Dec 09, 2011 03:07 PM
21869 Views
(Updated Dec 09, 2011 03:11 PM)
Con films can make up for a thrilling watch if handled well and if the situation in which the conman plays its game seems as believable as possible. And that’s where our recent Hindi con films have suffered. Barring a few well-made ones, the rest seemed too unreal and unconvincing. Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl too has moments where the script has glaring loopholes but still seems convincing enough. The script is smart, the con tricks are smarter and rest assured viewers get their money’s worth!
The story of the movie: Ricky Bahl (Ranveer Singh) is the smartest conman. His modus operandi is simple – he’ll first charm his victim (the girls) and then con them! He does that in Delhi impersonating as Sunny Singh and conning Dimple Chadha (Parineeti Chopra) and later Raina Parulekar (Dipanitta Sharma Atwal) as Deven Shah in Mumbai and Saira Rashid (Aditi Sharma) as Iqbal Khan in Lucknow. By a chance encounter, these three women come together and they devise a plan – conning the conman and getting their money back. Raina’s ambitious friend Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma), a street smart sales girl joins them and goes to Goa (Ricky’s next con-destination) to be Ricky Bahl’s next ‘target’. However, will it be easy to con such a successful conman?
Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl suffers from the same problem like many recent films - mind-blowing first hour followed by not-that-great second half. The first half of the film is simply out of the world! Most applauding is the manner in which Ricky Bahl fooled the three girls. All the con-work seemed believable especially the Delhi episode (which was easily the best part of the film)! The drama moves at a super-quick but reasonable pace and doesn’t provide even a moment to blink! Dimple and Saira getting hold of Raina’s contact details seemed a bit far-fetched but you don’t mind since there’s so much happening in the film. The intermission point comes at an apt moment and you can’t wait for the second half to commence!
It isn’t that the second half outright disappoints. It begins well and the way in which the ladies put their plan into action was fun to witness. However, the chemistry between Ranveer-Anushka which was supposed to be crucially electrifying was instead too thanda. Somehow, one fails to connect or empathize with Anushka Sharma, who falls in love with the person she’s supposed to con. However, the film picks up towards the pre-climax when it gets unpredictable and one never knows what will happen next. The climax again was mediocre and Ranveer’s sudden change of decision sounded filmy. But then, it’s always better to resort to filmy ways rather than trying something different and messing up things!
Despite the glitches, the film deserves appreciation for its fast-paced execution, script, dialogues and most importantly, performances. Ranveer Singh was terrific as the conman and puts up a convincing act. Whether it’s the typical Delhiite or Mumbaikar, Ranveer was very impressive and proved that he has worked hard on his role. However, he was kind of relegated in the second hour as the ladies dominated the show. But no complaints as Ranveer holds a strong position and delivers brilliantly (even flaunts his abs!). Eagerly awaiting his third film!
From the ladies, it’s surprisingly newcomer Parineeti Chopra that steals the cake! She is immensely likeable and cute as the loud-mouthed and snobbish Delhiite. Watch out for her when she feels envious when Anushka pretends to fall for Ranveer and you can’t help but smile! It was indeed a well-written character and performed perfectly! Kudos! Anushka Sharma as usual looks sizzling hot and does a great job performance wise too. However, don’t expect a Band Baaja type of superlative performance as the film has other dominant actors and also because as pointed out earlier, the romance was half-baked. Dipannita Sharma Atwal was flawless as the no-nonsense businesswoman. Aditi Sharma too shines in her role. Shireesh Sharma (Dimple’s dad; played the killer’s father in No One Killed Jessica) was hilarious. Another actor of No One Killed Jessica, Avijit Dutt (the defence lawyer) is seen in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl (Dipannita’s boss) in a small role and does fine.
Salim-Sulaiman’s music was quite alright. But all songs are very well-shot and choreographed without doubt. The composer duo’s background score in fact was much better. Aseem Mishra’s cinematography was eye-catching be it the locales of Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow or Goa! Habib Faisal (whose script made Band Baaja a success) contributed only the dialogues of the film and needless to say, he did a fine job. Aditya Chopra’s story was very impressive. Devika Bhagat’s screenplay was watertight. The writer had incidentally scripted a similar film earlier (Bachna Ae Haseeno) which similarly showed a charmer wooing girls and then going away breaking their hearts. However, Devika’s screenwriting in Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl wasn’t repetitive and in fact, there’s not a single sequence which reminds of Bachna Ae Haseeno!
Director Maneesh Sharma showed lot of promise with his first film Band Baaja Baaraat. Thankfully, he doesn’t disappoint with Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl. He doesn’t even waste a single moment as the film moves quick but beautifully. If only the romantic portions in the second half were slightly better treated or maybe scripted, Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl would had been an ultimate winner!
Some of the best scenes:
The entire Delhi episode
Deven-Raina’s first meeting
Dimple-Raina-Saira’s chat on the phone
Ishika cons the ladies in the mall (funny!)
The ladies get to know about Ricky’s new location
Ishika floats her restaurant plan to Ricky
Ricky learns the truth about Ishika
The last 15 minutes
The songs ‘Jazba’ ‘Aadat Se Majboor’ ‘Jigar Da Tukda’ and ‘Thug Le’
On the whole, Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl is a neat con-film and decent entertainer. The con-tricks were convincing and innovative and performances and direction icing on the cake! Unfortunately, the film isn’t devoid of flaws, the biggest one being that the chemistry of the hot jodi Ranveer-Sharma is thanda! Nevertheless, the film gives you your money’s worth and most importantly, doesn’t con you!
My rating- ½
