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Monday, October 7, 2024
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BOLLYWOOD LADIES V/S RICKY BAHL
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***
Please don`t look for another Band Baaja Baaraat from the Ranveer
Singh-Anushka Sharma-Maneesh Sharma team. And chances are, you will come away
from Ladies Vs Ricky Behl with a feeling of having seen a
smoothly-sculpted con caper about a suave charlatan who wins over 31….or is it
32?...women and then breaks their heart while running away with their bank
balance.
We only see the con man, played with sly suaveness by Ranveer Singh hoodwink
four women. The first three episodes where Ricky Behl (yup, that`s his name but
we know it only at the end) cons first a bubbly loud Punjabi business family`s
fun-loving girl (played with endearing effervescence by Parineeta Chopra), then
a uptight hoity-toity business executive (Dipannita Sharma, accomplished) and
then simple widow from lucknow (Aditi Sharma, sweet) are cut beautifully, like a
well-tailored roomy band-gala sherwani.
Suresh Sharma`s editing moves through Ranveer character`s various escapades with
a direct deftness that leaves no room for loose moments. However, a bagginess
creeps into the narration in the second-half when Ranveer meets his match (in
more ways than one) in Goa. Here, the chemistry is more laboured than luminous.
Though Goa is captured with pristine picturesqueness, the Ranveer-Anushka
relationship in the second-half falters due to a lack of inner conviction.
Though the writing is smooth textured and layered, the mellow momentum is
forfeited once it`s payback time for the con man.
Anushka Sharma`s predictable bubbly-on-the-prowl act here often seems
selfconscious and repetitive. Could we please see this bundle of energy do
something else? And really, her introductory song is more a homage to Ram Gopal
Varma`s Rangeela than a panoramic look-see at Anushaka`s character`s
heartland.
The songs and choreography are more erotic diversions.
Ranveer Singh gets his act together with great care for details. Each step of
his con game is charted carefully with the right physique, body language clothes
and accessories. Yup, this actor works hard on getting it right and succeeds. If
the highlight in Band Baajaa Baraat was the sequence where Ranveer`s
character blurted out his love for Anushka, here too Ranveer gets the
love-confession sequence just right.
Here`s an interesting actor who matches his enthusiasm level with a compelling
quotient of sensitivity .
Fatally, we never know what motivates Ricky Behl. Why does he do what he does?
Is he a benign fan of Shah Rukh Khan over-dosing on the Baazigar
philosophy of fooling women for money?
If the narrative tends to run through a blind alley quite often it also finds
its way into a luminous light often enough to make us feel favourably towards
the overall products. The locational details and the character-specifications
are done with rare care. The three actresses Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Sharma and
Dipannati Sharma playing Ricky`s three scorned women slip effortlessly into
their roles.
As for Anushka she is a fearless actress, not afraid to let her emotions
overrule her makeup. At the end of the film when she dresses up as Santa Claus
to smooch Ranveer Singh in shopping mall, there isn`t that same feeling of
breathless exhilaration we felt when Ranveer and Anushka kissed in their
previous film together.
As far as con capers go, Ladies Vs Ricky Behl moves at an engaging
pace long enough to qualify as a rom-com which looks and feels right.
Parineeti Chopra got under the scanner for her drastic weight loss, with some praising her dedication and some criticising her for sending out a negative message on body image. But the actress says she doesn't always pay attention to what people are talking about to avoid getting caught in a "vicious circle".She feels no pressure to look a "certain way"."You can't always pay attention to what people are talking about you. If you do, you will get into a vicious circle. You have to feel good, you have to feel fit. Fitness is extremely subjective and that's the fun of it," Parineeti told IANS in an email interview. Read More
I've always got great roles: Parineeti ChopraNational Award-winning actress Parineeti Chopra feels lucky that she has always landed "great roles" in Bollywood, as well as a chance to sing -- because music is her "soul".Read More
Dimple Chaddha Parineeti Chopra, a brash 19 year old Delhi college girl falls in love with Sunny Singh, a fitness trainer.
Raina Parulekar (Dipannita Sharma), a 28 year old independent and successful corporate woman in Mumbai does business with an art dealer Deven Shah.
Saira Rashid (Aditi Sharma), a 24 year old sweet, hard working widow in Lucknow makes a new friend, the shy Iqbal Khan.
Three very different girls who each get taken for a lot of money by each of these three men.
The problem is that it is actually just one man – Ricky Bahl (Ranveer
Singh), a suave and charming con-man who revels in the game and is
only after the Money.
A chance encounter brings these three women together who vow to take down Ricky
Bahl and get their money back. The next step is the actual plan. Enter Ishika
Desai (Anushka
Sharma), a young and ambitious girl whose street smart ways will
one day, very soon, get her to the top. The furious trio, one professional
con-man and a girl who loves adventure. The game is set in Goa. The rules will
be made as they go along.
It`s the Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.
Who will win and who will lose?
Let the rollercoaster ride begin.
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl World Premiere at the Dubai International Film Festival