Inspired by two Hollywood films, CONFIDENCE [2003; Edward J. Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman] and HOUSE OF GAMES [1987; Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna], the problem with EK KHILADI EK HASEENA clearly lies in the fact that the concept is too western for Indian audiences. For an average Indian moviegoer, who has fixed ideas when it comes to big-screen entertainment, EK KHILADI EK HASEENA has the soul of an English film in the body of a Hindi flick.
The film opens with Fardeen Khan lying in a pool of blood and then goes into flashback mode. Khan is a smalltime conman who, along with sidekick Rohit Roy, rips off an accountant of three lakhs. It turns out that the accountant works for a dreaded underworld figure who doesn’t like being cheated. In short, the don wants his money back, Fardeen and his gang of assorted goons work our various ways in which to get the money and eventually they decide to go one step further and pull off a scam worth 25 crores. What should have been the high point of the film, with a major scam being planned and executed, is a damp squib as well because their plan is so simple, a two-year-old could have come up with it. The grand plan? Take a loan from a big bank and move to Bangkok. Sheer genius.
Arjun [Fardeen Khan] and his buddy Rohit [Rohit Roy] want to attain riches by taking an easy route: Con jobs. But their latest stunt changes their lives forever. They con the accountant of an underworld don, Sikander [Gulshan Grover], of Rs. 75,000. Later, Rohit is murdered, while Arjun escapes to another city. Sikander traces Arjun and warns him to shell out Rs. 4 lacs now [the capital amount of Rs. 75,000, plus the interest], or else face his wrath. Sikander's henchman Kaif [Kay Kay] is instructed to follow Arjun like a shadow. Arjun decides to continue with his act of conning people to raise the amount, a psychiatrist, Natasha [Koena Mitra], enters his life. She is fascinated by Arjun's con games and decides to be a part of the group [Fardeen, Kay Kay, Mukul Dev, Amin Hajee]. While carrying out one such act, she accidentally shoots a cop [Murli Sharma], who dies on the spot.
EK KHILADI EK HASEENA is fast, pacy and the script is consistently snappy. This is a slickly made ride, with occasionally ingenious plotting and some deft dialogue touches, best seen during Fardeen Khan's narration running through the movie. In terms of its genre, it's a smarter film than most of its Bollywood brethren. A few moments in the film take you by genuine surprise, and you really don't notice the time as the crisp film runs taut throughout.
The show begins with opening track of 'Ishq Hai Jhootha'. It is a great blend of the style of 'Kambakth Ishq' (Pyaar Tune Kyon Kiya) and the rhythm of 'Dhoom Machale'. Sunidhi Chauhan and Kunal do the perfect job of eliminating the line between a situational and an item number. Bally Sagoo's style is revisited in 'Ankhiyaan Na Maar', yet another foot tapping club number that has hot bods Rakhi Sawant, Mumait Khan and Zubein Khan sharing the centre stage. 'Ankhiyan' is sung by, who else but Sunidhi Chauhan, who can conveniently add it to her list of hit tracks. Bunty Rajput does a fine job of remix. Amitabh Verma is the lyricist for - 'Jal Jal Ke Dhuan' sung by Sonu Nigam, in a genre that is his forte..Bunty Rajput does a remix of 'Jal Jal’ and as always, the results are simply mind-blowing? A song about a group of friends in a rollicking mood, 'Yaaron' sung in an urban setting has a zippy orchestra in accompaniment. The rendition of a song, 'Jhoom' Suzzane D'Mello, comes dangerously close to style of Alisha Chenoy. By now, the mood of the entire album has been set in a western mode and 'Jhoom' is no exception. Subrat Sinha writes the last track of the album - 'Nasha Nasha'.
The man of the film is Feroz Khan, and he rocks. Koena Mitra looks sultry, has no inhibitions when it comes to flaunting her sex appeal and her styling is perfect. Gulshan Grover is first-rate, essaying the part of a cold-blooded person to perfection. Mukul Dev is alright, while Rohit Roy is likeable in a brief role. Sharad Kapoor doesn't get much scope. Ditto for Makrand Deshpande, who is wasted. Murli Sharma, Amin Hajee and Dayashanker Pandey are adequate.
On the whole, EK KHILADI EK HASEENA is a caper film, sure, but it's no thriller.
