Note:
Written post watching the movie on Feb 14, 2015, this was supposed to be posted
on Feb 15, 2015. Okay I know it’s almost MORE THAN A MONTH now. But as usual,
no time! Loads of work, this post completely forgotten, I suddenly had an
epiphany. Hence, here it is! Moreover, I didn’t have the heart to delete it. So
please bear with me.
Song? Tu Hai Ke Nahi
(Just because I watched the movie)
Weather? Pleasant
Mood? Surprisingly
relaxed
This Valentine’s Day
was different, with me watching Roy. It was nothing preplanned. I was keen to
watch it because of Arjun Rampal (BLUSH BLUSH) and his role as a writer (me
too, GRIN). So here is my review:
Star
Cast:
- Arjun Rampal – Kabir Grewal, a casanovic
filmmaker
- Ranbir Kapoor – Roy, playing the titular
role of a famous art thief
- Jacqueline Fernandes - Ayesha Aamir (a
filmmaker) / Tia (the female protagonist in Guns 3)
- Anupam Kher – Kabir’s father
- Shernaz Patel – Meera, Kabir’s assistant
My sole reason for
watching ‘Roy’ was Arjun Rampal. And he pulled off the role of a writer quite
well.
'Roy' opens with
director Kabir Grewal (Arjun Rampal) giving interviews for his upcoming film
'Guns 3’, the third installment of the franchise. The ‘Guns’ franchise is inspired
by a childhood memory of a thief and his stories revolve around a mysterious
masked robber called Roy.
Although a maker of smash hit actioners, he is popular for
his notoriously short-lived flings. The media remembers his girlfriends not by
their names, but by numbers, 22 and counting. Kabir's professional fame rests
on tales of a mysterious art thief Roy (Ranbir Kapoor), who strikes at will in
places as diverse as the Louvre in Paris, the Royal Palace in Doha and the
Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.
Kabir types
all his scripts on an old typewriter sporting a V-neck vest paired with a jacket,
the epitome of casual chic (DROOL with a capital D). Coming back to Guns 3, suffering
from a writer’s block, he has no script at hand. He even gets a financer for
his movie, with the cast, crew and budgets all set - albeit no plot. All things
set, he lands in Malaysia to shoot for the film.
There, he meets his
muse Ayesha Amir (Jacqueline Fernandes), an arty/documentary filmmaker who is
also shooting in Malaysia. They keep bumping into each other, at every
restaurant, beach, street and airport. He finds his inspiration in Ayesha, so
much so that he finds a lookalike Tia (Jacqueline again) as the female
protagonist for his film. Though both are well-styled, there are quite a few
differences between these two characters, just so as not to confuse the
viewers. Ayesha wears pale lip colours, Tia is red-lipped. Ayesha has long
hair, Tia has a short crop. Ayesha wears glasses when she feels 'arty', and
drops them when she's in mood for romance.
Tia is VERY rich,
owning a big mansion with a private beach, loves to paint, breed horses, and
attend auctions. It is at one such auction where Roy meets Tia. Roy's ultimate
motive is to steal a famous painting from her mansion. They fall in love, which
is quite predictable. Roy ultimately steals the painting and disappears,
leaving behind a heartbroken Tia.
Meanwhile, in a
parallel tale, Kabir and Ayesha's love story warms up, However, Ayesha soon stumbles
upon Kabir's script for 'Guns 3'. She is shocked to find out that she is being
used as a mere inspiration in his fictional story. So she packs up and leaves
for London, without further intimation. Kabir, on finding her gone makes
repeated attempts to get in touch with Ayesha, but all in vain. Suffering from depression
due to the breakup, Kabir hits a creative block again, shelves the film and
heads back to Mumbai.
One fine day he gets a call from his father (Anupam Kher) who is supposedly ailing. He passes on some pearls of wisdom to his son, and many scenes later he passes away. Other than this, not much is known or spoken about his father. Meanwhile Kabir gets an invitation from the Eastern Oriental Film Festival, where Ayesha's film 'Malacca Diaries' wins an award for the Best Film in Foreign Language. Though they see each other, they don’t try making a conversation. After losing his dad, Kabir gets an epiphany of sorts and he realizes that there's huge money riding on his film. He starts filming again. Eventually the film gets a huge opening and he's got back his lost fame.
Cut the long story short, jump to Heathrow airport
where Kabir expresses his love to Ayesha, and she replies "Maine tumhari
film dekhi". Followed by a few dialogues, they hug and make up. Roy who
had stolen the paintings from Tia, steals it once again to return it to her. He
also leaves a note for her asking her to join him. She obviously agrees, they
obviously meet, and drive off into the sunset. (Sigh, if only real life was
THAT EASY!)
The audience is left to
wonder and stupefied - In the film is Roy is a figment of Kabir's imagination? Are
all the characters associated with Roy also a part of his imagination? On two
occasions when Roy and Kabir are shown together, they never meet eye-to-eye.
They share a brief conversation and Roy suddenly leaves. Is Roy a part of
Kabir's make-belief world? Well, there lies the mystery.
The movie wasn’t that
great as it was supposed to. But I liked it nevertheless, unlike others who have
watched the movie. Arjun Rampal with his director's Fedora hat and antique
typewriter churning stories did set my hormones racing. And yes! Full marks for
the songs. They take you dancing, down a certain memory lane, and nurse a
broken heart.
Peace!
My rating: 2.5/5
