| Ladies vs Ricky Bahl | |||||||||
| Director: | Maneesh Sharma | ||||||||
| Screenplay: | Devika Bhagat Habib Faisal
| ||||||||
| Story: | Aditya Chopra | ||||||||
| Producer: | Aditya Chopra | ||||||||
| Starring: | Ranveer Singh Anushka Sharma Parineeti Chopra Dipannita Sharma Aditi Sharma | ||||||||
| Cinematography: | Aseem Mishra Ravi K. Chandran | ||||||||
| Editing: | Namrata Rao[1] | ||||||||
| Music: | Salim–Sulaiman | ||||||||
| Studio: | Yash Raj Films | ||||||||
| Distributor: | Yash Raj Films | ||||||||
| Runtime: | 140 minutes | ||||||||
| Country: | India | ||||||||
| Language: | Hindi | ||||||||
| Budget: | 20 crore | ||||||||
| Gross: | 49.4 crore[2] | ||||||||
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl is a 2011 Indian Hindi-language romantic comedy film directed by Maneesh Sharma. Produced by Aditya Chopra under the banner of Yash Raj Films, it stars Ranveer Singh, Anushka Sharma, Parineeti Chopra (in her debut), Dipannita Sharma and Aditi Sharma in lead roles. Loosely inspired from Jeffrey Archer's 1976 novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less, the adapted screenplay was written by Devika Bhagat and Habib Faisal. The film revolves around a group of women teaming up to pull an elaborate con on Ricky Bahl (Singh), a con artist who has conned them.
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl was released on 9 December 2011. It grossed 49.4 crore worldwide and received mixed to positive reviews from critics, who praised the chemistry between Singh and Sharma. Chopra's performance was acclaimed; at the 57th Filmfare Awards, she won the Best Female Debut and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
Ricky Bahl is a con artist, who attracts women and dupes them off their money. The first of his many cons is Dimple, the daughter of a successful businessman. Posing as a fitness instructor, Ricky befriends Dimple at the gym. Dimple is convinced by him to lend him money, so that he may buy out his inheritance, which has been encroached upon by tenants. Dimple's father gives Ricky INR 20 lakhs, which he takes and disappears.
Sometime later, a businesswoman in Mumbai, called Raina, is sold a fake painting by a man called Deven Shah, who presumably owns an art gallery. Deven takes off with INR 60 lakhs, and Raina makes the story public. She is contacted by Dimple, as well as a widow named Saira, who was conned of INR 10 lakhs.
The three women gather in Mumbai, where they plan to 'con' Ricky for the money they lost. Not knowing his real name, they call him "bloody kameena" (which means rascal, in Hindi). They hire a mall worker named Ishika, who is an expert salesperson, to aid their con. Raina sponsors their arrangements, and the four women leave for Goa, having traced Ricky to living at a beach there.
Ishika appears as the NRI daughter of a motel-chain owner from the US, on a business trip to Goa to set up a restaurant. Ricky, now Vikram Thapar, pretends to own a beachside watersports facility. He befriends Ishika and decides to target her next. To win her over, he agrees to invest in her restaurant and its launch party. Unknown to him, he is being sold fake products and arrangements, planted by Raina's contacts. Soon, the women are close to recouping the amount he stole from them.
After the launch party, Ishika and Ricky spontaneously go clubbing, where they kiss. Ricky shows up at Ishika's hotel the next morning, only to find her plotting with Dimple, Raina and Saira. Realising he has been conned, he decides to get back his money, by selling Ishika a worthless property for her restaurant. The women accuse Ishika of colluding with Ricky, but he shows up at their hotel to return them their money. Claiming he has realised what it feels like to be cheated, he says he will stop being a con artist.
Raina, Dimple and Saira notice Ishika is in love with Ricky, and reunite the two. Ricky proposes to Ishika, but confesses he will have to learn from her how to live an honest life.
Aseem Mishra and Ravi K Chandran have used an Angenieux Optimo as zoom lens.[3]
The film was released in India on 9 December 2011. Upon release, it received mixed to positive response from critics. Bollywood actress Priyanka Chopra's cousin, Parineeti Chopra, made her acting debut in the film and most critics have praised her highly for her acting skills. Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave 3 out of 5 stars and said: "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl is, at best, a decent fare, which appeals in parts. The film starts well, even ends well. It's the in between that's plain ordinary. Ideally, the film merits a two-and-a-half star rating, but that extra half star is for Ranveer and Anushka, who steal your heart with truly striking performances."[4] Nikhat Kazmi from The Times of India gave 2.5 of 5 stars adding: "There is no humour, no earthy flavour, no tingling chemistry between the lead pair. What does work in favour of the film are its performances and its non-hysterical tenor."[5] Komal Nahta from Koimoi gave it a 3-star as well stating: Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl is a fair entertainer. What is good about it is: The basic plotline; some con-game sequences; performances; music NDTV gave the film 3.5 stars from 5, calling it predictable and adding that the loses out on the great chemistry between the two leads. But it is still great to watch. However, he praised the performance of Ranveer Singh.[6] So did Rajeev Masand who, in his review for IBN Live, described it as watchable but thought that it could've been so much more fun.[7] Zee News gave it 3/5 stars, stating: "A good option to get entertained this weekend and reconnect with the Band Baaja Baaraat Jodi for some laughter and foot stomping again! Go watch Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl."
Ladies vs Ricky Bahl had a biggest first day with many places recording high first day collections, but some multiplexes recording 90–100% for the first day. The collection improved well in Delhi and Punjab area throughout the day. The multiplex-dominated areas saw good to decent occupancy while single-screened areas remain on lower side. The film had a decent first day collections of 198.5 million.[8] [9] During the second day of release, it showed good improvement and collected 445 million. Collections rose once again on Sunday and it collected 767.5 million to bring the 3-day total to 805 million approx.[10] The film remained steady on Monday, with collections around 815 million nett, taking the four-day total to million nett approx.[11] The film also put up a decent first week collection, grossing 730 million nett.[12] [13] Overall, it did decent business at the box office and earned 840 million in full theatrical run and declared hit at the box office.[14]
| Ladies vs Ricky Bahl | |
| " awards and nominations" | |
| Image1: | Parineeti Chopra at 'The Mugshot Cafe' promotion in Pune.jpg |
| Caption: | Parineeti Chopra garnered several accolades for her performance in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl. |
| Wins: | 13 |
| Nominations: | 18 |
| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Filmfare Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Parineeti Chopra | ||
| Best Female Debut | ||||
| IIFA Awards | Best Supporting Actress | |||
| Best Female Debut | ||||
| Star Screen Awards | Best Supporting Actress | |||
| Most Promising Newcomer – Female | ||||
| Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | |||
| Best Female Debut | ||||
| Cosmopolitan Awards | Fun Fearless Female Debutante | |||
| Global Indian Film and Television Honours | Most Promising Fresh Face – Female | |||
| FICCI Frames 2012 Awards | Best Female Debut | |||
| Stardust Awards | Superstar of Tomorrow – Female | |||
| Best Actress in a Comedy or Romance | Anushka Sharma | |||
| Star of the Year – Female | ||||
| Zee Cine Awards | Best Female Debut | Parineeti Chopra | ||
| Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female | ||||
| Dipannita Sharma | ||||
| BIG Star Entertainment Awards | Best Choreography | Vaibhavi Merchant (for "Thug Le") |
| Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl | |
| Type: | Soundtrack |
| Artist: | Salim–Sulaiman |
| Released: | 2011 |
| Recorded: | 2010 |
| Genre: | Film soundtrack |
| Label: | Sony Music India[15] |
| Producer: | Salim–Sulaiman |
| Prev Title: | Band Baaja Baaraat |
| Prev Year: | 2011 |
| Next Title: | Anaganaga O Dheerudu |
| Next Year: | 2011 |
The song "Jigar Da Tukda" won the most atrocious lyrics award at the Golden Kela Awards in 2012.[16]
Director Selva accused the makers of Ladies vs Ricky Bahl of plagiarising his 2007 Tamil film Naan Avan Illai and its 2009 sequel, both which followed a con artist marrying several women under various identities.[17] Separately, British novelist Jeffrey Archer accused the makers of plagiarising his 1976 novel Not a Penny More, Not a Penny Less.[18]