Well, Himesh Reshammiya has been at it a while. He cherished a desire to turn from music direction to acting and from there to filmmaking. He’s done this difficult task if not impossible task. But, it takes a while to excel at it. Here’s how the story goes! ‘Radio’ is about the lives of three eccentrics.
Radio Jockey Vivan played by Himesh himself, his ex-wife Pooja played by Sonia Sehgal and Vivan’s colleague Shania played by Shenaz Treasuryvala. Characters are portrayed and played as peculiar and strange.
Vivan breaks into a song every now and then; Shania has the penchant to keep updating her Facebook status messages; Pooja is a caffeine addict. Vivan is a love guru on a talk show but his personal relationships are in a mess.
His recent divorce from his choreographer wife Pooja traumatizes him so much so that he is unable to connect with the new girl in his life Shania. The movie is a spin on relationship rigmaroles, somewhat of the Facebook
EnXers. And, frankly, that don’t sit well for Himesh’s character vis-à-vis a very young heroine Shenaz Treasurywala who is a well-versed social networker! The story is also a little obtuse with its mentions of kurkure, kadhi and Paranjabi lassi. The radio jockey attempts hard to engage with Treasurywala's hybrid Punjabi-Parsi family, headed by Zakir Hussain.
Well, the story in the least is complicated. True to what he knows best, Himesh’s flick has good and catchy music. The audio track is a true winner and reinforces his expertise, both as a singer and a composer. Songs like “Jaaneman”, “Piya jaise ladoo” and “Rafa dafa” symbolize Himesh’s spirit and excellence.
Himesh scores both as a singer and as the music director of this unusual album. Himesh comes across as looking all fresh and ready to act different. Among female actors, Sonal has a marginal role with no room to act. Shenaz is indeed good for the character she plays – she’s quite in sync with the modern day social networkers. Paresh Rawal as Jhandu Lal Tyagi plays well and provides enough humor.
Zakir Hussain is high-spirited. The movie’s director, Ishaan Trivedi, seems to be pushing it a bit as he tries – but does not succeed - to tell his story in non-linear chapters. It’s a contrast that doesn’t gel. On one hand one keeps hearing ‘complicated’ relationships but on the other we find a Peppy, youthful script and spunky characters.
The camera follows the lovebirds as they fight and make-up in the streets and up market apartments of Mumbai. Himesh sports a new hair do and a cool, casual avatar of a not-so-hep RJ.
Reportedly, ‘Radio’ boasts of recovering its cost before release. It may be the case due to the music and songs. But, in all honesty, the film is a flat out dud. As an actor, Himesh struggles to deliver a serious performance with a straight face! ‘Radio’ also miserably fails to capture the attention of today’s generation because of the wrong choice of cast.
Apart from the quirky histrionics of Himesh, Sonia Sehgal is completely a waste as the actress spends most of the time weeping over her past and so does Shenaz, who knows nothing except grinning. A shoddy script and poorly sketched characters hardly leave anything to imagination.
Directed by: Isshaan Trivedi
Well, Himesh Reshammiya has been at it a while. He cherished a desire to turn from music direction to acting and from there to filmmaking. He’s done this difficult task if not impossible task. But, it takes a while to excel at it. Here’s how the story goes! ‘Radio’ is about the lives of three eccentrics.
His recent divorce from his choreographer wife Pooja traumatizes him so much so that he is unable to connect with the new girl in his life Shania. The movie is a spin on relationship rigmaroles, somewhat of the Facebook 
Reportedly, ‘Radio’ boasts of recovering its cost before release. It may be the case due to the music and songs. But, in all honesty, the film is a flat out dud. As an actor, Himesh struggles to deliver a serious performance with a straight face! ‘Radio’ also miserably fails to capture the attention of today’s generation because of the wrong choice of cast.
