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Bollywood's Top 10 Con Films

August 27, 2014 08:59 IST

Emraan Hashmi becomes a conman in his upcoming film Raja Natwarlal.

And while we wait to see how well he's played it, the actor is in elite company. Bollywood's superstars have tried their hand at con films, and the genre has made quite a bit of money.

Here's looking at the Top 10 Hindi con movies.

 

1. The Dhoom series

John Abraham in Dhoom, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Dhoom 2, Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3

John Abraham in Dhoom, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Dhoom 2, Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3

The biggest con franchise in Bollywood is Dhoom.

The movies may have loopholes galore, but audiences have lapped up their world of cons, glamour and style. All the three Dhoom movies have been big hits.

From John Abraham to Hrithik Roshan and Aamir Khan, the con game has become cooler. And bigger.

Box office collections: Dhoom: Rs 29 crore, Dhoom 2: Rs 82 crore, Dhoom 3: Rs 284 crore.

Read the reviews here: Dhoom, Dhoom 2, Dhoom 3

 

2. Special 26

Akshay Kumar and Anupam Kher in Special 26

Akshay Kumar (centre) in Special 26

No one could predict what would happen next in this film by Neeraj Pandey, who reportedly studied a real life con and made a film on it.

Akshay Kumar was the right man for the job, and Anupam Kher surprised in a well-fleshed out role.

The surprise element of this chor-police tale was Jimmy Shergill.

The film was a semi-hit.

Box office collections: Rs 66 crore

Read the review here.

 

3. Bunty Aur Babli 

Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan in Bunty Aur Babli

Rani Mukerji and Abhishek Bachchan in Bunty Aur Babli

Bunty Aur Babli had its moments but the biggest draw of the film was Aishwarya Rai's Kajra re item number, a huge, huge hit. The song also featured Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan.

A hit film, it also saw a good performance by Rani Mukerji.

Box office collections: Rs 35 crore

Read the review here.

 

4. Bluffmaster

Abhishek Bachchan in Bluffmaster

Abhishek Bachchan in Bluffmaster

Bluffmaster had a slow start but it steadily gathered pace. It wasn't a straightforward all-India hit but for its target audience at multiplexes, it offered good entertainment.

The real con game was played superbly by Riteish Deshmukh and Nana Patekar.

The film fared average at the box office.

Box office collections: Rs 22 crore

Read the review here.

 

5. Baap Numbri Beta Dus Numbri

Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor in Baap Numbri Beta Dus Numbri

Kader Khan and Shakti Kapoor in Baap Numbri Beta Dus Numbri

One of the best con films, Baap Numbri Beta Dus Numbri was low-brow entertainment.

Kadar Khan and Shakti Kapoor brought on the laughs and stole the show, despite Jackie Shroff's presence. It was one of the top grossing films of the year.

Box office collections: Rs 3 crore

 

6. Chocolate

Tanushree Dutta in Chocolate

Tanushree Dutta in Chocolate

Chocolate was accused of taking its inspiration from The Usual Suspects.

The similarities were obvious, but debutant director Vivek Agnihotri had provided a suitable twist in the plot.

The cat and mouse game was entertaining with its story-within-a-story format.  

Chocolate was slickly made and stylishly narrated. Unfortunately, it was a flop.

Box office collections: Rs 7 crore

Read the review here.

 

7. Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

bhay Deol and Richa Chadda

Abhay Deol and Richa Chadda in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!

After Khosla Ka Ghosla, director Dibakar Banerji made an out-and-out con flick in Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!.

The film was inspired by a real life chor, played by Abhay Deol.

The film did decent business and is a success on home video.

Box office collections: Rs 7 crore

Read the review here.

 

8. Badmaash Company

Meiyang Chang, Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor in Badmaash Company

Meiyang Chang, Anushka Sharma, Shahid Kapoor and Virr Das in Badmaash Company

All was fine with this Shahid Kapoor and Anushka Sharma con flick until it got emotional towards the end.

This is yet another Yash Raj offering, and was a semi hit.

Box office collections: Rs 35 crore

Read the review here.

 

9. Phir Hera Pheri

Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar in Phir Hera Pheri

Suneil Shetty, Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar in Phir Hera Pheri

A sequel to Hera Pheri, it did almost four times the business of the first film, but isn't half as remembered.

Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty and Paresh Rawal were happy to reprise their act.

But one expected more from a brand like Hera Pheri.

Box office collections: Rs 41 crore

Read the review here.

 

10. Aankhen

Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu in Aankhen

Akshay Kumar and Bipasha Basu in Aankhen

If made today with higher production values and a crispy narrative, Aankhen would have done much better than it did when it released a decade ago.

With a star cast that included Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Arjun Rampal and Paresh Rawal, this blind-men-robbing-a-bank tale was an edge-of-the-seat affair that warranted repeat viewing. The film was a semit hit.

Box office collections: Rs 18 crore

Read the review here.

Joginder Tuteja/Rediff.com in Mumbai