Roadside Romeo

"This is the story of Romeo. A dude who was living the life. He had the works – the mansion to live in, the chicks to party with and the cars to be driven around in. Until one day, the family he was the favourite pet of, decided to move and left him back, abandoned on the mean streets of Mumbai. Romeo is now faced with situations he has never been in before. He encounters four strays, who scare the daylights out of him. But soon, he smooth talks his way into their hearts and he makes friends. Then, Romeo finds love! He encounters the beautiful, ravishing Laila, the most beautiful girl he has ever seen… and he loses his heart to her at first sight! And finally, he encounters a villain! The dreaded Don of the area – Charlie Anna! The Don who everyone is scared of. Watch how Romeo turns into – Roadside Romeo!"

"Romeo is a dog who once lived in luxurious surroundings. Unfortunately, for him, his owners decide to migrate to London and he is left at the mercy of the servant of the house, who dumps him on the street. Left to fend for himself, he is soon cornered by the local 'goons' who tell him that this is their 'domain'. Poor Romeo does not know the street lingo and is at a loss for words at first, but then turns his charm around to win these very strays as his close pals. Together, they set up a business. Everything goes on fine with a big queue outside their salon. Then comes Charlie Anna's chamcha to collect hafta and business goes for a toss. Charlie Anna is the 'Don' to who every dog has to pay protection money in the form of bones! Here again Romeo's wit and presence of mind saves the day for him and his buddies who are being beaten by Charlie's Angels! In walks, Laila and Romeo is in love. To win her love, Laila tells Romeo that he has to dance with her in front of everyone at the Moonlight Club where she performs. Romeo is game. After all, this is such a silly request. But he then realizes it's not as easy as it seems because Charlie secretly desires Laila and anyone who even dares go near her is dealt with severely. But Romeo braves the odds and dances with Laila to win her heart. Love blossoms. Enter villain. Romeo is terrorized; he promises Charlie that he will win Laila for him (Charlie). Romeo does not intend to lose Laila but has plans for deflating Charlie's ego. He is caught two-timing by Charlie's chamcha and all hell breaks loose. In the end, however, love triumphs. There's a scene where Romeo shows off his left hand with Laila's names tattooed on it and another, straight out from Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, the famous train shot..."

"Roadside Romeo doesn’t have pedestrian portrayal of animation. For Gods sake the genre has finally overcome mythological boundaries and the animation has upgraded over the Amar Chitra Katha variety. In fact this animation is at par with any modern-day Hollywood flick and the spirit is true-blue Bollywood to the core. That’s how this dog delivers the best of both worlds. The story is fashionably filmi. Romeo (Saif Ali Khan) was once a pet dog with all the luxuries of life but is now abandoned by his master. Loitering across the mean city streets, he is bullied by a pack of strays. Soon he befriends them with his charm and together they start a salon. In trademark Bollywood style, its love at first sight for Romeo as he comes across ladylove Laila (Kareena Kapoor). The only stumbling block in his path is the dreaded don of the dogs, Charlie Anna (Javed Jaffrey) who also has a huge crush on Laila. Romeo has to win Laila and simultaneously save himself from the wrath of Charlie Anna..."

"First things first, the animation is pretty impressive. Alright, granted that the mouths merely flap generically most of the time instead of approximating lip movement, but then it would be wrong to expect a Pixar-level animation anyway. This is a well-animated movie with finely detailed backgrounds, and despite a lack of overall consistency, Roadside Romeo looks nice, bright and shiny enough to ensure kids are drawn to it. So well done, animators and debutant director Jugal Hansraj -- the look works..."