Oh man! Manoj bajpayee- he is crazy!
Watch this movie only for him.
12 Reviews
You must watch this movie for the hitchhiker
imdb_girl9015 September 2018
alright
folkpoet8029 November 2003
The first time I watched this movie, I didnt even leave my couch. Kept me on the edge of my seat and it still does. I agree that there are some faults here and there and the ususal share of copy cat but still a change movie for Bollywood. Try it!
Off track
Manu_Srinivasan2 October 2002
Warning: Spoilers
***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Ram Gopal Varma, Vivek Oberio and a novel title : The combination promises a lot but fails to deliver.
The basic plot of a couple hitting the road and their adventures on the way is definitely a refreshing change from the typical hindi movie plot of boy-love-girl. However, the treatment of the plot is disappointing, to say the least.
The sudden breaking into a dream song barely 5 minutes into a movie is amusing. "Raste raste tujhe..." is the first song of the movie and seems to be Antara Malis first too. She dances like one possessed. She hardly looks interested in the hero and is more into trying to look cool. She ends up wearing the most outlandish outfits in this song and seems like she is trying to set right a sprain in her neck.
The viewers are treated to a visual feast when the car gets to Rajasthan, but that is short lived. Manoj Bajpai(as Babu) enters the scene and takes over as the hero of the movie. He is more convincing than either Antara(as Lakshmi) or Vivek (as Arvind). He does a great job of irritating the couple in the car and looks scary when he gets Vivek off the car. But a comic sequence of events and a lost looking truck driver Inderpal (Makarand Deshpande) help in restoring the heroine back to the hero. Babu then nearly crushes the couple after beating up the truck driver and stealing the truck. But, the couple escape and are foolish enough to return to the spot to check if the drivers body is in the truck! What were you thinking Arvind? Yes, you would have found his dead body and then somebody else would have found yours. You left the gun with the maniac, remember?
One would think that a gun-totting mad man who almost killed them is enough to scare a couple back home. But no, they check into a road side hotel and decide to continue in their journey. The viewers are forced to watch another song which does no good to the story, but does relieve Antara of more clothes. Utterly needless song that decimates any tension that might have been built up.
The next encounter with Babu is most unbelievable. He is in their car and well, our couple dont realize it. So, he just pops out of the back seat! How very convenient! Cars dont have locks and a couple who just survived an attempt on their lives dont bother checking the car before they start back on the journey. Well, the director couldnt think of any other way Arvind would have let Babu back in the car. Arvind is again stranded on the deserted road. Only this time, you feel he deserves it!
Arvind contacts the cops and as usual they are more trouble than help. They suspect Arvind of having kidnapped Lakshmi and now the hero is on the run. Another song "Nikalle bhaiyye, sambhalle bhaiyye..." and the hero and Inderpal are after Babu. Meanwhile, Babu manages to stun the well-built watchman of a house and get in. Babus strong character is diluted when he starts falling for the heroine. He loses his callous look and acts like a clown. And more surprisingly, Lakshmi encourages him too! huh?! This guy just kidnapped you, lady! Lakshmi goes on to say that she would've chosen him over the hero if he met her in college! You can see that she was not joking! Babu dreams about the heroine and the last thing you want to see on screen is Manoj Bajpai trying to be romantic!
He fixes breakfast for the heroine the next morning and after killing a couple of more cops, they are on their way again. This is when you realize how incompetent hindi movie cops are. Two cops try to rush in through the same door and Babu casually shoots them both. The director didnt want to waste too much time in trying to make the encounter too realistic. You get the idea that cops were on the job, right?!
Then you think "Hey, where are they headed ?" But dont worry too much about that since Arvind gets a cops bike and races Babu on the desert. There is a very filmi fight between the two and the movie ends depicting the heroine as having less morals than the dreaded killer.
Whatever character Babu had was destroyed when he falls for the heroine, the heroine was never meant to have any character and Vivek was busy trying to get into some frames since Babu stole most of them! That about sums up the movie.
We expect more realism from Ram Gopal Varma than the mindless and unbelievable storyline of Road. When Ram Gopal Varma said that this movie had no message and was a movie he made purely only for entertainment, I hope he had remembered to add "Meaningful" before the word "entertainment".
The basic plot of a couple hitting the road and their adventures on the way is definitely a refreshing change from the typical hindi movie plot of boy-love-girl. However, the treatment of the plot is disappointing, to say the least.
The sudden breaking into a dream song barely 5 minutes into a movie is amusing. "Raste raste tujhe..." is the first song of the movie and seems to be Antara Malis first too. She dances like one possessed. She hardly looks interested in the hero and is more into trying to look cool. She ends up wearing the most outlandish outfits in this song and seems like she is trying to set right a sprain in her neck.
The viewers are treated to a visual feast when the car gets to Rajasthan, but that is short lived. Manoj Bajpai(as Babu) enters the scene and takes over as the hero of the movie. He is more convincing than either Antara(as Lakshmi) or Vivek (as Arvind). He does a great job of irritating the couple in the car and looks scary when he gets Vivek off the car. But a comic sequence of events and a lost looking truck driver Inderpal (Makarand Deshpande) help in restoring the heroine back to the hero. Babu then nearly crushes the couple after beating up the truck driver and stealing the truck. But, the couple escape and are foolish enough to return to the spot to check if the drivers body is in the truck! What were you thinking Arvind? Yes, you would have found his dead body and then somebody else would have found yours. You left the gun with the maniac, remember?
One would think that a gun-totting mad man who almost killed them is enough to scare a couple back home. But no, they check into a road side hotel and decide to continue in their journey. The viewers are forced to watch another song which does no good to the story, but does relieve Antara of more clothes. Utterly needless song that decimates any tension that might have been built up.
The next encounter with Babu is most unbelievable. He is in their car and well, our couple dont realize it. So, he just pops out of the back seat! How very convenient! Cars dont have locks and a couple who just survived an attempt on their lives dont bother checking the car before they start back on the journey. Well, the director couldnt think of any other way Arvind would have let Babu back in the car. Arvind is again stranded on the deserted road. Only this time, you feel he deserves it!
Arvind contacts the cops and as usual they are more trouble than help. They suspect Arvind of having kidnapped Lakshmi and now the hero is on the run. Another song "Nikalle bhaiyye, sambhalle bhaiyye..." and the hero and Inderpal are after Babu. Meanwhile, Babu manages to stun the well-built watchman of a house and get in. Babus strong character is diluted when he starts falling for the heroine. He loses his callous look and acts like a clown. And more surprisingly, Lakshmi encourages him too! huh?! This guy just kidnapped you, lady! Lakshmi goes on to say that she would've chosen him over the hero if he met her in college! You can see that she was not joking! Babu dreams about the heroine and the last thing you want to see on screen is Manoj Bajpai trying to be romantic!
He fixes breakfast for the heroine the next morning and after killing a couple of more cops, they are on their way again. This is when you realize how incompetent hindi movie cops are. Two cops try to rush in through the same door and Babu casually shoots them both. The director didnt want to waste too much time in trying to make the encounter too realistic. You get the idea that cops were on the job, right?!
Then you think "Hey, where are they headed ?" But dont worry too much about that since Arvind gets a cops bike and races Babu on the desert. There is a very filmi fight between the two and the movie ends depicting the heroine as having less morals than the dreaded killer.
Whatever character Babu had was destroyed when he falls for the heroine, the heroine was never meant to have any character and Vivek was busy trying to get into some frames since Babu stole most of them! That about sums up the movie.
We expect more realism from Ram Gopal Varma than the mindless and unbelievable storyline of Road. When Ram Gopal Varma said that this movie had no message and was a movie he made purely only for entertainment, I hope he had remembered to add "Meaningful" before the word "entertainment".
Nice try, but...
Mr. Bug14 February 2003
The good: "Road" is different for a Bollywood film. It's a thriller and road film and not yet another sappy love story. The 3 leads are all good performers and breathe life into a script that has its share of holes and Bollywood nonsense. The camera work is ok (not counting that awful hair in one shot) and the 5.1 sound is quite effective as well.
The bad: The subject may be new for Bollywood, it has been done do death in Hollywood since Spielberg launched this sub-genre with Duel (1971/I) (TV) (see for example also Breakdown (1997)/Joy Ride (2001)/Friday Night Date, A (2000)/Hitcher, The (1986), etc.). So there goes the originality. The songs are there because a Bollywood film has songs, period. They don't do much for the story. They could be cut without any loss. They slow down the pace. The police shenanigans are tiresome, the ending is very Bollywood. Finally the cut and paste technique in the background score with straight lifts from existing Hollywood soundtracks is annoying. (For example check the scene where Bajpai forces Oberoi out of the car the second time and shoots at him. The music at that moment is a direct copy from "Rock, The (1996)".) It does not matter that the intended audience is not likely to notice this. It's unethical and unprofessional. If Bollywood has any aspirations to go global that practice has to stop at once.
The bad: The subject may be new for Bollywood, it has been done do death in Hollywood since Spielberg launched this sub-genre with Duel (1971/I) (TV) (see for example also Breakdown (1997)/Joy Ride (2001)/Friday Night Date, A (2000)/Hitcher, The (1986), etc.). So there goes the originality. The songs are there because a Bollywood film has songs, period. They don't do much for the story. They could be cut without any loss. They slow down the pace. The police shenanigans are tiresome, the ending is very Bollywood. Finally the cut and paste technique in the background score with straight lifts from existing Hollywood soundtracks is annoying. (For example check the scene where Bajpai forces Oberoi out of the car the second time and shoots at him. The music at that moment is a direct copy from "Rock, The (1996)".) It does not matter that the intended audience is not likely to notice this. It's unethical and unprofessional. If Bollywood has any aspirations to go global that practice has to stop at once.
What a waste
sudheerapte6 November 2002
The Ram Gopal Varma name in the credits sets up expectations that are left unsatisfied.
The script and characters are all needlessly unrealistic. For example, Arvind and Lakshmi (Oberoi and Mali) live in a vacuum, set off on a road trip to nowhere in their SUV with a pack of biscuits, and don't display much emotion, either toward one another or toward anything else. It's hard to identify with either of these characters. The scenery is out of the world, too: petrol pumps spring up from nowhere next to lonely stretches of desert highway as if the landscape were the western United States.
Great locations, photography, and sound fail to dress up this dog. I can't believe at the time of posting this comment on IMDB that seventeen people have voted an average of 7.4!
The script and characters are all needlessly unrealistic. For example, Arvind and Lakshmi (Oberoi and Mali) live in a vacuum, set off on a road trip to nowhere in their SUV with a pack of biscuits, and don't display much emotion, either toward one another or toward anything else. It's hard to identify with either of these characters. The scenery is out of the world, too: petrol pumps spring up from nowhere next to lonely stretches of desert highway as if the landscape were the western United States.
Great locations, photography, and sound fail to dress up this dog. I can't believe at the time of posting this comment on IMDB that seventeen people have voted an average of 7.4!
A copy of the Hollywood film 'The Hitcher' and a very bad one for that matter!
Sherazade7 April 2006
Warning: Spoilers
Everything that could go wrong with this movie did. It was just pathetic. Even with such promising charisma from both Vivek Oberoi and Antara Mali, it just went wrong. Okay, the afore mentioned play a young couple very much in love and decide to go on a road trip (hence the title ROAD) one day. Along the way, they spot several omens that seem to be warning them of danger ahead but because they are so young and carefree, they naturally ignore the signs. Soon enough, trouble meets up with them in the form of a hitchhiker, who seems more like an escaped mental patient than a drifter, but I'm just saying... Anyways, they pick this loser up, thinking they are doing him a favour by giving him a ride but one thing leads to the other, and soon enough the drifter is dumping Oberoi's character on the side of a deserted road and proceeding on the journey with Mali's character whom he can't seem to hide his sexual attraction to. See, if Antara Mali wants to be taken serious as an actress, she has got to convince directors to stop using their camera lens to have sex with her body. If you doubt what I am saying, just watch this film! Then go see 'Naach' and you'll make the connection. Anywho, the rest of the film from the point of Mali's abduction is spent on Oberoi's character, trying to track her down and rescue her before she meets her demise in the arms of the lunatic. There's a funny but nice item number by Koena Mitra thrown in somewhere in the middle of all this mess, but it's not enough to save the film. And just to think that this was Oberoi's follow-up performance to his piercing debut in 'Company?!' Watch at your own risk.
They could've made a better film!
varghesejunior6 November 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This film could've definitely been made better if they had chose a different storyline, especially after the first part.
The story is about 2 ,lovers who decide to elope and get married, but on the "road", they come across a psychotic killer, and soon land in a murky mess of cops and criminals.
The first part is thrilling and does keep you hooked for a while, but that's it. And the background music is also good. And of course, as in almost all his films, Manoj Bajpai does a great job. THAT'S ALL.
Otherwise the second half of the film becomes very draggy, with unnecessary and stupid songs in between that spoil the essence of a thriller film. They have also mixed some silly comedy and vulgarity, that really makes this film worthless after the first half. All the songs and dances illogical, are worthless, and are better fast forwarded. Also there is lot of unrealistic stuff, like the conversion of a psycho killer to a gentle lover. If the makers had chosen a different path for the story after the first half, then perhaps the film would've been good.
You can barely watch it once.
The story is about 2 ,lovers who decide to elope and get married, but on the "road", they come across a psychotic killer, and soon land in a murky mess of cops and criminals.
The first part is thrilling and does keep you hooked for a while, but that's it. And the background music is also good. And of course, as in almost all his films, Manoj Bajpai does a great job. THAT'S ALL.
Otherwise the second half of the film becomes very draggy, with unnecessary and stupid songs in between that spoil the essence of a thriller film. They have also mixed some silly comedy and vulgarity, that really makes this film worthless after the first half. All the songs and dances illogical, are worthless, and are better fast forwarded. Also there is lot of unrealistic stuff, like the conversion of a psycho killer to a gentle lover. If the makers had chosen a different path for the story after the first half, then perhaps the film would've been good.
You can barely watch it once.
A slick, fast-paced crowd pleaser
aminta7830 September 2002
This is one of the most stylish films in Bollywood's recent history. Yes world, we are now finally a part of the MTV generation, with our piercings and sexy dancing, fast cars and lots of flesh. Road is a slick film, to say the least. The visual style is reminiscent of Wong Kar Wai's works, lending the film a racy mood. And the best part is, these are characters to whom we can relate. As beautiful as Antara Mali is, she does not come across as one of the many light-eyed, light-hair, candy floss castle types that have become icons of Indian romantic cinema.
The initial premise is simple - guy loves girl, girl loves guy, dad hates guy, they elope. But we never see Daddy dear, and there is none of that weepy confrontation between father and daughter that indian films love so much. Lakshmi is a spunky girl. Her words are witty, and she mocks Arvind (Vivek Oberoi) when he says he wants to marry her. Yet they elope and en route from Delhi to Rajasthan, they encounter an unusual hitchhiker.
I won't say more about the plot, because there are some incredibly suspenseful scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat. The music works well as a vehicle for the plot, building the mood instead of coming across as superfluous moments of pretty scenery. There are some delightfully funny moments, that arise naturally from successful 3-dimensional characters. All in all, a great film that should inspire the new generation of Indian filmmakers that there are other genres to be explored. Let's face it, the era of family dramas is coming to an end.
The initial premise is simple - guy loves girl, girl loves guy, dad hates guy, they elope. But we never see Daddy dear, and there is none of that weepy confrontation between father and daughter that indian films love so much. Lakshmi is a spunky girl. Her words are witty, and she mocks Arvind (Vivek Oberoi) when he says he wants to marry her. Yet they elope and en route from Delhi to Rajasthan, they encounter an unusual hitchhiker.
I won't say more about the plot, because there are some incredibly suspenseful scenes that keep you on the edge of your seat. The music works well as a vehicle for the plot, building the mood instead of coming across as superfluous moments of pretty scenery. There are some delightfully funny moments, that arise naturally from successful 3-dimensional characters. All in all, a great film that should inspire the new generation of Indian filmmakers that there are other genres to be explored. Let's face it, the era of family dramas is coming to an end.
Hit the Road...But Be Careful!
Chrysanthepop18 February 2008
Rajat Mukherjee's 'Road' is an exciting slick stylish black comedy-thriller. The makers inspiration from films like Spielberg's 'Duel', Lynch's 'Wild at Heart' and several other films clearly shows and what he comes up with is an enjoyable ride. In addition to that there are numerous fun references to Hindi movies. It does look very much like a Ram Gopal Verma film what with the playful camera-work, the cast etc yet Mukherjee puts most of it well together.
The film starts with the two romantic couples rock and rolling in the first few minutes and takes a different turn as they hit the road through the mysterious deserts of Rajasthan. From then on it's a road movie. The first time I watched it (about 6 years ago), I didn't like it. Therefore I must say that it's not a film to be taken seriously but just for us to sit down, watch and enjoy.
There are certain plot holes (e.g. Babu's reappearance in the Safari) but while a few of them add to the mystery element, others just require some explanation as it makes the following sequence look forced.
Sandeep Chowta, Amar Mohile, Nitin Raikwar and Sandesh Shandilya do an outstanding job with the music. Both the soundtrack and background score are awesome. I love the rock and roll tracks and the erotic 'Makhmali Yeh Badan'. However, the songs are used in the clichéd Bollywood way where many of them appear out of nowhere like music videos. The background score, combined with the amazing cinematography (by Sudeep Chatterjee), is brilliantly used and it creates characters out of the road and desert themselves.
What further elevates 'Road' are the performances. Vivek Oberoi is confident and fits his part a comfortable glove of the right size. Antara Mali is a sex bomb. Even though her fashion sense is at times awkward (especially in the first two songs) she too carries herself with confidence, sensuality and a kind of stamina and she wears her character like a comfortable modern top of the right size. Manoj Bajpai proves yet again what a gifted actor he is. One will have to watch the movie to know that this part was made for him as he effortlessly pulls it off with complete ease showing hues of comedy, intensity and subtlety.
Watching 'Road' brought back some memories that I had of enjoying the Ram Gopal Verma gems (he did produce it after all) like 'Satya', 'Rangeela' and 'Company'. He was one of the most successful experimenters while others kept making the same old Bollywood fluffy romance trash. Who knows what happened to him that he has opted for making money-spinning trash like 'Sarkar' and 'ki Aag' in recent years. One can only hope he goes back to making great movies.
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The film starts with the two romantic couples rock and rolling in the first few minutes and takes a different turn as they hit the road through the mysterious deserts of Rajasthan. From then on it's a road movie. The first time I watched it (about 6 years ago), I didn't like it. Therefore I must say that it's not a film to be taken seriously but just for us to sit down, watch and enjoy.
There are certain plot holes (e.g. Babu's reappearance in the Safari) but while a few of them add to the mystery element, others just require some explanation as it makes the following sequence look forced.
Sandeep Chowta, Amar Mohile, Nitin Raikwar and Sandesh Shandilya do an outstanding job with the music. Both the soundtrack and background score are awesome. I love the rock and roll tracks and the erotic 'Makhmali Yeh Badan'. However, the songs are used in the clichéd Bollywood way where many of them appear out of nowhere like music videos. The background score, combined with the amazing cinematography (by Sudeep Chatterjee), is brilliantly used and it creates characters out of the road and desert themselves.
What further elevates 'Road' are the performances. Vivek Oberoi is confident and fits his part a comfortable glove of the right size. Antara Mali is a sex bomb. Even though her fashion sense is at times awkward (especially in the first two songs) she too carries herself with confidence, sensuality and a kind of stamina and she wears her character like a comfortable modern top of the right size. Manoj Bajpai proves yet again what a gifted actor he is. One will have to watch the movie to know that this part was made for him as he effortlessly pulls it off with complete ease showing hues of comedy, intensity and subtlety.
Watching 'Road' brought back some memories that I had of enjoying the Ram Gopal Verma gems (he did produce it after all) like 'Satya', 'Rangeela' and 'Company'. He was one of the most successful experimenters while others kept making the same old Bollywood fluffy romance trash. Who knows what happened to him that he has opted for making money-spinning trash like 'Sarkar' and 'ki Aag' in recent years. One can only hope he goes back to making great movies.
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Eye Opener for Riders
nakulbhatnagar20 March 2022
The movie plays as an eye opener for todays' Rider's that offer ride on their way to unknown strangers (male/female).
It gives an important message and an education itself.
Hats off to all the artists and mainly Manoj for realistically portraying a character with multiple shades.
It gives an important message and an education itself.
Hats off to all the artists and mainly Manoj for realistically portraying a character with multiple shades.
doesn't quite live up to expectations
benjybaby27 October 2002
it's been over two weeks since i saw road and i'm still not quite sure what to make of it....or in fact how to review it....so here goes nothing....
the plot isn't much to speak off....boy likes girl, girl likes boy, girl's father hates boy, so girl and boy run away to get married but out of the goodness of their heart stop to give lift to stranger who turns out to be psycho....chills, thrills and spills follow....with the occasional naach-gaana thrown in for good measure.....
writer rajnish thakur's idea is novel however his actual script has one too many holes.... eg. the ease with which manoj bajpai's character makes a sudden re-appearance after a fairly violent fight...or how the friendly truck driver who helps vivek oberoi's arvind vanishes and then reappears a couple of reels later....one or two gaffes are fine....but as the movie nears the end they begin to pile up to such an alarming extent that they take away from the movie....
having said that...for the second time in as many weeks....it's the actors who make the movie work.....like in shakti where the actors rose above a sub-standard movie...in road too, manoj bajpai, vivek oberoi and antara mali, especially the first two, raise the grade of the movie on the strength of their performances.....
after vivek oberoi's unusual but effective debut in company...it was common knowledge that he could act....his role in road helps us figure out if he can do all the other things expected of a conventional hindi film hero....can dance with style....check....can fight with style...check...can romance with style....check....can do everything done by every other hindi film hero since cinema's inception and can still leave his own personal stamp on the screen....check....mr. oberoi...welcome to super-stardom....i look forward to seeing you on my screen more often.....
much has been made of antara mali's "exposure"...especially in the song makhmali yeh badan...i didn't have too much of an issue with it esp. since the song refers very specifically to her badan...however if she does want to be taken seriously as an actress....she needs to stop taking fashion advice from kareena kapoor, sex symbol tips from urmila matdonkar and instead go have tea or lunch or anything with madhuri dixit or tabu or kajol even preity zinta or karishma kapoor and take copious notes on how to effectively combine screen presence, acting skill and sensuality.....
unsurprisingly the acting honours go to the talented manoj bajpai....this is the manoj bajpai i know and love....the one who effortlessly portrays the many shades of psychosis....he was psychotic but odd in kaun....psychotic but mean in aks and here he is psychotic but vulnerable.....his babu takes the simplest tasks like peering at lakshmi's belly piercing and turns it into an insight into an obviously sick mind....bajpai is by turns weird, freaky, nasty, child-like and always wonderful...i'm so glad he ditched the jodhpurs and went back to some real acting......
road is also a superior-looking movie....it's stylish and cool in a very mtv-like way.....the cinematography by sudeep chatterjee is excellent....helping the pace of the movie, capturing it's "something is not quite right here" ambience and effective in taking an inanimate object - the road and turning it into a character in it's own right.....the background score is also good though it does stoop to stealing from the score of "speed" once in a while......
the music on the other hand leaves much to be desired.....other than makhmali yeh badan....i could barely make out the difference between the other songs....in an effort to come up with a funky soundtrack....sandeep chowta goes over the top and comes up with something that sounds suspiciously like it was composed entirely in his kitchen with arbit banging on different pots and pans.....
also ineffective is the choreography.....i have had just about enough of seeing "choreographer" ganesh acharya make impromptu guest appearances on my screen (shakti and road in recent memory)....i watch bollywood films to see the stars shake their booty among other things....mr. acharya should leave the dancing to the people paid to do it and concentrate on the actual choreography.......antara mali looked like she was having an epileptic fit while doing aerobics on a moving conveyor belt....the last time i checked that was not a known dance style.....
rajat mukherjee's second film shows heavy rgv influences....the off-beat storyline, the unusual music, the stylised look with the usual list of rgv favorites as it's cast...but mukherjee is obviously a director of some talent.....it is difficult to execute something like road within the confines of bollywood formula....and mukherjee does a decent job...but like a large number of newer directors seems to have absolutely no sense of what to do with the songs...they all seem to be there coz it's a bollywood film and what's a bollywood film without songs.....
the best bollywood directors not only understand plot and pacing but also know how to use songs to either push the story forward or underline plot points....in road the songs do neither....they are almost all picturised as some sort of dream sequence, are badly placed and slow down the proceedings...like the first two songs come too close together....as a viewer i had barely gotten over the headache i had after the first song when i heard more ominous banging and screeching....if only mukherjee had also imbibed rgv's gumption of leaving out songs if they do not fit within the scheme of the film.....it would have been a less painful film to watch
a special mention has to be made of the bollywood gods who obviously took some time after the climax sequence of mujhse dosti karoge to give the over-used cupid fairy a break and send the fairy of new ideas and interesting scripts to visit the dreams of bollywood script writers and directors....though the quality of the films differ....they are at least all trying to be different.....
that being said....a special note to all of bollywood copycat directors (you know who you are!!!!!!) who after watching road have begun planning "rasta", "rahi", "chauraha" and "highway".....a film like road works inspite of it's flaws coz it's been over 20 yrs. since we saw the last bollywood road film (bombay to goa) and i hope to god all of you have the good sense to know that the audience hopes it will be another 20 yrs. till we see the next one....so go back to making "tu mere dil ka tota, main tere man ki maina" or whatever other diabetes-inducing crap you were planning to spew out....that atleast i can ignore......
final rating - 6.5/10 -watch it coz you may never have seen anything like it in bollywood
the plot isn't much to speak off....boy likes girl, girl likes boy, girl's father hates boy, so girl and boy run away to get married but out of the goodness of their heart stop to give lift to stranger who turns out to be psycho....chills, thrills and spills follow....with the occasional naach-gaana thrown in for good measure.....
writer rajnish thakur's idea is novel however his actual script has one too many holes.... eg. the ease with which manoj bajpai's character makes a sudden re-appearance after a fairly violent fight...or how the friendly truck driver who helps vivek oberoi's arvind vanishes and then reappears a couple of reels later....one or two gaffes are fine....but as the movie nears the end they begin to pile up to such an alarming extent that they take away from the movie....
having said that...for the second time in as many weeks....it's the actors who make the movie work.....like in shakti where the actors rose above a sub-standard movie...in road too, manoj bajpai, vivek oberoi and antara mali, especially the first two, raise the grade of the movie on the strength of their performances.....
after vivek oberoi's unusual but effective debut in company...it was common knowledge that he could act....his role in road helps us figure out if he can do all the other things expected of a conventional hindi film hero....can dance with style....check....can fight with style...check...can romance with style....check....can do everything done by every other hindi film hero since cinema's inception and can still leave his own personal stamp on the screen....check....mr. oberoi...welcome to super-stardom....i look forward to seeing you on my screen more often.....
much has been made of antara mali's "exposure"...especially in the song makhmali yeh badan...i didn't have too much of an issue with it esp. since the song refers very specifically to her badan...however if she does want to be taken seriously as an actress....she needs to stop taking fashion advice from kareena kapoor, sex symbol tips from urmila matdonkar and instead go have tea or lunch or anything with madhuri dixit or tabu or kajol even preity zinta or karishma kapoor and take copious notes on how to effectively combine screen presence, acting skill and sensuality.....
unsurprisingly the acting honours go to the talented manoj bajpai....this is the manoj bajpai i know and love....the one who effortlessly portrays the many shades of psychosis....he was psychotic but odd in kaun....psychotic but mean in aks and here he is psychotic but vulnerable.....his babu takes the simplest tasks like peering at lakshmi's belly piercing and turns it into an insight into an obviously sick mind....bajpai is by turns weird, freaky, nasty, child-like and always wonderful...i'm so glad he ditched the jodhpurs and went back to some real acting......
road is also a superior-looking movie....it's stylish and cool in a very mtv-like way.....the cinematography by sudeep chatterjee is excellent....helping the pace of the movie, capturing it's "something is not quite right here" ambience and effective in taking an inanimate object - the road and turning it into a character in it's own right.....the background score is also good though it does stoop to stealing from the score of "speed" once in a while......
the music on the other hand leaves much to be desired.....other than makhmali yeh badan....i could barely make out the difference between the other songs....in an effort to come up with a funky soundtrack....sandeep chowta goes over the top and comes up with something that sounds suspiciously like it was composed entirely in his kitchen with arbit banging on different pots and pans.....
also ineffective is the choreography.....i have had just about enough of seeing "choreographer" ganesh acharya make impromptu guest appearances on my screen (shakti and road in recent memory)....i watch bollywood films to see the stars shake their booty among other things....mr. acharya should leave the dancing to the people paid to do it and concentrate on the actual choreography.......antara mali looked like she was having an epileptic fit while doing aerobics on a moving conveyor belt....the last time i checked that was not a known dance style.....
rajat mukherjee's second film shows heavy rgv influences....the off-beat storyline, the unusual music, the stylised look with the usual list of rgv favorites as it's cast...but mukherjee is obviously a director of some talent.....it is difficult to execute something like road within the confines of bollywood formula....and mukherjee does a decent job...but like a large number of newer directors seems to have absolutely no sense of what to do with the songs...they all seem to be there coz it's a bollywood film and what's a bollywood film without songs.....
the best bollywood directors not only understand plot and pacing but also know how to use songs to either push the story forward or underline plot points....in road the songs do neither....they are almost all picturised as some sort of dream sequence, are badly placed and slow down the proceedings...like the first two songs come too close together....as a viewer i had barely gotten over the headache i had after the first song when i heard more ominous banging and screeching....if only mukherjee had also imbibed rgv's gumption of leaving out songs if they do not fit within the scheme of the film.....it would have been a less painful film to watch
a special mention has to be made of the bollywood gods who obviously took some time after the climax sequence of mujhse dosti karoge to give the over-used cupid fairy a break and send the fairy of new ideas and interesting scripts to visit the dreams of bollywood script writers and directors....though the quality of the films differ....they are at least all trying to be different.....
that being said....a special note to all of bollywood copycat directors (you know who you are!!!!!!) who after watching road have begun planning "rasta", "rahi", "chauraha" and "highway".....a film like road works inspite of it's flaws coz it's been over 20 yrs. since we saw the last bollywood road film (bombay to goa) and i hope to god all of you have the good sense to know that the audience hopes it will be another 20 yrs. till we see the next one....so go back to making "tu mere dil ka tota, main tere man ki maina" or whatever other diabetes-inducing crap you were planning to spew out....that atleast i can ignore......
final rating - 6.5/10 -watch it coz you may never have seen anything like it in bollywood
Well done.
e-mad2 February 2003
Road is - thankfully - a departure from the Indian cinema norm. No guy meets girl, parents disapprove, 15,000 songs, good guy bad guy mumbo jumbo. A simple story, brilliant acting, and great cinematography.
In a nutshell, a guy (Vivek Oberoi) and girl (Antara Mali) are in love and on the run. Pretty Bollywood so far. But this is until they run across a wanderer (Manoj Bajpai) in the deserts of Rajasthan. The rest I leave up to you to watch.
The only point I wanted to reinforce was Vivek Oberoi. He made his debut in Company, and has risen through the ranks, straight to numero uno. As always, he is outstanding. Do not be surprised if he leaves the Hrithiks and the Arjun Rampals in his dust. Keep your eyes on this one.
Manoj Bajpai - one of my personal favorites - was no less then his "good guy" counterpart. He was superlative in Satya (my all time favorite movie), and has a string of other successes under his belt. Once again in Road, Bajpai is at his best.
The girl. One word. Hot.
This is a Ram Gopal Varma movie. He also made Satya and Comapany. Enough said. I think I like this man.
By and large, Road was superb. Great songs, an awesome soundtrack, and flawless acting all make for one of the better movies released in Indian cinemas of late. Enjoy!
In a nutshell, a guy (Vivek Oberoi) and girl (Antara Mali) are in love and on the run. Pretty Bollywood so far. But this is until they run across a wanderer (Manoj Bajpai) in the deserts of Rajasthan. The rest I leave up to you to watch.
The only point I wanted to reinforce was Vivek Oberoi. He made his debut in Company, and has risen through the ranks, straight to numero uno. As always, he is outstanding. Do not be surprised if he leaves the Hrithiks and the Arjun Rampals in his dust. Keep your eyes on this one.
Manoj Bajpai - one of my personal favorites - was no less then his "good guy" counterpart. He was superlative in Satya (my all time favorite movie), and has a string of other successes under his belt. Once again in Road, Bajpai is at his best.
The girl. One word. Hot.
This is a Ram Gopal Varma movie. He also made Satya and Comapany. Enough said. I think I like this man.
By and large, Road was superb. Great songs, an awesome soundtrack, and flawless acting all make for one of the better movies released in Indian cinemas of late. Enjoy!
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