Roy

Amit Ravindranath Sharma's *Roy* is an ambitious venture that attempts to blur the lines between cinema and reality, yet stumbles in its execution despite flashes of genuine creative ambition. The film interweaves Kabir's personal turmoil with the fictional heist narrative of Roy, a conceptually intriguing device that could have yielded profound insights about art imitating life. However, the screenplay lacks the disciplined storytelling required to make this duality work—the transitions between narratives feel jarring rather than seamless, and neither storyline develops with sufficient depth. Ranbir Kapoor brings considerable charm and vulnerability to Kabir's character, capturing the desperation of a man unraveling both professionally and personally, while Arjun Rampal's Roy possesses an enigmatic allure that holds your attention during the heist sequences. Jacqueline Fernandez, unfortunately, is underutilized despite her screen presence, relegated to a reactive role when she deserved more agency in the narrative.

What *Roy* does accomplish—and this must be acknowledged—is a stylistically ambitious visual treatment, particularly in the sequences involving the art heist itself. Cinematographer Vishal Bharadwaj paints Malaysia and the mansion interiors with glossy elegance, and the production design elevates the material whenever it focuses on the thief's world. The problem lies in the film's inability to decide what it truly wants to be: a romantic drama, a heist thriller,