Review of Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl

Having seen Band Baaja Baaraat which I really liked, I'd had quite some expectations from Maneesh Sharma's next feature, Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl, which stars the same actors in lead roles. For me, the film is a great disappointment, though it is not that bad per se. Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl is an unoriginal film about a con man who, using different names and identities, woos young women only to eventually rob them of their property. Then his victims hire a girl to take revenge and get their money back, and this girl he really falls in love with. Blah. Yeh, this is quite an old cliché and so is this movie, which lacks not only originality, but also depth and substance. It's a glossy one though, I must say, and watching it with friends may be quite enjoyable, particularly if they are not in the mood for something serious. The film has some catchy songs as well, though none really is memorable enough. The actors are good enough, but no one is great. Ranveer is alright. He's confident, at times over-confident, but the part is too ordinary to make a difference really (and maybe I was expecting more after BBB), and it does not challenge him in any way; instead it just gives him some corny lines and silly makeovers, and the good moments are too few to matter. Anushka is just too charming to ignore, although, just like with Ranveer, the role itself is nothing special compared to her brilliant turn as Shrutti Kakkar in Band Baaja Baaraat. Yet, there is something about this girl. It's amazing how often she reminds me of Preity Zinta. She is spunky, vivacious and very pretty, and has a strong screen presence, so I still believe she has quite a future in the industry. Of the three girls, all are quite hot, but Parineeta Chopra is clearly the show-stealer and is quite a promising newcomer. She is incredibly cute and consistently credible thanks to her natural flair for comedy and superb dialect. Sadly, the cast were not given a very memorable film to work in. Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl is a most predictable film; the script is well contrived for its own good and the ending couldn't be more saccharine. It has its moments, but it's still forgettable. Watch it if you must, really.