Ladies vs Ricky Bahl

Ashutosh Gowariker's *Ladies vs Ricky Bahl* arrives as a refreshing inversion of the con-artist thriller, trading the male protagonist's glamorous duplicity for a female ensemble's righteous vengeance. The premise—four women uniting to expose and outwit a serial romantic scammer—feels genuinely progressive for 2011, particularly in how the film refuses to wallow in the victims' shame but instead channels it into calculated agency. Deepika Padukone, Priyanka Chopra, and Katrina Kaif collectively anchor the narrative with convincing chemistry, their individual vulnerabilities in the first half earning genuine pathos before the tone pivots to wickedly entertaining revenge. Where the film stumbles, however, is in its tonal inconsistency and the somewhat cartoonish characterization of Ricky Bahl himself—Ranveer Singh's performance veers toward caricature rather than menace, making the antagonist feel less like a credible threat and more like a plot device. The mechanics of the con-within-a-con in Goa are serviceable but lack the intricate tension of superior heist narratives like *Bunty Aur Babli*, relying instead on broad comedy beats that dilute the satirical edge the premise promises.

What ultimately works in Gowariker's favor is the film's refusal to moralize or sentimentalize its women's agency—there's a cleansing satisfaction in watching the tables turn, even if the screenplay occasionally lapses into convenient plot resolutions. The chemistry between the four leads elevate