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This
‘desi’ Bollywood version revolves around a young juvenile couple,
Arvind (Vivek Oberoi) and Laxmi (Antra Mali).
Acting
as a negative barrier towards their marriage proposal is Laxmi’s
father and the rest of her family.
Hence
both these characters decide to hit the road by eloping to faraway
Jodpur, Rajasthan where they plan to get married.
On
the way, they meet Babu (Manoj Bajpai) a stranded hitchhiker. Through
the goodness of Arvind’s heart, he decides to give him a lift.
An
eccentric character by nature, Babu’s strange but domineering behaviour
proves to be unacceptable by the couple.
But
it is at this point that their sedate life turns into a nightmare
as Babu reveals his darker side to the frightened youngsters.
In
no time, a lustful Babu takes hostage of beautiful Laxmi by throwing
Arvind out of the car.
A helpless
Arvind manages to seek help from a passing trucker who reunites
the couple.
But
soon their ride becomes even rougher when the psychopathic armed
Babu re-appears again and successfully kidnaps Laxmi for the second
time.
Adding
further worries to Laxmi’s misery, is the fact that this mad man
has fallen head over heels in love with her and is now demanding
the same affection in return.
Meanwhile
a distraught Arvind with the help of the cops go through the difficult
task of trying to locate this mad man.
But
will they reach in time to rescue the damsel in distress? In the
meantime will Laxmi be able to defend herself from this lustful
mad man?
Pre-intermission
equips the audience with fast paced action and melodramatic sequences
whilst the post interval depicts the scary and serious side of the
character Babu.
The
highlight of the film comes through its technical department with
an impressive cinematography and background score.
The
action and chase sequences deserve special mention as they are on
par with Hollywood standards.
Although
performance by Manoj Bajpai was superb as usual, his role here was
somewhat reminiscent of his earlier Bollywood flicks ‘Kaun’ and
‘Aks’.
As
for Vivek Oberoi , one can still see the hangover from his last
debut film ‘Company’ but nevertheless showed tremendous screen presence
throughout the film.
As
for Antara Mali, she has given an excellent performance of a distressed
damsel although the director could have toned down a little with
her attire!
Overall
‘Road’ does take its audience for a ride but whether its bumpier
ahead, will depend strongly on whether you are a Ram Gopal fan or
not. I leave it for you to be the judge on this one!
Reviewed
By Manish Gajjar, Â鶹¹ÙÍøÊ×Ò³Èë¿Ú Shropshire’s Mr Bollywood. |
