Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena | DesPardes.com

Although audience expectations were really high from a film starring the powerhouse father-son duo Feroz and Fardeen Khan, but Suparn Verma's directorial debut �Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena� turns out to be a well-packaged, glamorous con flick that lost its plot somewhere down the line. What�s worse, although it has been said that the film is �inspired� by the Hollywood films, �Confidence� and �House Of Games�, there are entire sequences picked up directly from other films! D�j� vu?

The film revolves around suave con man Arjun (Fardeen Khan). When his best friend and partner in crime Rohit (Rohit Roy) gets murdered by the accountant of dreaded gangster Sikander (Gulshan Grover) whom they had jointly robbed, Arjun is asked to return the money or pay with his life. To save his skin, he builds a team of fellow conmen (Kay Kay, Amin Hajee, and Mukul Dev), and they set out for a big con job � 25 days, 25 crores � with the target being ostentatious banker and overlord Jahangir Khan (Feroz Khan). But Jahangir Khan is not a soft target by any measure! In the midst of this sordid tale of double-crossing and deceit, Arjun falls in love with psychiatrist Natasha (Koena Mitra), and welcomes her to join the con group. Only, she has a plan of her own...

Sounds exciting? Well, you�ll do just fine if you don�t go into the theatre expecting a typical Feroz Khan film, like we did; expecting to witness all the masala, glamour and fast-paced action that usually goes hand-in-glove with a Feroz Khan flick, we couldn�t help feeling a bit disappointed midway through the film. Sure, he played the flamboyant banker with practiced ease but it was a far cry from the Feroz Khan of yore, who wore his shirt unbuttoned atop tight fitting trousers, with a cigarette dangling from his lips and a sexy damsel waiting at his beck and call...

Sure, there was slick action and yes, there was a hefty dose of glamour and sensuality due to the presence of Bollywood bombshell Koena Mitra who sheds her inhibitions at the drop of a hat, but the film nevertheless failed to grip the audiences perhaps due to the vague narrative. That said, before we write off the film as a glamorous non-starter, this may come as a surprise but there is one man who really makes his presence felt on the big screen � �Bad Man� Gulshan Grover � who plays the dreaded, ruthless scamster with aplomb!

In retrospect, for those who missed out on the steamy MMS depicting a steamy shower scene picturized on Koena Mitra and Fardeen Khan, (the MMS of a bath scene featuring Fardeen Khan and Koena Mitra is being circulated with the intention of generating a buzz around the film) check out the film for it�s slick, sex appeal!

Rating: **
Director: Suparn Verma
Producer: Rangeeta Pritish Nandy
Cast: Feroz Khan, Fardeen Khan, Koena Mitra, Gulshan Grover, Kay Kay, Rohit Roy, Mukul Dev and Amin Hajee

Rating Index:
* * * * * Just brilliant
* * * * A cut above
* * * Enjoyable
* * Average
* Bomb

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As of Jan 28, 2007