‘My Pent-Up Anguish Needed Release’: Vishal Bhardwaj On Why He Made O’Romeo

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O’Romeo, starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri, released in theatres today, February 13. Ahead of the film’s release, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj took to Instagram to share a heartfelt note, calling the film a “manifestation of love and violence”. He also admitted that only at 60 that he began to understand the emotion of revenge.

‘O’Romeo Is A Manifestation Of Love, Violence’

In his post, Bhardwaj said that before facing “accolades or criticism”, he wanted to express gratitude to the team that stood by him throughout the project. He wrote that they gave him far more than he could ever ask for, including “their vision, their integrity, their sweat, their blood, and their unconditional commitment to my vision”.

“My real heroes: Mustafa Stationwala, Faramarz Wankadia, Ben Bernhard, Meghdeep Bose, Aarif Sheikh, Maxima Basu, Dani Del Rosario, Vikram Dahiya, Ankur Chaudhary, Yash Darji, Shantanu Yennemadi, Krutika Jain, Mukesh Chhabra, Makarand Surte, Justin Jose, Samir Zaidi, Konstantin Minnich, Saurabh Goswami and ‘Anl’ Arasu. Also, my most loving associate, Abhay Datt Sharma – who shared my love, pain, frustration, and both my reasonable and unreasonable whims – and my creative producer, Priti Shahani. I will not make another film without her,” he added.

In the next slide, he warned viewers about the violence shown in the film. He said the film allowed him to channel rage in a way he cannot do in real life – “slashing throats, splitting skulls and blowing the brains of monsters”.

Bhardwaj explained that while looking back at his body of work, he realised revenge has been a recurring theme, even when he wasn’t consciously writing it.

“Through this film, I have realised the immense capacity I hold for love and for violence – together. Looking back at my body of work, I see a recurring theme I wasn’t even conscious of: revenge. And at sixty, I am only now beginning to understand it. There is so much hatred, violence, and injustice in society – and I often feel powerless against it. It wounds me deeply. This pent-up anguish needed release. In O’Romeo, through my protagonist, I slash throats, split skulls, and blow the brains of the monsters I cannot confront in real life.”

He added that the film is not only about violence, but also about love, which he described as equally intense. “Opposite this violence stands an equally intense force – love. A love born from a lifetime of encounters with beautiful, sensitive souls who have shaped me. A love that did not let me drown. A love that pulled me out of the pool of blood. I am in love with this species called human, forever torn between two extreme emotions. O’Romeo is the manifestation of these polarities.”

The 60-year-old filmmaker described O’Romeo as a mix of commercial and artistic elements, calling it “massy, artistic, poetic, violent, loving and vengeful”.

“It is as massy as I can be. It is as artistic as I can be. It is as violent as l can be. It is as poetic as I can be. It is as loving as I can be. It is as vengeful as I can be,” he further expressed. 

How Did The Film Fraternity React To His Post?

Soon after Vishal shared the post, several members of the film fraternity responded in the comments section with supportive messages. Boman Irani said, “Brother Vishal. What you feel is what is honest. Your words aren’t an opinion. Your words are the truth. From a creator. Nothing else matters. Creators are…. Blessed… It’s not everyone’s game. When you acknowledge your co-creators. You honour the truth. You honour the journey.”

“Love and love, sir. Can’t wait to watch,” Dia Mirza added. 

Angad Bedi wrote, “Wish you the very best vishal sir.. this note which you have written.. I’m going to use a cricket analogy for it… It reminds me of a bowler who is at its peak. The runup.. delivery stride, and follow through are all in sync.. to deliver the best delivery….”