ROY: A painful writer’s block!

Never judge a book by its cover; and a film by its trailer. Looks can be deceiving. Debutante writer-director Vikramjit Singh’s self-indulgent thriller ROY falls for the same. Suggestively projected as a romantic thriller with some nail-biting tension and edge-of-the-seat action, it is actually a slow, dreary and superficial psychological thriller that travels far too many places but reaches nowhere. Though it is not some Herculean task to anticipate the flight of a thriller having a writer in it as its main lead, Vikramjit Singh tries his best to create a perfect setting for a perfect thriller but couldn’t bless it with a taut story to pull it off.

Writers live their lives through their characters. Characters walk through pathways their creators have crafted for them. And then there are blurred lines in the narration where they both transit into each other’s territory. It may sound easy and simple as lighting a cigarette but it is not when you are a first-timer. Filmmaker Kabir Grewal [the stylishly cool and casual Arjun Rampal] is a perfectionist in almost everything he does and as precise as those three cubes of ice in his favorite drink. His sources of inspiration were categorically been the women in his life. 22 to be exact! And now, he is facing writer’s block. Enters Ayesha Aamir [Jacqueline Fernandez] another filmmaker from London [probably to give Miss J’s distant accent a valid reason]! Kabir starts stealing moments from his relationship with Ayesha to complete his third film about a mysterious serial thief Roy [Ranbir Kapoor in a well-coined dynamic role] but before he could meet the end, Ayesha is gone.

In ROY, Vikramjit Singh gives us a shiny-glossy world as much high on style and sophistication that even the statutory ‘smoking kills’ caption on the screen is written in some fancy font. The psychosomatic bond between the writer and his creation is, though, well-thought; it often gets confusing with a not-so neat & clever screenplay mixed abruptly with the romantic track. The dried out dialogues forcibly talking heavy just for the sake of sounding profound low down the shades of an engaging thriller. One of the high-points in the film takes more than an hour to show up where Kabir & Roy are seen coming ‘not exactly’ together but in one frame. Smartly written and brilliantly shot! Writer’s block allowing the leading man in the film within film in a long-waiting ‘stay where you are’ situation is another smart piece in the writing. Sadly, these are very few in numbers and placed at a tiring distant interval.

Cinematography captures it beautifully; be it the picturesque locations in Malaysia or the esthetically rich sets. Arjun Rampal looks more like coming straight from one of his shoots for fashion magazines. So does Jacqueline but then, there is a lot more to comment on her acting skills; an ineffective effort she needs to do better in. Ranbir Kapoor is the only saving grace for the film. He gives screen the much-needed depth and a starry presence that could make your being there an endeavor worth taking. Well-shot songs are also reasonably good part.

To end, ROY suffers multiple climaxes in the most frustrating screenplay. The comments given to the film within the film like, “Finally, it’s over!”, “pata nahin, yeh film kaise bann gayi?” and “yeh film toh mujhe duba hi degi” help none but to express the exasperation viewers feel and face while seeking out quick exit from the theater. Watch out if you have tons of patience, and love and likings for Ranbir Kapoor! Writer’s block is a painful state for writers; this time it’s for viewers too! [2/5]