A smart con film is one where you either don't see the big con till the final reveal or one that at least sets it up with enough twists and turns to make it worth your time.

Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl from the promising team that brought us last year's sleeper hit Band Baja Baraat (director Maneesh Sharma, Ranveer Singh and Anushka Sharma with dialogues from Habib Faisal) is primarily a let down by the writers here (Story: Aditya Chopra, Screenplay: Devika Bhagat, Additional Screenplay: Habib Faisal) who have absolutely no ambition to do anything risky.

How good is a con if the stakes aren't high?

This is the safe, family-entertaining Bollywood film where the hero is virtuous even if he's a con man (he wouldn't even let the girl he's conning kiss him) and turns out to be smarter than four women put together.

The makers aren't even in the mood to play Bluff. The film unfolds in a linear fashion and we are privy to all that's happening and the only twist coming our way is that there is no twist. And no, it's not a remake of John Tucker Must Die or the Tamil film Naan Avan Illai. However, this is also one of those rare Hindi films where the women actually have a role to play.

The first half rides entirely on the shoulders of Parineeti Chopra, Dipannita Sharma and Aditi Sharma who team up to outwit the con and get their money back by employing a smooth talking sales girl (Anushka Sharma). And the ladies deliver. All four of them, but special mention to Parineeti who is delightful as the Dilli girl who keeps saying ‘LOL' not as L-O-L but ‘Lol'.

Ranveer Singh is solid too. There's a certain sincerity about his performance that makes it impossible for us to think he's capable of anything bad. And he seems to have no issues letting the women dominate the proceedings, staying in the background as their eye candy. Maneesh Sharma once again proves he's a director to watch out for, keeping most of the drama well in check, applying his brand of restraint and realism to make it all seem plausible.

If only the film actually went one step further and made the ladies the hero of the film. Not much luck there. The film only goes on to reinforce every stereotype associated with Hindi films. Why are the Chopras so obsessed with con films (Bunty Aur Babli, Badmaash Company and now Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl) especially when they lack ambition or smarts to pull off one that actually gives your mind some work to do?

Or at least give us a fresh take on gender equations.

For all its feminist undertones, Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl deceives. And that's the only con in this film.

Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl

Genre: Con

Director: Maneesh Sharma

Cast: Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Parineeti Chopra, Dipannita Sharma, Aditi Sharma

Storyline: Three victims of a con man decide to team up to outwit him and get their money back.

Bottomline: The ladies have plenty of scope to perform, but there's no other reason to cheer this predictable mainstream Bollywood fare where the man is always smarter than the woman.

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