Shahid Kapoor Unleashes the Beast: Is “O Romeo” Really Kabir Singh on Steroids?
Everyone is talking about the “Sandeep Reddy Vanga effect” on Bollywood, but the real story is how Vishal Bhardwaj just reclaimed his throne as the king of poetic violence.
This Friday, 13 February 2026, the air in Mumbai wasn’t just filled with the pre-Valentine’s Day romance; it was thick with the smell of gunpowder and the metallic tang of blood as Shahid Kapoor’s “O Romeo” finally hit the silver screen.
The First Day First Show (FDFS) frenzy has reached a fever pitch, and the verdict from the single screens to the multiplexes is unanimous on one front: Shahid Kapoor is a freaking monster.
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Playing the role of Hussain Ustara—a quirky, volatile gangster who famously uses a straight razor (ustara) as his signature weapon—Shahid has delivered a performance that fans are already calling “Kabir Singh on Steroids.” If you thought Kabir Singh was unhinged, you aren’t ready for Romeo.
This isn’t just a man with anger issues; this is a man who has turned his trauma into a blade. The film, inspired by a chapter from Hussain Zaidi’s legendary book Mafia Queens of Mumbai, dives deep into the 1990s underworld. The opening sequence alone, featuring Shahid in a slick action set-piece to the tune of Dhak Dhak Karne Laga, sets a tone that is equal parts massy and arthouse.
According to Hindustan Times, the film is Vishal Bhardwaj’s “massiest” project yet, blending his trademark Shakespearean gloom with high-octane action.
While the first half is being hailed as an “electrifying masterclass” in character acting, the narrative shifts gears in the second half. This is where the “Hussain Ustara” avatar truly shines—drenched in blood, wielding his razor with a terrifying grace, and serving as an unofficial hitman for the police force led by a stone-faced Nana Patekar.
The chemistry between Shahid and Triptii Dimri (who plays Afshan, a woman on a revenge mission) is being described as “crackling” and “soulful,” even if the screenplay occasionally fumbles under its own 3-hour runtime.
Critics are noting that while the action is brutal, it isn’t “gory for the sake of it.” It feels earned. It feels like poetry written in red.
Telegraph India reported that Shahid Kapoor in O Romeo is essentially “Charlie (Kaminey), Haider, and Kabir Singh combined.” It’s a bold claim, but looking at the fan reactions pouring in from Twitter (now X), it’s hard to argue. One fan wrote, “Kabir Singh was just a warm-up. Hussain Ustara is the real beast. Shahid has outdone himself!”
Look, I’ll be real with you—Shahid Kapoor in “unhinged mode” is a different breed of actor. He doesn’t just play these characters; he inhabits them until you forget he’s the same guy who did Ishq Vishk.
O Romeo is a bold experiment. It tries to be a love story, a revenge saga, and a Spaghetti Western all at once.
Does it succeed entirely? Maybe not in its pacing. But as a character study of a man who chooses violence to protect a fragile love, it’s haunting. It’s dark, it’s messy, and it’s exactly what the “Box Office” needs right now to shake things up.
Original Source: First reported by Bollywood Hungama and further detailed in reviews by Hindustan Times.
Question For You: Do you think Shahid Kapoor is better at playing the “lover boy” or the “dark, unhinged gangster”? Let me know in the comments!
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