The con is on in Bollywood!

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NEW DELHI - After the success of Shahid Kapoor-starrer “Badmaash Company”, the con is on in Bollywood. Two more films of the same genre - “Tees Maar Khan” and “Yamla Pagla Deewana” - are releasing later this year.

Yash Raj Films’ “Badmaash Company”, also starring Anushka Sharma, Vir Das and Chang, was actor Parmeet Sethi’s directorial debut and revolved around four youngsters who carry out many con jobs.

Movie buffs can experience the fun again with Farah Khan’s “Tees Maar Khan”.

Akshay Kumar plays a conman in “Tees Maar Khan” and Farah Khan said his role is inspired by English folklore hero Robin Hood.

“In the film, Akshay plays a modern-day extra smart conman, who steals money from the rich and gives it to the poor, someone like Robin Hood,” she added.

The film also features Katrina Kaif in a pivotal role.

On similar lines will be another film in which yesteryears actor Dharmendra and his son Bobby Deol will be seen essaying the roles of conmen.

Samir Karnik’s “Yamla Pagla Deewana” that also stars Sunny Deol, is slated for release in December.

“The decision of creating two characters as conmen came very naturally to us. We wanted to create a conflict in the film. If everyone is good, then what will the story have?” Karnik asked.

“In my story, Dharmendra and Bobby are conmen but they are endearing characters and their chemistry is something to watch out for,” Karnik told IANS.

When asked whether he incorporated conmen characters because such characters usually do well at the box office, Karnik said: “It’s not intentional. It’s not that we were thinking about the box office when we thought of these characters. We had to show a change in the film, that grey characters turn good. So conmen characters worked for us,” the director said.

In the past too, this subject has often interested producers and directors.

“Ishqiya” starring Arshad Warsi and Naseeruddin Shah and “Kaminey” starring Shahid Kapoor saw actors cheating people on the screen and effectively carrying out the roles of conmen.

Both films did well at the box office and were appreciated by the audiences.

Abhishek Bachchan-starrers “Bluffmaster” and “Bunty Aur Bubbly” that saw the actor as a conman also set cash registers ringing at the box office.

Bollywood has also seen many other con films in the past, including “Kismet”, “Baap Numberi Beta Dus Numberi”, “Hera Pheri”, “Ek Se Bure Do”, “Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena”, “Jai-Veeru”, “Dhamaal” and “Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye” among others, most of them being hits.

However, critics feel that nothing is a hit formula in Bollywood and only con films that are conceptually strong have done well and not all of them.

“Films on conmen are an interesting subject but we can’t generalise by saying that all con films will do well. Only a good film works, no matter what the genre. A ‘Bunty Aur Bubbly’ or a ‘Bluffmaster’ worked because they had strong content and were made well, not just because they were films on conmen,” trade analyst Komal Nahata told IANS.