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
Theatrical release poster
Directed byManeesh Sharma
Screenplay byDevika Bhagat
Habib Faisal
Dialogues byHabib Faisal
Story byAditya Chopra
Produced byAditya Chopra
StarringRanveer Singh
Anushka Sharma
Parineeti Chopra
Dipannita Sharma
Aditi Sharma
CinematographyAseem Mishra
Ravi K. Chandran
Edited byNamrata Rao[1]
Music bySalim–Sulaiman
Production
company
Distributed byYash Raj Films
Release date
  • 9 December 2011 (2011-12-09)
Running time
140 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget20 crore
Box office49.4 crore[2]

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.

Plot

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Dimple Chaddha is the daughter of a successful businessman who quickly begins dating fitness instructor Sunny. She later learns that he wants to buy out his inheritance, which has been encroached upon by tenants. Her father pushes the tenants out using muscle power and, to top it, lends Ricky INR 20 lakhs, which he takes; in a twist, it is later revealed that the tenants he helped push out were legally occupying the property and that there is no question of inheritance. Dimple soon realizes, after contacting him in vain, that Sunny has disappeared with the money.

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 by a man named Iqbal Khan who she was attracted to. Over the course of the conversation, they figure out that Sunny, Deven and Iqbal are aliases used by the same person.

The three women gather in Mumbai, where they plan to 'con' this person for the money they lost. Not knowing his real name, they call him "bloody kameena" a.k.a. BK (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 BK to 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. BK, now going by the name 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 "Vikram" spontaneously go clubbing, where they kiss. "Vikram" 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 "Vikram" and ask her to leave, but later return to find "Vikram" at their hotel, proposing to return them their money. Claiming he has realised what it feels like to be cheated, he expresses his desire to turn over a new leaf.

Raina, Dimple and Saira notice Ishika is in love with BK, and reunite the two. He proposes to Ishika and reveals his real name, Ricky Bahl to her, but confesses he will have to learn from her how to live an honest life.

Cast

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Equipment

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Aseem Mishra and Ravi K Chandran have used an Angenieux Optimo as zoom lens.[3]

Reception

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Release

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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."

Box office

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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]

Awards and nominations

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Ladies vs Ricky Bahl awards and nominations
Parineeti Chopra garnered several accolades for her performance in Ladies vs Ricky Bahl.
Totals[a]
Wins13
Nominations18
Note
  1. ^ Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
Award Category Recipient(s) Result
Filmfare Awards Best Supporting Actress Parineeti Chopra Nominated
Best Female Debut Won
IIFA Awards Best Supporting Actress Won
Best Female Debut Won
Star Screen Awards Best Supporting Actress Nominated
Most Promising Newcomer – Female Won
Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards Best Actress in a Supporting Role Won
Best Female Debut Won
Cosmopolitan Awards Fun Fearless Female Debutante Won
Global Indian Film and Television Honours Most Promising Fresh Face – Female Won
FICCI Frames 2012 Awards Best Female Debut Won
Stardust Awards Superstar of Tomorrow – Female Won
Best Actress in a Comedy or Romance Anushka Sharma Won
Star of the Year – Female Nominated
Zee Cine Awards Best Female Debut Parineeti Chopra Won
Best Actor in a Supporting Role – Female Nominated
Dipannita Sharma Nominated
BIG Star Entertainment Awards Best Choreography Vaibhavi Merchant (for "Thug Le") Won

Soundtrack

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Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl
Soundtrack album by
Released2011
Recorded2010
GenreFilm soundtrack
LabelSony Music India[15]
ProducerSalim–Sulaiman
Salim–Sulaiman chronology
Band Baaja Baaraat
(2011)
Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl
(2011)
Anaganaga O Dheerudu
(2011)

The song "Jigar Da Tukda" won the most atrocious lyrics award at the Golden Kela Awards in 2012.[16]

All tracks are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya

Track listing
No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Aadat Se Majboor"Benny Dayal, Ranveer Singh04:38
2."Thug Le"Vishal Dadlani, Shweta Pandit03:39
3."Jigar Da Tukda"Salim Merchant, Shraddha Pandit04:14
4."Jazba"Shilpa Rao04:39
5."Aadat Se Majboor (Remix)"Benny Dayal, Ranveer Singh04:34
6."Jazba (Remix)"Anushka Manchanda04:02
7."Fatal Attraction"Instrumental03:34
Total length:28:00

Plagiarism allegations

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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]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl – Official Website – In Cinemas 09 December". Yashrajfilms.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2016. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Ladies vs Ricky Bahl –Movie". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 25 September 2022. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
  3. ^ "Making of Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl". Pandolin – Indian Cinema Revealed. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  4. ^ "Ladies VS Ricky Bahl (2011) | Hindi Movie Critic Review By Taran Adarsh". Bollywood Hungama. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  5. ^ Nikhat Kazmi (9 December 2011). "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl movie review: Wallpaper, Story, Trailer at Times of India". The Times of India. TNN. Archived from the original on 12 December 2011. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  6. ^ "Movie Review: Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl – NDTVMovies.com". NDTV. 9 December 2011. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  7. ^ "Masand: 'Ladies vs Ricky Bahl' is watchable – Reviews – Masand's Verdict". CNN-IBN. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  8. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  9. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. 10 December 2011. Archived from the original on 3 June 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2011.
  10. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  11. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 April 2012. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  12. ^ [1] Archived 24 December 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Boxofficeindia.com". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 7 January 2012. Retrieved 25 January 2012.
  15. ^ "Yash Raj Films gives digital music rights to Sony Music". Bestmediainfo.com. Archived from the original on 2 February 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  16. ^ "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl – music review by Mitesh Saraf – Planet Bollywood". Planetbollywood.com. Archived from the original on 26 December 2014. Retrieved 26 December 2014.
  17. ^ "Ladies Vs Ricky Bahl in plagiarism row". The Hindustan Times. 13 December 2011. Archived from the original on 4 April 2018. Retrieved 4 April 2018.
  18. ^ "Archer's next to have 8 chapters in Mumbai with Bollywood heroine". Daily News & Analysis. 2 March 2015. Archived from the original on 16 May 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
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