Ritujaay Ghosh, OP
BHUBANESWAR: Multiple identities, an expressionless hero, under-developed characters, and a half-baked story that moves at snail’s pace — that’s the best way to sum up this 150-minute long yawn fest called Romeo Akbar Walter. Espionage thrillers speak a language of their own. Unfortunately, filmmaker Robbie Grewal fails to decode that and churns out a below-average spy thriller that even he won’t feel too proud adding to his curriculum vitae.
Romeo Akbar Walter is set between India and Pakistan — a comfort zone for Hindi filmmakers when it comes to exploring this particular genre. But how many more times will we have to watch the same thing?
The film opens with a bloodied and bruised John Abraham, who has been subject to third-degree torture, lying on a floor at an ISI detention cell. In the next shot, a Pakistani colonel takes a pincer and pulls off his fingernail. John screams in pain and the screen turns blank. So far, so good. The story starts on a high note sending your expectations soaring.
The story is set in 1971, when tensions between India and Pakistan were escalating, with Indian Army training the rebel Mukti Bahini in East Pakistan. Rehmatullah Ali aka Romeo (John Abraham), a bank teller by the day and a theatre actor by night, loves his motherland more than his mother and everyone else, including himself.
Romeo, a master of disguise, is handpicked by the RAW Chief Shrikant Rai (Jackie Shroff), trained and bundled off to Pakistan, with the responsibility of carrying out one of the biggest undercover missions. So, Romeo, with a new hairdo and beard, becomes Akbar and embarks on his new mission. You are barely 20 minutes into the film and just when you expect the story to pick up momentum disappointment strikes.
Grewal’s effort is noble but his execution is flawed. The film scores low on detailing, which leaves the audience with a few unanswered questions. A RAW agent being easily sent off across the border; he managing a Pakistani army uniform and entering their headquarter; classified messages being hidden in padlocks and oranges, an old man giving a woman a gun in a box containing a saree, Grewal makes the plot, and particularly the Indian intelligence network, look too amateurish.
Needless to say, finding logic behind this is futile. The story has ample twists and turns but fails to excite you. And then comes the biggest disappointment — the convoluted climax. That’s the story of Romeo and Akbar. The lesser spoken about Walter, the better.
One of the few positives of the film is the effort put in by the art department. Old handbills, vintage Grundig-made transmission devices and radio announcement of Prakash Padukone winning a badminton tournament in Kuala Lampur will transport you to the 1970s India.
John Abraham is wooden as always. The director makes it even worse by zooming in the camera on his face time and again, making evident his stiffness in front of the camera. Mouni Roy, as John’s love interest and a diplomat at the Indian High Commission at Karachi, puts up a decent show, despite getting limited screen time and a half-baked character. Jackie Shroff for a change doesn’t ham after a long time. Raguvir Yadav, as a Pakistani working for RAW, is superb as usual. One of more restrained performances comes from Alka Amin, as John’s mother. The surprise package, however, is Sikander Kher, who puts up a terrific show as a menacing Pakistani colonel.
For a change, the Pakistani intelligence agency looks efficient and threatening, the only stereotype Grewal manages to break. A word of caution for John Abraham: Please don’t play a RAW agent for some time or it won’t be long that you get branded as the late Jagdish Raj.
TABLE
Film: Romeo Akbar Walter
Cast: John Abraham, Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy and Sikander Kher
Director: Robbie Grewal
Rating: 2 stars