SYNOPSICS
Road (2002) is a Hindi movie. Rajat Mukherjee has directed this movie. Manoj Bajpayee,Vivek Oberoi,Antara Mali,Sayaji Shinde are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2002. Road (2002) is considered one of the best Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Arvind Chauhan (Vivek Oberooi) and Lakhsmi (Antara Mali) are in love with each other. Lakhsmi's dad, a senior police inspector, hates Arvind, and so Arvind and Lakshmi decide to elope and get married. On the way they allow Babu, a stranded motorist, to ride with them. After a short while, Babu irritates both of them and they ask him to leave, instead Babu draws a gun, and asks Arvind to get out, and drives away with Lakhsmi. Arvind, with the help of a truck-driver, Inderpal (Makrand Deshpande), catches up with Babu, and Babu runs away. Arvind files a police report, and they proceed on their way. That's when they find Babu in the back of their vehicle, angry and resentful, and this time determined to have his way with them...
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Road (2002) Reviews
Nice try, but...
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.
Hit the Road...But Be Careful!
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. (\__/)a (='.'=)b (")_(")c
Long and Boring.
After watching Mr Ya Miss years after its release, I decided that I want to see more of Antara Mali on screen. 'Road' is the movie I decided to start with. Anywaaaaaaays. So, the movie starts and the viewer is introduced to the typical Bollywood couple that talk too loud, argue too much and are simply over the top. Treating everything as child's play, they decide to elope since Lakshmi's (Antara Mali) father won't approve of Arvind (Vivek Oberoi). While they are on the road, they decide to give an awkward-looking hitchhiker (Manoj Bajpai) a lift - and this is where things go wrong. Although the movie is supposed to go uphill from here in terms of entertainment, the opposite happens. The first half of the first half of the movie is entertaining, thanks to Manoj Bajpai. The rest of the movie? Not so much. Songs pop out of nowhere, the background score is absolutely irritating - (we understand that the name of the film is Road, it doesn't need to be repeated every 2 minutes, that too in musical form!) In terms of performances, Vivek Oberoi irritates as the nagging boyfriend, but it was only his second film so I guess the expectations were not too high to begin with. Antara Mali is perfect in her role and looks great too (the camera angles zooming uncomfortably close to her butt will prove this). Manoj Bajpai is the scene-stealer as Babu, but he has nothing new to offer in the second half. Music is funky, but only the "Raste Raste" song stays after the movie has ended. I'm still wondering why Koena Mitra did an item number, which also popped out of nowhere. Not recommended!
You must watch this movie for the hitchhiker
Oh man! Manoj bajpayee- he is crazy! Watch this movie only for him.
They could've made a better film!
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.