He also has another task on hand when he comes to know that this serial killer is also chasing Sweetie not to kill her but to have the babe in arms. The twists and turns of the parallel tracks make the happenings more interesting and the viewer gets a satisfaction for his money at the end of the film.
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'Raghu Romeo' belongs to juts two guys; its director Rajat Kapoor and its hero Vijay Raaz. The first makes a beautiful presentation of the idea that it's not very difficult for people in today's world to lose the track of reality and get lost in images that keep on coming to you like uninvited missiles. He creates a hero who is simple, innocent and non-cynical. He behaves like any other normal guy but what makes him look different from others is the point of view that Rajat has aptly created for him. Rajat has crafted the film like a true master. What distinguishes his directorial debut is the fact that it doesn't go over you head at no point in the film. The film takes a steady graph and sticks to it throughout. Rajat Kapoor won half the battle at the box office by choosing the right kind of cast for 'Raghu Romeo'. As the title suggests too, this film has a combination of Indian traditional cinema and the modern thinking finding its way in Bollywood thanks to the global impact on the latter. Seeing the response that the film is getting in the beginning one can be sure to see many more films from this talented director.
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Coming to the performance by the cast, Vijay Raaz takes lead from everyone in a title role that fits to his personality like 'T'. He has brought in so many wonderful nuances in his role that it looks almost real to see him as Raghu in the film. His watching the idiot box with so much intelligence and his reaction to the acting of Maria leaves an impression. Besides Vijay, it is Saurabh Shukla who brings in many wonderful moments. His role too is well written and supported by the director. Maria as Neetaji is a revelation and her husband Arshad Warsi now has a competition at home after his comeback with 'Munnabhai MBBS' where he surprised everyone in the role of Circuit. Sadiya Siddiqui too supports the movie very well. The film has been released on a very low profile and seeing the response, Rajat can be sure to get his money back at least double in amount and that will make his film fetch the hit label for it. 'Raghu Romeo' is a must for those who yearn for good cinema. Moreover, it will also not bore those who venture in a theatre for entertainment only. It's fine balance between the two. It may not be a surprise if couch casters make a bee way in front of Rajat's house from tomorrow begging to direct their film at any price, though they were not keen in putting money for 'Raghu Romeo'.
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