There
are
two
ways
of
doing
a
full-on
masala
film.
You
either
turn
it
on
its
head
and
poke
fun
at
ridiculous
cinematic
conventions.
Or
you
treat
the
stereotypical
characters
and
sacred
cows
of
our
cinema
with
full
seriousness.
Shortcut
Romeo
takes
the
midway
route.
It
seems
so
full
of
the
old-world
formulistic
flavour
and
the
stench
of
the
familiar
that
parts
of
the
pulsating
aggressive
storytelling
actually
feel
like
a
spoof.
So,
we
have
the
film's
unfaithful
wife
Monica
(Ameesha
Patel)
and
her
slimy
lover
(Jatin
Garewal)
making
out
in
a
golf
turf
and
it
is
beyond
logical
explanation
why
an
affluent
couple,
who
could
afford
the
poshest
of
duplex
to
meet,
would
choose
such
a
spot.
And
then
the
lover
tells
the
unfaithful
wife,
"First
time
when
you
do
it
(cheat
in
a
marriage)
you
feel
bad.
Then
it
becomes
your
style."
Er,
how
stylish!
Come
again?
But
please
don't
laugh.
First-time
Hindi
director
Susi
Ganesan
is
dead
serious.
The
film
shot
at
the
speed
of
sound
is
filled
with
bizarre
twists
and
turns.
It's
basically
the
story
of
a
woman
who
cheats
on
a
saintly
tycoon
of
a
husband
(effectively
played
by
Rajesh
Shringapure)
who
has
a
massive
portrait
of
Rabindranath
Tagore
in
his
bedroom,
and
a
cheesy
blackmailer
named
Suraj
(Neil
Nitin
Mukesh),
who
believes
in
taking
risky
short-cuts
to
get
rich.
This
is
not
the
first
film
about
a
cheating
wife
and
a
blackmailer.
Reena
Roy
and
Naseeruddin
Shah
had
done
the
roles
with
heart-stopping
tension
in
Bezubaan.
Shortcut
Romeo
scores
in
the
way
the
plot
paces
out
its
drama
in
the
ongoing
friction
between
the
cheating
wife
and
the
blackmailer.
Neil
plays
the
cheesy
go-getter
with
a
schemer's
delight.
His
eyes
glint
when
he
talks
of
teasing
more
money
out
of
Monica.
He
drools
when
she
transfers
cash
into
his
trashy
life.
Alas,
some
of
the
narrative's
display
of
the
protagonist's
excessive
hedonism
is
just
an
excuse
for
African
tourism.
The
Kenyan
expedition
reads
like
a
botched-up
touristic
brochure.
Bad
idea,
Ganesan.
Even
worse
is
the
director
himself
showing
up
in
the
second-half
as
the
cheated
husband's
detective-friend.
Ganesan's
accent
is
so
thick,
it
slices
the
gamboling
narration
into
smithereens.
At
least
for
a
while.
But
then
again
the
film
gathers
momentum
towards
the
end-game.
The
finale
is
a
breathless
whammy
with
Neil
making
a
run
for
his
freedom,
quite
literally,
with
the
narrative
panting
behind
him.
Shortcut
Romeo
is
redeemed
by
a
strong
message
on
today's
20-something's
yearning
for
materialism.
And
when
our
Shortcut
Romeo
finds
his
short-skirt
Juliet
(Puja
Gupta,
pretty)
there
is
a
delicious
irony
attached
to
the
association.
The
film's
most
vivid
interludes
go
back
to
Neil's
childhood
to
show
how
he
learned
to
be
corrupt,
acquisitive,
and
inquisitive,
at
a
tender
age.
Some
of
the
action
sequences
with
Neil,
specially
one
key
fight
with
African
tribals,
are
first-rate.
But
then
the
songs
-
oh
my
god!
-
they
pop
up
at
the
most
inopportune
moments.
In
spite
of
its
massive
flaws,
including
the
cheesy
dialogues,
Ganesan's
stylish
shocker
of
a
thriller
manages
to
stay
constantly
one
step
ahead
of
the
audience.
A
coolly
crafted
cat-and-mouse
game
Shortcut
Romeo
finds
Neil
giving
grit
to
the
gripping
goings-on.
The
last
half-hour
is
a
knock-out.
But
the
overall
product
could
have
been
far
less
retrogradatory
in
tone.
Nonetheless
enjoyable
while
it
lasts.
IANS