Raja Natwarlal

Although riddled with loopholes, this film is well-paced with some good performances

This movie has plenty of holes in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, but it moves quickly and is entertaining. It also has a few decent performances by a good ensemble cast. The best thing about the film is the ascending degree of swindling that it displays. Starting off with two con artists working the streets, bars and hotels of Mumbai, it gradually moves on to larger projects, finally ending up with the biggest confidence trick of all, the buying and selling of an Indian T-20 cricket team.

Raja (Emraan Hashmi) and Raghav (Deepak Tijori) are soul buddies and partners in petty crime. One day, a regulation robbery goes wrong and they end up stealing the money of a Mafia Don based in Cape Town. Raghav is shot dead. Raja swears revenge and goes to Dharamshala to team up with the big daddy of confidence tricksters, a guru called Yogi (Paresh Rawal).

The duo find out that Mafia Don, Varda Yadav (Kay Kay Menon), otherwise impregnable in his fortress in South Africa, has one weakness— cricket. He collects cricket memorabilia with an all consuming passion and would love to buy a T-20 team in India. The problem is that with his shady finances, no one will sell him one.

The recent real-life cricket scams in India make the last part of the film seem credible, indeed plausible. Raja and Yogi bring Varda Yadav to the headquarters of cricket in Mumbai and sell him a lemon—‘The Ahmedabad Avengers’. The set-up looks entirely convincing, particularly the air of underhand dealing that permeates the administration of cricket. Ironically, this is what reassures Yadav. Also reassuring is the ‘auction’ of the team at a five star hotel—something right out of prime time news.

The plot of Raja Natwarlal has as many holes as a coffee filter. But with its excellent pacing, you may just smell the coffee and wake up later.

Emraan HashmiKay Kay MenonRaja Natwarlal