Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

I didn’t really have many expectations going into the movie (good or bad), but I actually really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters and the banter between them.

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Bollywood and con artists go a long way, EK KHILADI EK HASEENA was released months after CHOCOLATE. The film is a mix of CONFIDENCE and HOUSE OF GAMES. But the mix leaves a lot of loopholes in the end The film starts well, Rohit Roy and FK scenes are fun, after his demise things are well handled too but the film tries to be too smart in the end by changing the events(ala Sixth Sense) which makes no sense and leaves loopholesDirection is decent Music is good, the songs are shot like international songs and are good Jhoom, Saara Jahaan and all songs are goodFardeen Khan has the required style for the role and plays his part well Koena Mitra is awful, KK Menon is the best, Mukul Dev and Sharad Kapoor are okay,Gulshan Grover is terrific, Feroz Khan has a brief role and is as usual, Rohit Roy is fun rest are okay

The Maverick and The Beautiful, as the title loosely translates, 'Ek Khiladi, Ek Haseena' is Bollywood's remake of the Rachel Weisz sleeper hit 'Confidence.' Koena Mitra appears here in the sexy vamp role immortalised in the Hollywood version by Weisz and the directors and stylists do there best to make Mitra stand up to par, and that she does to the best of her ability. Catchy song numbers as well as dragged out scenes and dialogue make the film a true Bollywood one by letting it unnecessarily spill over the two hour mark, and with that you just have to wonder what they were hoping to accomplish that Confidence and its stellar cast didn't already do? The film suffers from being too urban, too ahead of itself, too flashy, too sexy, too shiny in spite of being a dark thriller, too prim for its own good. Con artists and swindlers needn't over do it to achieve their goal, the director (who had a perfect 10 in his clutch) let it slip by overdoing the glitz and things. Nevertheless, Koena Mitra and Fardeen Khan don't fail to delivery the much needed sizzle for this type of film. Ignore Mitra's Britney Spears-ish number that the film opens to, there's much more to be enjoyed inside!

What really is the problem with Bollywood? Easy money, too many movies. Since Bollywood became recognized as an Industry, it has become a lot more easier for people to produce movies. This brings a lot more people to the director's chair. This could and should have been a good thing. But unfortunately, the equation stayed: only 2 out of every 10 mainstream movies is actually worth spending almost 3hrs on. With a lot more quantity, we see a lot more crap (mostly easy rip-offs) and a lot more wannabes. Do I sound deluded by Bollywood again? It's because Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena is a rip-off of Confidence *ing Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman & Paul Giamatti.Fardeen Khan as Arjun Verma is a con-artist (how many have we seen lately? Is it really that easy to make money? But that's a debate for another day/time). He gets hood-winked into pulling an heist to save his own life after his friend loses his (i.e. the friend's own) life after they (Hero+friend) successfully pull off a cheap heist. This is followed by another heist, and then a clinically-insane (as per Dr. Shariq)psychiatrist (Koena Mitra) turns up in one of those heists and then he (Fardeen Khan) has to double-cross someone and add a little coriander. Now cook for 27 minutes at 220C before garnishing with his friends & enemies & dhobiwallas - Mukul Dev, Kay Kay Menon, Gulshan Grover, and some *always friends* types. Serve with a hint of Feroz Khan for an after taste.Yes, the movie is a badly cooked dinner. A Single dish that comprises the starter, the neutralizer, the main-course & the dessert. Actually, the coffee too. Suparn Verma, the director & writer of this movie tries hard, and fails spectacularly. (Actually, when it is a copy, what do *writers* actually write?). But no - he does do well in very few scenes scattered through out, a little denser in the beginning portions, and scarce onwards. But they hardly make up for the entirely passable movie that he has made. Fardeen Khan talks to the almost non-existent audience throughout the movie. His commitment to the narration meant he forgot to act. But I won't be naive enough to blame him - coz Kay Kay Menon, the actor of actors, is also lost. He's looking to play a character that's so two-dimensional, he might just have played a water-bottle better instead. For those interested, Feroz Khan shows his style in a walk-through role.The point of this review is to tell you that if you have seen the original, save yourself - unless you like torture. If you haven't seen the original, you just may like it: If you don't realize that while Arjun Verma pulls off a fast one on his victims, YOU are the victim.Rated: 1.5/5

I think this is a great Hindi movie I have watched after a long time. Of course this is a great Bollywood Masala. I hope people remember what Bollywood is about and forget about comparing it to Hollywood. In comparison to other Hindi movies' of the year, this is definitely on the top. Fardeen acting is great, Kay Kay really shows what he is all about. He has really done well. Of course Feroz Khan is at his best as he is always. Even though he shows visible age, the dialogue delivery is as ferocious as always. I wish he had a bigger part in the movie. The romance in the movie is about right and where it should be. The movie has really been edited well. The pace of the movie is about what it should be. I usually, will finish a 2Hr 30m movie in 1Hr, FF all songs, unnecessary scenes and mocked fights. But I really enjoyed all bits of this flick. I really think that Fardeen has a making of a great actor if he is cast in these sophisticated roles.