O'Romeo (2026) [Movie Review] — Romance and revenge braided into noirish spectacle

O'Romeo adapts a chapter from Hussain Zaidi’s underworld portrait to fashion a love-and-revenge chronicle that feels both operatic and intimate. At its centre is Afsha, a woman who sets out to avenge her husband’s murder, and Ustara, a contract killer whose life collides with hers in a spiral of blood, longing and unexpected tenderness. The film pairs visceral crime drama with lyrical romance, producing a tonal hybrid that is by turns tender, brutal and strangely elegiac.

Cast & Crew — principal credits

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj; screenplay credits include Vishal Bhardwaj, Rohan Narula and Hussain Zaidi. The ensemble features Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Avinash Tiwary, Nana Patekar, Disha Patani, Farida Jalal, Tamannaah Bhatia, Roshni Walia, Vikrant Massey, Aruna Irani, Rajiv Gupta and Sandeep Parikh among others.

Direction & script — Bhardwaj’s signature at work

Vishal Bhardwaj brings his trademark ability to fuse Shakespearean gravitas with pulp energy: the mise-en-scène is deliberate, the compositions theatrical, and the moral world uncomfortably ambiguous. The screenplay, which leans on Zaidi’s journalistic source material, blends meticulously staged set pieces with quieter character moments. The first act meanders as it builds context, but once the plot pivots toward vengeance, the film finds a relentless forward momentum. At nearly three hours, the picture occasionally indulges in excess; yet those indulgences are often the same flourishes that make Bhardwaj’s cinema distinct — choices that privilege mood and texture over lean plotting.

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Performances — anchored by violent grace and subtle fire

Shahid Kapoor inhabits Ustara with a rare mix of menace and melancholy, proving again why he’s one of the most versatile leads of his generation. He sells physicality and emotional fragility with equal conviction. Triptii Dimri as Afsha is quietly magnetic: grief and determination live in her stillness, and the slow thaw of unexpected affection is handled with nuance. Avinash Tiwary’s Jalal cuts an effective silhouette as the hard centre of the underworld. Veterans such as Nana Patekar and Tamannaah Bhatia add authority in compact, memorable turns, while Vikrant Massey’s role, though brief, lends an emotional weight that sets the revenge plot in motion.

Cinematography, score & set pieces — sensory storytelling

Ben Bernhard’s cinematography and Bhardwaj’s musical sensibilities create a potent audiovisual cocktail. Sequences staged against unusual backdrops — an abandoned ship, a masked fiesta, or a bullring — are vivid and almost hallucinatory. The colour design (notably recurring reds) reads as both aesthetic and symbolic, underscoring the film’s marriage of desire and blood. The score and songs — including collaborations with seasoned lyricists and vocalists — enhance mood rather than interrupt, with a few tracks lingering longer in memory than others.

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Pacing & final verdict — ambitious, occasionally indulgent

O'Romeo is an ambitious, often ravishing piece of cinema that marries romance and revenge in a world that feels hand-crafted and morally complex. Pacing issues and a tendency toward indulgent stretches prevent it from being airtight, but its virtues — commanding performances, striking imagery and a haunting sonic palette — make it compelling. For viewers who appreciate crime dramas with poetic ambition and emotional risk, O'Romeo is a richly rewarding watch.

Rating: ★★★⯪☆ (3.5/5)