Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena – average fare revolving around conmen

Rating:- * *
The main problem with the film is that having been inspired by two Hollywood films, CONFIDENCE [2003; Edward J. Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman] and HOUSE OF GAMES [1987; Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mantegna], it seems to have the soul of an English film in the body of a Hindi movie.

Arjun [Fardeen Khan] and his buddy Rohit [Rohit Roy] wannna get rich. Quick. So, they take to conning. But one of their con jobs changes their lives forever. When they con the accountant of an underworld don, Sikander [Gulshan Grover], of Rs. 75,000, Rohit is murdered, and Arjun has to flee the city.

But Sikander traces Arjun and wants him to shell out Rs. 4 lacs or else face his wrath. Sikander posts his henchman Kaif [Kay Kay] to follow Arjun like a shadow. To arrange for the money asked for by Sikander, Arjun not only continues conning, he also enlarges his group with the inclusion of a psychiatrist, Natasha [Koena Mitra]. Before long Natasha realizes that she had herself been conned. Determined to get her hard earned money back, a seething Natasha not only confronts Arjun at Sikander's den, she also comes up with the idea of conning Jehangir Khan [Feroz Khan], the President of Standard Bank, to the extent of Rs. 25 crores. With Feroz Khan entering the story at the intermission point, you expect the drama to get far more engaging , but that does not happen. Of course, Feroz Khan does make an impression here & there. Fardeen also gives a good account of himself. Koena Mitra looks sultry, and has no inhibitions when it comes to flaunting her sex appeal. She makes her presence felt in a couple of sequences. Kay Kay is very efficient. He delivers a flawless performance yet again. Gulshan Grover is first-rate, essaying the part of a cold-blooded person to perfection.

The music of Pritam is foot-tapping.

The film may be an average fare, but the debut-making director Supran seems to be a good technician who knows how to make the frames visually appealing.