Road:
A welcome break!
 Cast: Vivek Oberoi, Antara Mali, Manoj Bajpai,
Makrand Deshpande and
Sayaji Shinde
Direction: Rajat Mukherjee
Rating:
5/10
Everyone
waits for a Ram Gopal Varma release if not for anything else just to
keep an eye on what's different about it. And yes! He's scored again
with a different beat in
Road.
The
movie begins in the true to Bollywood fashion with the boy and girl
Arvind (Vivek Oberoi) and Laxmi (Antara Mali) in love eloping coz
their folks don't approve of their liaison. . They travel along a
highway reminiscent of Steven Speilberg's Duel down to even the
backdrop of the desert where they come across the hitchhiker Babu (Manoj
Bajpai).
The
lovebirds don't have the best of rides though once Babu starts
acting like a psychopath (sounds like Kaun huh?). To add to the
escapade he pulls out a gun and kidnaps Laxmi. The best part of the
movie is the fast pace at which everything happens. Arvind catches
up with Babu and before you can react Babu has run off with our
heroine yet again. Anyway it all ends well and yes of course there
is a twist at the end too but nah we are not divulging that.
 The
movie is tightly packed with action though there are a few a
loopholes in the screenplay post interval. Another thing that the
audiences will never fathom is how a multitude of sidekicks enter
the film without any apparent reason. In his endeavour to
accommodate or rather showcase Bajpai's acting versatility, the
director has lost track of Vivek Oberoi.
There
are item numbers and the occasional song and dance sequence with
Antara Mali shedding most of her clothes that are in the least bit
appropriate considering the situation. But all said and done she's
the one that draws in the crowd. Vivek Oberoi continues his Company
look with his stubble and clenched jaws which doesn't work all the
time. He's still a newcomer to reckon with though. The star package
of the show is Bhiku oops, Manoj Bajpai. He totally steals the show
with his powerful performance.
Ram
Gopal Varma and Rajat Mukherjee if not anything else need to be
thanked for bringing to us a film that defies all norms of Hindi
cinema. It's a more than a welcome break!
By
Anupama Narayanswamy | 
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