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Con job, scams, hawala, deceit, drugs, sex...and a provocative MMS clip. Welcome to the land of con men that trade their deceitful intellect for material gains. In fast changing era of moral concepts the film glorifies the present state of society. The film holds "social relevance" with some witty and catchy dialogues that set the mood for this action-packed pot boiler. After lackluster Diwali releases, this week promises "BIG" entertainment with the costliest film 'Taj Mahal' and the most awaited international film 'Harry Potter and the goblet of fire' locking horns with 'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena'.

Writer-director Suparn Verma deserves all the accolades in conceiving spicy and raunchy action flick with stylish sheen. The trend of glossy and stylish action flicks got its foothold in Sanjay Gupta's films like 'Kaante', 'Musafir' and followed by Anubhav Sinha's 'Dus'. Verma comes out as new prodigy in this category with all the needful spice and salt. Like RGV films this film revolves around the mental attributes of the protagonist rather than the "whodunit" factor. The "mind of con man" gets glorified with flair with different shades.

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The psychology behind the con jobs and importance of "emotional blackmailing" gets the maximum footage. The different treatment and screenplay makes it surprise package for the viewers.Surprisingly, it entertains to the core. The father-son combination of Feroze Khan and Fardeen Khan finally strikes a chord with the audience. Unfortunately, this was the only father-son duo that failed miserably in flops like 'Prem Agaan' and 'Jaanasheen'. Earlier, 'Bunty Aur Babli' had the combination of Bachchans and ironically both these films work on similar subjects with different characterizations.

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The film works on the theology that lawmakers are corrupt and crime looks like a fun-loving activity. It brings together con artists in the beginning but make them each other's bitter enemy in the end. The director should be applauded in psycho analyzing the concept than blindly rehashing foreign flicks. The film has some inspirational lifts from Hollywood hit 'Confidence' (2003). The game of cat and mouse between con men and law makers with some technically crafted action sequences makes them similar in many aspects.

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The slick cinematography amalgamated with brilliant rendition of piano, jazz, percussions in the background makes it cut above the rest. The writer narrates the story from the eyes and mind of con artist Arjun Verma (Fardeen Khan). The journey unravels through plots and sub-plots with the conclusion that the system is crooked to the core. Politicians, government officials, police officials, bureaucrats etc bear a price tag for their morality and can be traded easily. It may sound scary for the audience who have appetite for "feel good factor" films. The director uses "feel good factor" by the con men in emotionally blackmailing their counterparts in achieving their goals. In today's world where con man and scamsters like Telgi and Harshad Mehta have made news the film looks relevant. It draws parallel lines with "fake idealism" that dominated three to four decades in the film industry.

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'Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena' is the mind game forayed on good looking khiladi Arjun Verma (Fardeen Khan) and sultry voluptuous haseena Natassha (Koena Mitra). For a change a khiladi film without Akshay Kumar! Arjun has bosom friend Rohit (Rohit Roy) and together they aspire to be multi- billionaire one day. The lure of easy money draws them to con jobs like cheating, forging. One day they plan to con accountant of a big company and they succeed. The fun-loving criminal act turns sour when Rohit is found murdered. Arjun learns that it was the money of dreaded underworld don Sikander (Gulshan Grover). He leaves the city and accommodates with his buddies -- Jack (Amin Hajee) and Bhatia (Mukul Dev). Sikander's trustworthy henchman Kaif (Kay Kay) traces Arjun. Sikander orders Arjun to shell out his money within ten days or he will be killed. To scheme out something fishy all of them get paired up and plan con jobs. Natasha (Koena Mitra), young and vibrant looking psychiatrist enters Arjun's life. She decides to part with the gang and love bells ring for them. They share erotic moments while planning to con people. Arjun narrates tricks of conning people with his intellect, charm and skill. During one con act she discovers that the gang has conned her and has stolen her money. Friendship turns into enmity and Natasha entices Sikander to con Jehangir Khan (Feroze Khan) through Arjun and his gang for Rs 250 million. Jehangir Khan, intelligently deceptive underworld don rules the white collar crime world where billions and trillions are transferred through scams and hawala rackets. Five rogues, one glam doll and 250 million rupees…. the evil game plans to take off! The gang of five con artistes impose themselves as directors of an IT company. The evil plan is to con Jehangir's "Standard Bank" for astronomical 250 million. Natasha seduces the bank official and the loan of 250 million is sanctioned. Arjun plans out wicked game where he succeeds in conning law makers and Jehangir Khan.

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'EKEH' works brilliantly on factors like impressive musical soundtracks, competent performances and gripping screenplay and script. Like many of the recently released action thrillers it has similar characterizations and plots. Verma's indifferent story telling makes it spectacular with some loose ends. The plot grips the audience but ends with unrealistic flavors. Bong bombshell Koena Mitra graduates into the solo heroine slot after being typecast as "item girl". Bipasha Basu was the first choice but finally Koena got selected for her dare bare bold image. Despite MMS controversy the Bengali lass impresses with some fiery and exhausting dialogues. The dusky babe has been "bold" enough to display her physical anatomy. After unimpressive comical performance in David Dhawan's forgetful comedy 'Shaadi No 1' Fardeen Khan impresses. Fardeen's role in the film works on the guidelines in the character he played in 'Fida'. The actor's improvised Hindi diction, expressive face language and free-flowing dancing skills speak for his success. The debacle of 'Janasheen' might have dampened Feroze Khan's spirits but his performance shows the same fire he possesses. The notorious depiction of white collar criminal suits his persona and he conceives with flair.

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It is ironical that Sharad Kapoor and Mukul Dev made debut together and after a decade they are paired in supporting roles. Sharad Kapoor shows variation by not carrying the same expression throughout the film. Mukul Dev has tiny role and is reduced to a glorified extra. Rohit Roy and Amin Hajee justify their supporting roles. Gulshan Grover impresses after a long time in exuding the kingpin of underworld "Sikander". Audiences have seen him in hundreds of films in the past decade but this stands out his finest performance in recent times. Pritam's music is mind- blowing, foot-thumping, catchy and adds grace and glitz to the show. After 'Dhoom' and 'Chocolate' the talented music director has shown vibrant colors in his musical display. Songs like "Ishq Hai Jhootha", "Yaaron" and "Jhoom" will certainly catch pop genre's attention. Cinematography by Manoj Soni is another promising factor that works wonder for the film. The finely executed musical track and technically-crafted action sequences speak volume for his aptitude. Suparn Verma's transition from script writer to director shows his added dimension in Bollywood. Like Sanjay Gupta and Vivek Agnihotri he has chosen stylish action flick as his first presentation. The fast pace of the film with tight characterizations makes him a worthy commodity. The screenplay has dents like - kingpin Gulshan Grover getting trapped in a small time con act, con men imposing as I T professionals and impressing bank manager, ordinary cop imposing as CBI official and finally blood splattering Fardeen Khan being alive. If the director had worked harder on his screenplay then this would have been a bigger hit.

If 'Bunty Aur Babli' manages to be the biggest money spinner of the year then 'EKEH' promises to be sure shot winner for the producers. Pritish Nandy can expect promising results after delivering semi-hits and flops. The film will be winner in multiplexes in first few weeks and good mouth publicity will appreciate its collections.