For viewers who are heavily into Western Cinema and have watched many classy Con movies made in the other parts of the world, this is nothing more than a sweet & soft try in that particular genre. May be that is that reason why I couldn’t find LADIES VS RICKY BAHL in any way above than an average entertainer. But on the other hand, even for all the die-hard Bollywood lovers too, LVRB offers quite less than what was being expected from the HIT team of BAND BAAJA BAARAT returning together after their last year’s winning march at almost all the Big Award Functions.
Based on a plot of revenge planned by 3 ladies who were conned by the same man in different cities, it is not a straight remake but still reminds you of films such as JOHN TUCKER MUST DIE (2006) (similar plot used in college romance), NAAN AVANILLAI (Tamil) (1974 & 2007) and Jeffrey Archer’s novel NOT A PENNY MORE, NOT A PENNY LESS revolving around a comparable outline.
Starting off with the most interesting section of the film featuring a new girl Parineeti, LVRB impresses you a lot in its first 15 minutes. In fact as the other two con stories are told with the introduction of Anushka, it more or less makes a positive impact on the viewers entertaining them fairly. So till intermission it just gives you a feeling of another good movie from the team as expected. But post interval, the pace starts dropping, the con schemes are not believable and the unwanted romance spoils the game in the end leaving you largely unsatisfied.
To give you a clear picture, there are three factors which restrict LVRB to just be an average one time entertainer against all hopes. The first one refers to its hugely unwanted and average songs which keep hampering the proceedings regularly. The second one is its romantic angle which needs to be played very subtly in a Con movie. But here it takes over the limelight towards the end which should have been strictly avoided. Lastly it’s the completely predictable nature of its script which doesn’t give you any sharp twits or surprises as it progresses. So with all these key reasons LVRB just remains an average entertainer with not anything exceptional to offer to its audience.
Director Maneesh Sharma does show some sparks of his first film in few sequences but I really was expecting a lot more from him and his team in LVRB. Actually he misses the mark this time because he doesn’t stick to the genre in particular and goes on to add the usual romance and songs in his film which were not required at all. Maybe he was pressurized to do so but frankly these two things have only ruined his otherwise good film in reality. However Manish remains one of those few directors who are able to capture the Delhi-feel perfectly in their films, as visible in LVRB’s first con-story of a Punjabi daughter of a rich property dealer in Delhi.
Cinematography captures the essence of the movie superbly but Devika Bhagat’s screenplay misses the mark in its second half and doesn’t provide you the excitement which has to be there essentially in a Con-movie. Yet the dialogues by Habib Faisal do give you something to laugh and enjoy at regular intervals. Musically it has a weak soundtrack with only a few above average songs like “Aadat Se Majboor” and I really wonder why film-makers use a whole good song in the end credits when half of the public is walking out of the hall without noticing all the hard work put in the song’s audio & video by the entire creative team.
Surprisingly LVRB has a small gem in its performance department which comes from neither Ranveer and nor Anushka. Its from a new girl Parineeti who in fact gets the most claps and laughs in the theater with her brilliantly rendered one liners in a Punjabi-touch. Both Ranveer and Anushka are great in their given roles but they again have to display the same romantic feelings as shown in BBB towards the end. Anushka once again proves her timing and skill but somehow I didn’t feel the superb chemistry between them this time on the screen as seen in their first movie together. Though Ranveer looks great with his cunning smile as the conman but he still has to move over his famous Tapori image of BBB. In the supporting cast Dipannita Sharma is graceful and Aditi Sharma plays her part naturally.
On the whole LADIES VS RICKY BAHL gives you much less than expected with a great first half and a pretty weak second. But still you can watch it once for Ranveer’s looks, Anushka’s charm and Parineeti, who will straight away remind you of the entertaining Punjabi girl in BAND BAAJA BAARAT (Anushka) and OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE (Richa Chaddha).
Ratings : 2.5 / 5
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