Mr. Romeo
Mr. Romeo | |
---|---|
Directed by | K. S. Ravi |
Written by | Crazy Mohan (dialogues) |
Screenplay by | K. S. Ravi |
Story by | B. Ramesh |
Produced by | R. B. Choudary |
Starring | |
Cinematography | V. Manikandan |
Edited by | B. Ramesh |
Music by | A. R. Rahman |
Production company | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 162 minutes |
Country | India |
Language | Tamil |
Mr. Romeo is a 1996 Indian Tamil-language action comedy film directed by K. S. Ravi and produced by R. B. Choudary. The film stars Prabhu Deva in a dual roles with Shilpa Shetty and Madhoo playing the female leading roles, while Surendra Pal, Vadivelu and Vijayakumar play supporting roles. It was released on 10 November 1996 and failed at the box office. The film marked Shetty's only Tamil film to date. The film was remade in Bengali Bangladesh as Jomoj (2008) starring Shakib Khan.
Plot
[edit]In Bangalore, Romeo lives a privileged life as a celebrity with his widowed mother. He receives considerable assistance and encouragement from Sathyamoorthy to dance and sing. He meets and is attracted to Madhoo, who is also his fan. His mother meets with Madhoo's grandfather and both arrange their wedding. Then Romeo finds out that Sathyamoorthy has been stealing body organ from patients in the Sathyamoorthy Hospital, and then stages their deaths via bus accidents. He meets with Sathyamoorthy and warns him that he is going to expose him publicly. Before he could reveal their activities Romeo is shot and thrown off of a cliff. His friend Prakash is framed for his murder and is sentenced to life imprisonment.
In Dharavi, Prakash's sister Shilpa comes across Madras a poor funeral dancer who is a lookalike of Romeo and convinces him to impersonate Romeo to clear her brother's name as well as to find the real perpetrator of the crime. After getting thrown off the cliff, Romeo is taken in by tribals living in the hills and manages to survive. Upon finding Madras impersonating him, Romeo realises that Madras is his twin brother long presumed dead, using this to his advantage he starts taking revenge on Sathyamoorthy. Meanwhile, Madras and Shilpa fall in love with each other. Madras and Romeo eventually expose Sathyamoorthy's illegal activities to the public and Sathyamoorthy is sent to jail.
Cast
[edit]- Prabhu Deva as Madras and Romeo
- Shilpa Shetty as Shilpa (voiced by actress Rohini )
- Madhoo as Madhoo
- Vadivelu as Vavval
- Vijayakumar as DGP Vijayakumar
- Surendra Pal as Sathyamoorthy
- Vennira Aadai Moorthy as Madhoo's grandfather
- Delhi Ganesh as Madras and Romeo's father
- Madhan Bob as Sabapathy
- Mohan Ram as Judge
- Kavitha as Madras and Romeo's mother
- Jyothi Meena as Indigenous woman
- Ajay Rathnam as Ajay
- Uday Prakash as Prakash
- Krishnamoorthy as Singaram
- A. K. Veerasami as Vettiyan
- Chitraguptan as Kathirikka
- Radhabhai as Midwife
- K. S. Jayalakshmi as Idli seller
- Crazy Mohan as Shop manager
Production
[edit]Prabhu Deva signed the film after securing a blockbuster with Shankar's Kadhalan (1994) and demanded ₹60 lakh (US$72,000) for his work in the film. Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty was chosen to star in her first Tamil film, while Madhoo, who appeared in Mani Ratnam's Roja and Shankar's Gentleman was signed on to play second lead. The producer of the film asked the director, K. S. Ravi to be credited simply as Ravi in the film, to avoid confusion with another director K. S. Ravikumar.[1] Mitchell camera weighed 50 kg was used for all the "double action" shots.[2]
Soundtrack
[edit]The music is scored by A. R. Rahman for the lyrics penned by Vaali, while the soundtrack was distributed by Pyramid AV International. The lyrics for the Hindi version was penned by P. K. Mishra.
- Original Tamil Version[3]
Song | Artist(s) | Lyrics | Length |
---|---|---|---|
"Romeo Aatam Potal" | Hariharan, Udit Narayan | Vaali | 5:25 |
"Yar Adhu?" | Noel James, Anto, Srinivas, Chandran | 3:49 | |
"Mel Isaiyae" | Swarnalatha, Unni Menon, Srinivas, Sujatha Mohan | 5:40 | |
"Thaneerai Kaadhalikum" | Sangeetha Sajith | 3:42 | |
"Muthu Muthu Mazhai" | Ila Arun, Chorus | 6:21 | |
"Mona Lisa" | Malaysia Vasudevan, Nagoor Mohammad Ali | 5:58 |
- Hindi Version (Mr. Romeo)[4]
Song | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|
"Romeo Teri Kismat" | Hariharan, Udit Narayan | 5:25 |
"Kaun Hai Yeh Apsara" | Noel James, Anto, Srinivas, Chandran | 3:49 |
"Mil Hi Gaye" | Swarnalatha, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sadhana Sargam | 5:40 |
"Machli Paani Bina" | Kavita Krishnamurthy | 3:42 |
"Paas Aaja Baalam" | Ila Arun, Chorus | 6:21 |
"Mona Lisa" | Sonu Nigam, Raqeeb Alam | 5:58 |
- Telugu version[5]
Song | Artist(s) | Length |
---|---|---|
"Romeo Natyam Chesthe" | Hariharan, Udit Narayan | 5:25 |
"Evaradhi Evaradhi" | Noel James, Anto, Srinivas, Chandran | 3:49 |
"Mallikale Naa" | Swarnalatha, S. P. Balasubrahmanyam, Sujatha Mohan | 5:40 |
"Egireti Asalani" | Sangeetha | 3:42 |
"Arere Rang" | Ila Arun, Chorus | 6:21 |
"Mona Lisa" | Malaysia Vasudevan, Srinivas | 5:58 |
Release and reception
[edit]The film was released on 10 November 1996,[6] and failed to meet the expectations at the box office, becoming Prabhu Deva's second consecutive average after Love Birds.[7][8]
A. R. Rahman played a role in recommending the director K. S. Ravi to work in En Swasa Kaatre, a production of Rahman's acquaintances. Mr. Romeo was also belatedly dubbed and released in Hindi and Telugu under the same title.[9]
References
[edit]- ^ Sitaraman, Sandya (23 March 1995). "Tamil Movie News--Tamil New Year edition". Google Groups. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ Raman, Mohan (12 August 2014). "Bidding adieu to celluloid". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Mr. Romeo". Gaana. Archived from the original on 21 February 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Mr. Romeo". MySwar. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 13 June 2023.
- ^ "Mr. Romeo". JioSaavn. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
- ^ "Mr. romeo ( 1996 )". Cinesouth. Archived from the original on 4 June 2006. Retrieved 3 March 2012.
- ^ "Hollywood-style Tamil love story that looks like a hit". New Straits Times. 29 January 1997. pp. Arts 5. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023 – via Google News Archive.
- ^ Ramanujam, D. S. (14 February 1997). "Not a good year". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 22 March 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
- ^ "Questions A R Rahman did not answer". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 20 December 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
External links
[edit]- 1996 films
- 1990s Indian films
- 1990s Tamil-language films
- 1996 action comedy films
- Films about twin brothers
- Films directed by K. S. Ravi
- Films scored by A. R. Rahman
- Films set in Chennai
- Films with screenplays by Crazy Mohan
- Indian action comedy films
- Super Good Films films
- Tamil-language Indian films
- Twins in Indian films