Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl (2011) Reviews

• A Decent Entertainer...

  namashi_12011-12-10

  'Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl' is A Decent Entertainer, that works in parts. The First-Hour is quite entertaining, but the Second-Hour isn't really arresting. However, it's a film that will pass your time. 'Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl' Synopsis: A charismatic fraudster who cons ladies for a living finally meets his match when a bunch of his conquests form an equally crafty plan. 'Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl' has a winning first-hour, which is full of entertaining moments. The 1st chapter is engaging, the 2nd chapter is fair, while the 3rd chapter is quick yet effective. The problem with this film, starts in it's second-hour. The entire thing of getting back to the Con-Man to teach him a lesson, is not that entertaining. Even the climax for that matter, looks superficial. Aditya Chopra's Story is watchable, but not memorable. Maneesh Sharma's Direction is good. Cinematography & Editing are passable. Music by Salim-Sulaiman, is energetic. Performance-Wise: Ranveer Singh is impressive. The actor performs his part with confidence from start to end. Anushka Sharma enters the scene late, yet does a fair job. Parineeti Chopra makes a terrific debut. Her comic-timing is just perfect. Dipannita Sharma is appropriate. Aditi Sharma is nicely restrained. Others lend support. On the whole, 'Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl' is, at best, a time-pass fare, that works in parts.

• A Nutshell Review: Ladies vs Ricky Bahl

  DICK STEEL2011-12-10

  After three films under the Yash Raj banner, Anushka Sharma returns to the fold with her fifth film to date, reuniting with director Maneesh Sharma and co-star Ranveer Singh in what would be his second outing after their successful pairing and collaboration in Band Baaja Baaraat which turned out to be a sleeper hit last year, scoring nominations and awards for the filmmaker and his cast alike. Seeking to repeat that success, it unfortunately repeated what Hollywood had done with John Tucker Must Die with a trio of ladies plotting revenge over a guy, but over here it's not to get even because their hearts got broken, but more to get even because of the money he had swindled from them. And to do so, they band together to hire a glib tongue who can out-con the con man himself, which is where Anushka Sharma sashays her way into the film only at the hour mark, being that perfect brains and beauty combination to exact revenge for her employers against someone who is falling dangerously for her, and vice versa, compromising the situation at hand especially when such risky undertakings involving money, deals and counter-deals may jolly well tempt one against one's original intent, and loyalty. Anushka played her role of a salesgirl turned fake hotel heiress as bait to perfection, this being her second con game role after the stint in Badmaa$h Company, calling for that level of confidence and vulnerability, and sharing that believable chemistry with Ranveer Singh once again, and if gossip rags are right up your alley then it's of little surprise this happens to be so. Ranveer on the other hand has a number of avatars to live up to as the titular suave conman who cheats on women as a game, The first half is where the story patiently built itself up, giving ample time for Ranveer's other co-stars to show what they can do. Priyanka Chopra's cousin Parineeti Chopra makes her debut here as a student whose blind loyalty to and puppy love for her fitness trainer boyfriend Sunny Singh (Ranveer) made her the youngest and the easiest of targets. Dipannita Sharma as Raina is that ruthless businesswoman who strives to succeed at all costs, and her pride being punctured when art dealer Deven Shah (Ranveer again) sold her a renowned fake painting, and widower Saira (Aditi Sharma) got duped into believing the shy Iqbal Khan (Ranveer once more) comes with an honest heart in wanting trade in textiles with her family. To each of the girl scorned and to battle for their honour and money, they find each other by chance and plot to get their money back. And that's where Anuhka's Ishika Desai comes in. Did I mention this film requires a stretch of believability, because there's always that ample opportunity for a more thorough research being done by the characters involving background checks and legal documentation since the con they get themselves engaged in hinges very much on contracts and valuation, unless one can blame inexperience, and going up against one of the most successful conmen meant some facts can possibly be glossed over. That aside, the narrative unfortunately sagged in the second half when a spanner gets thrown in the works, and while Anushka and Ranveer may look good together on screen, it's the journey of getting there where you'd expect their characters to fall in love coming too abruptly as if in a rush for time. Still, the themes are still top notch for a romantic film, touching on regret and that one shouldn't see lonely women as marks to get into a seduction game, that the price of being conned of cash is one aspect of being hurt, but the emotional scars left behind are something else possibly more potent altogether. That, and the value of trust and one's word, how easily that can be broken way easily than to build up on. There's also a subtle jab at all things branded, when they can be easily replicated with a little bit of skill and help, having humbler items pass off as the real thing, in a way making a statement against all things ostentatious. The songs are all contemporary and catchy, but largely forgettable once you step out of the hall, while costumes and dresses just show why Anushka Sharma is quite the clotheshorse. Yash Raj Films may be looking to strike gold again with the direction and pairing of Anushka and Ranveer, but the truth is an equally compelling script is paramount to exploit their natural chemistry to the fullest. Ladies vs Ricky Bahl was quite the roller coaster ride narratively, and it's really thanks to the leading actors' chemistry that saved the film from becoming a downer, keeping it afloat and coasting along without surpassing expectations. But it's a must for fans of Band Baaja Baaraat hungry to see both Anushka and Ranveer on screen together again.

• You can expect a few laughs, lots of colours and a happy ending. Just make sure you enter the theatre with low expectations.

  faisal_khatib2011-12-08

  With a song to start off proceedings and two more to introduce the main characters, 'Ladies vs. Ricky Behl' looked the part of a typical Yash Raj production. As expected, like everything else they've delivered this year, there was a predictable Hindi film twist to spoil what was a promising premise. Ricky Behl (Ranveer Singh) is a professional conman who targets women thanks to his good looks and charming personality. After conning 29 women including Saira Rashid (Aditi Sharma) as clothes material dealer Iqbal Khan and Dimple Chaddha (Parineeta Chopra) as gym instructor Sunny Singh, he manages to con dominating Raina Parulekar (Dipannita Sharma) and her company by pretending to be Art exhibitor Dev. With the media spotlight on her regarding the scam, Raina unites with Saira and Dimple to bring down that 'Bloody Kamina' aka Ricky Behl. They hire saleslady Ishika Desai (Anushka Sharma) in the hopes of conning the conman. The rest is well....a typical Hindi film. From the director who surprised us with Band Baaja Baaraat, Maneesh Sharma had high expectations resting on his shoulders. What began on a positive note (sans the song and dance routine) with loads of room for some fun and suspense, it fell right into the 'everyone lived happily ever after' love story category that really didn't make sense in the big picture. Cinematography and camera work was uninspiring but effective while the music by Salim-Suleiman was mediocre to say the least. Some of the wardrobe choices were odd and rather distracting especially with excess amount of skin show from the lead pair. Editing as usual could have been better to improve the pace of the film and reduce its runtime. Seriously get rid of those songs... Anushka Sharma and Ranveer Singh don't bring anything new to the table apart from what we've already seen in Band Baaja Baaraat. The chemistry they share felt rushed and therefore lacked the intensity needed to get the viewers involved. Ranveer had the perfect opportunity to shine as the films protagonist but his character variations were as awkward as his facial disguises. Parineeta Chopra as Dimple was brilliant. Her facial expressions, comic timing and body language brought some fresh energy into a 'done to death' Punjabi supporting role. She is one actor to watch out for. Dipannita Sharma as Raina was so-so as the corporate executive lost in the human rat race. Her character expected her to deliver a strong demanding performance but she felt out of place and rather rigid in her act. Aditi Sharma as Saira was a typecast Muslim supporting role with the usual dosage of formality and awkwardness that conveniently diminishes away along with the clothes as the movie progresses. Aditi chose to remain confined With a story (written by Aditya Chopra) that lacked the depth of a fully fledged Hindi film, the screenplay by Devika Bhagat also falls short of doing what was needed to make the film stand out. In the end, you can expect a few laughs, lots of colours and a happy ending. Just make sure you enter the theatre with low expectations.

• Good Follow-up

  pranavgoyal2011-12-18

  Ladies Vs Richy Bahl makes for a pretty good watch for quite an amount of reasons. The movie was short, didn't get draggy at all which is only the second best part of the movie after the HOT BOD Anushka Sharma flaunts in the movie. have to give it to her, AMAZING. She could give the other ladies in the industry a run for their money. The plot is decent enough to keep you on your seats and the music well done too with a good amount of laughter moments thrown in too at good intervals mainly by this Delhi girl character(whose name I forget). So all in all the Ranveer-Anushka duo made good stuff on the screen after their first outing in Band Baaja.

• First half impresses,..second half depresses

  SonalSudeep2011-12-14

  Again a Yash Raj movie,again a Maneesh Sharma film,again Anushka-Ranveer pairing that worked wonders in Band Baaja Baraat,but on the contrary Ladies vs Ricky Bahl never has that element of magic that BBB had.Of course u can blame Anushka coming to the fore in the second half,but the movie actually subsides in the second half itself not only because of some boring sequences but the predictability the movie creates as we rush through second half.First half is fun-filled specially because of the presence of Parineeti Chopra (Priyanka's cousin) and it never ever seems its her first movie.Ranveer as always is impressive not only in conning girls but flaunting his body with those 8 pack abs.Dipannita and Aditi have done commendable jobs.Anushka(especially in the black bikini)looks hot.Songs are OK.Overall the movie could have been better in the second half.Go for it only if you are an ardent fan of Ranveer.I go with 6/10