O'Romeo Review: Triptii Dimri Anchors This Dark, Gritty Romance

In ‘O’Romeo,’ Triptii Dimri plays the role of Afsha, who is consumed by the need for revenge against the murderer of her husband. She hires a hitman, played by Shahid Kapoor as Ustara, and as Afsha grapples with the reality of death, she develops an unexpected relationship with the hitman, in which they discover love amidst the dangerous situation they are in.

A Valentine’s Release with a Darker Core

O’Romeo, directed by Vishal Bhardwaj and starring Shahid Kapoor and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles, is not your average Valentine's Day film. The romantic action-thriller creates a complex and thought-provoking story on the way Indian cinema today portrays women’s love, strength, and empowerment.

The pulsing heart of O’Romeo, Afsha, comes alive on screen through Triptii Dimri. She is a woman moulded and shaped by vengeance and heartbreak in a world that retaliates with merciless force. Afsha does not stumble upon love by chance. Her journey is defined by pain, purpose, and vengeance, which drives her every move. Her decision to target Ustara, an accomplished assassin, is not about searching for a happily-ever-after love tale but about confronting those who wronged her.

Love is not what drives O’Romeo. Love is what comes after, what is left behind, what is born out of two sharp, restless individuals who are forced to engage in unapologetic, boundary-pushing situations. And that is what makes Afsha so interesting, because she enters love with purpose, intent, and breaks away from conventional Bollywood heroines who wait for love to give their life meaning.

Redefining the Female Arc in Romance

The journey of Afsha marks a shift in the way women are portrayed in a story: from a romanticised and idealised image to a full and complex one. She does not wait for a hero to come and rescue her. Instead, she looks for one. In that sense, she creates and constructs her own story. This alone distinguishes O’Romeo from many contemporary films that still frame women’s arcs around emotional dependency.

The film also depicts Afsha’s inner self in subtle and steady shades of strength and power. Her relationship with Ustara, who is also marked by violence and contradictions, is not just about romance. We see Afsha transition from being a grieving widow to developing a relationship on the basis of mutual understanding and practicality.

In the movie, Triptii Dimri brings her own undeniable depth to the transition from one emotional state to another. The actress’s expansive screen presence, as seen in other movies ranging from crime to romance, and even some scenes of action, does not diminish Afsha’s emotional centre. 

The actress’s performance brings strength as well as vulnerability and sensitivity, as seen in the fact that the latter two traits are not necessarily at opposite ends of the emotional spectrum. Especially when portraying the character as a woman in harsh and unforgiving conditions, she shows the coexistence of strength and tenderness.

Challenging Cinematic Tropes

This is not the stereotype you see in Indian movies, where people are categorised in neat little boxes. Afsha is not the love trophy, nor is she the damsel in distress waiting for rescue by someone else.

The love story that is developing between Afsha and Ustara is not your typical fairy tale love story either. It does not develop out of some perfectly scripted moment. It develops out of shared danger and understanding. In a culture that often reduces the emotion of the female character to sentiment and cliché, O’Romeo offers us something much more real and true—a romance that develops out of hard work and dedication.

A Realignment in Gangster-Romance Storytelling

It is interesting to note how the focus on the woman's emotional journey in such a gritty and hard-hitting story is a sign of a positive shift in the world of cinema. While the movie is certainly not afraid of violence and the traditional machismo of the genre, the emotional journey of Afsha is front and centre, something not often seen in the hybrid genre of gangster romance films.

Therefore, O’Romeo is unique in comparison to the rest of the Valentine’s Day releases. It is a commentary on the place of women in modern cinema, not as the desired partner, but as the champions of their own tales. Afsha’s journey is not one of blending into the background or being the love interest of the male protagonist, but one in which she is the driver of the story herself. Rather, her journey is the one that dictates the path of the story.

The Strength of Representation Beyond Flawlessness

No movie can be flawless, and O’Romeo is no exception, with mixed critical chatter doing the rounds about the quality of the screenplay and the pacing of the film. In the midst of this barrage of criticisms, what stands out is the focus on the emotional journey of Afsha in the film. In the context of 2026 cinema, where the female lead is depicted in more complex ways, this focus stands out.

O’Romeo is not merely a romance or any other genre of cinema, for that matter. It’s messy and knotted, a whirlpool of darkness and sound that can be all-encompassing. And within that sea of chaos and sound, there is a story of a woman’s inner strength—her strength that is not just skin-deep, but one that comes from scars and choices and choosing to forge one’s own path instead of following the lead of others.

For the women in the world of cinema and beyond, the story of Afsha is something of hope, something that can serve as the spark of inspiration for the journey of the women in the world of love and romance.

Views expressed by the author are their own.