What is the story about?
Farida Jalal once again broke the internet with an unexpected dialogue in the recently released O’ Romeo teaser. Entering Vishal Bhardwaj’s world of gangsters,
she plays a character that no Bollywood buff would have ever imagined her in. In the teaser featuring Shahid Kapoor, Triptii Dimri, Nana Patekar, Avinash Tiwary, Vikrant Massey, Tamannaah Bhatia and Disha Patani, Ms Jalal casually and convincingly used a cuss word. Reacting to the internet’s uproar and tremendous response to the dialogue, Farida Jalal recalled her first conversation with Vishal. She told Zoom exclusively that he was on her list of favourite directors, and after Sanjay Leela Bhansali, she ticked off one more filmmaker from her bucket list.
Farida Jalal's exclusive reaction to cussing in O' Romeo teaser
In an exclusive interview with Zoom, Farida Jalal said, “Vishal Bhardwaj was on my list of favourite directors. I ticked off one more box after Sanjay Leela Bhansali. When he came to the house and sat across, I told him, ‘I ticked off one more director from my wish list, as I have been wanting to work with you.’ He said, ‘Farida Ji, sabse pehle ek baat poochni thi’, Maine kahan, haan poochiye?’ He asked, ‘Aap gaali dengi na?’”
'Would never say no to O' Romeo'
She added, “Can you imagine? I didn’t know what to say. I was so overwhelmed that he was there and I was going to work with him. Nahin rehne dijiye, chhod dijiye – aise toh main bolne wali nahin thi. This man, with whom I always wanted to work, sat across me. All I said is nangi nangi, gandi gandi gaaliyan main nahin dungi. Chhoti wali, mamuli-si ho toh de sakti hu. Mere hisaab se zyada nangi, gandi nahi thi. Ma-behen toh nahin bolungi. He started laughing and understood where I came from.”
Farida Jalal on O' Romeo character
Ms Jalal further shared, “I have said this only once in the film and look at the uproar. Look at the comments on the internet! People are saying Farida Jalal ne yeh bola, humara pyari Dadi/Maa ne yeh bola. They have seen me since childhood and I have also stayed away from such dialogues, but it is okay. This is because the character speaks in a certain way. She is always in a temper. If you say yes to a role, you have to go all the way for it.”
O’ Romeo is a Valentine’s Day 2026 release. According to reports, it is based on Hussain Ustara and Sapna Didi’s story.
