January has a funny way of exposing things. The noise of December is gone, the excitement of what’s coming next hasn’t fully arrived, and whatever you release sits there with nowhere to hide. That’s the space Aashiqon Ki Colony landed in when it dropped on January 26. No buffer. No cushion. Just a song asking people to feel something on an ordinary weekday scroll.
This is the second track from O’Romeo, and on paper, it should have been an easy win. Big dance number, glossy setup, Shahid Kapoor front and center, Disha Patani alongside him. The kind of combination Bollywood has relied on for years. You press play, expecting momentum.
Instead, the feeling that creeps in is hesitation.
The set looks expensive but strangely hollow, like it was built to impress from a distance, not up close. The colors are loud but don’t linger. The choreography keeps moving without really going anywhere. Shahid, to his credit, looks comfortable. He always does. His body knows what to do even when the music isn’t giving him much to work with. Disha looks flawless, styled to perfection, hitting her marks. But something about the energy feels held back, like everyone is performing the idea of a dance number rather than letting loose inside it.
You didn’t need Reddit to tell you that. But Reddit told you anyway.
On r/BollyBlindsNGossip, reactions came in fast and mostly unimpressed. People talked about zero effort, boring sets, and costumes that felt thrown together without thought. Others went deeper, pointing out how repetitive the steps felt, how the song never really built toward anything. The criticism wasn’t wild or dramatic. It was tired. That’s worse. Tired reactions come when viewers feel let down, not shocked.
A lot of the commentary circled back to Disha Patani. Not because she did something wrong, but because she didn’t quite do something right either. The general feeling was that she was there, present, polished, but not commanding the space. Comparisons followed, as they always do, to performers who bring a little more spark, a little more personality into similar numbers. The word that kept popping up was charisma, or the lack of it.
What makes the disappointment sharper is the team behind the film. O’Romeo is directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, someone audiences associate with mood, texture, and emotional depth. The music is composed by him as well, with lyrics by Gulzar. That combination carries weight. You expect layers, even in something meant to be flashy. The vocals by Madhubanti Bagchi and Javed Ali are solid, clean, and professional. No complaints there.
And yet, the song feels oddly flat.
Then, almost out of nowhere, comes the moment everyone agrees on. Shahid’s moonwalk. It’s not overplayed. It’s not announced. He just slides, smooth and effortless, like he’s reminding people that this is second nature to him. Suddenly the screen wakes up. That clip became the thing people shared, cropped out of the larger song, passed around with captions that said more with less. Even those who disliked the track admitted it, that part worked.
Choreography is by Jani Master, known for high-energy routines, and you can see the ambition. This was meant to be explosive. But ambition doesn’t always translate to excitement. Sometimes it just translates to scale. Bigger sets, more dancers, louder beats. Without variation or emotional play, it all blurs together.
The contrast with the film’s first song makes this one feel even weaker. Hum Toh Tere Hi Liye The, sung by Arijit Singh and featuring Shahid with Triptii Dimri, was quiet, restrained, and confident in its softness. It didn’t try to impress. It just existed, and people responded to that honesty. Aashiqon Ki Colony, on the other hand, feels like it’s trying a little too hard to be a moment without fully understanding what kind of moment it wants to be.
Produced by Sajid Nadiadwala, O’Romeo is set to release on February 13, 2026. A Valentine’s week release carries its own expectations, romance, intensity, and emotion. One underwhelming song doesn’t sink a film; everyone knows that. But it does raise questions. About tone. About choices. About how carefully the rest of the film has been handled.
What’s interesting is that the backlash hasn’t been vicious. No pile-ons, no dramatic outrage. Just a collective shrug mixed with frustration. People wanted more effort, more imagination, more feeling. In today’s landscape, spectacle alone doesn’t cut it anymore. Audiences can sense when something is assembled rather than felt.
And still, that moonwalk keeps looping in your head. A reminder of what Shahid Kapoor can do when the music and movement align. In a song many found forgettable, he created a moment that lingered. Maybe that’s the quiet lesson here. Talent can still shine through weak material, but it shouldn’t have to work this hard to be noticed.
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Sana has been covering film, fame, and everything in between for over a decade. From red carpets to rehab rumors, she brings nuance, wit, and an insider’s edge to every story. When she’s not reporting, she’s probably watching Koffee With Karan reruns or doom-scrolling celebrity IG feeds.
