Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins
Rating – * (3/5)
Streaming on Netflix
Cast: Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Nikita Dutta, Kunal Kapoor & more
Directed by: Robbie Grewal and Kookie Gulati
Where have all the campy heist thrillers gone? There are times you don’t want to find too much meaning in a film and just want to have fun. I mean, who doesn’t like watching gorgeous people doing dubious stuff while being rich and ridiculously privileged? There’s a reason we loved the Race franchise (sans Race 3, of course), and there’s a reason beyond all the aforementioned indulgences — Saif Ali Khan. The man is a natural in this world, and Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins is perhaps the perfect reminder of that.
We are whisked away into the scenic duality of Budapest on one end and Mumbai on the other. Budapest plays home to Rehan (Saif Ali Khan), a naturally charming master thief who lives perpetually outside the Indian jurisdiction, despite two rather earnest but lowly Indian police officers attempting to keep tabs on him. Meanwhile, in Mumbai, we meet Rajan Aulakh — a painter by day and a heinous man full-time — who checks all the boxes of your quintessential bad guy. Their worlds collide for one glittering reason: The Red Sun — a precious jewel worth Rs 500 crores, which is in transit as it arrives in India. Aulakh wants it, of course. And who better to do the stealing than the master thief himself, Rehan?
Situations happen. Decisions are made. And we are plunged headfirst into a whirlwind of bonkers sequences, where twists and turns abound — half of which don’t make any logical sense, but you find yourself not caring in the slightest. That’s the beauty of this breed of film.
How ridiculous is too ridiculous? How many twists are too many twists? There seems to be a method to this madness — a meticulous orchestration of screenplay and plot devices that dances right on the edge of absurdity but never quite falls off.
It’s easy to ridicule films like these, especially when burdened by pre-conceived notions of what constitutes “good cinema.” And one can’t blame anyone — the graveyard of bad heist thrillers is a crowded one. But Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins knows exactly what it’s doing. Thanks to producer Siddharth Anand and the director duo Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal, the film embraces its ridiculousness with both arms and a cheeky wink.
How ridiculous is too ridiculous? How many twists are too many twists? There seems to be a method to this madness — a meticulous orchestration of screenplay and plot devices that dances right on the edge of absurdity but never quite falls off. Just when you’re about to roll your eyes and mutter “okay, now this is just getting stupid,” it doesn’t. It pulls back. Your suspension of disbelief dangles by a narrow thread, and while the film occasionally teeters into preposterous territory, it almost always lands back into pure, unadulterated entertainment.
It’s not easy to upstage Jaideep Ahlawat, but when it comes to this genre — this vibe — Saif Ali Khan understandably takes the crown.
The ensemble cast clearly got the memo — and they’re all in. Jaideep Ahlawat revels in the role of a deliciously evil bad guy. Watching a performer of his caliber just have fun is an underrated joy. Sure, he went viral for his dance moves, but here, he’s got menace, money, and that towering presence, and he wields all three like a pro. Then there’s Nikita Dutta, and finally, finally, we see a wrong partially corrected. Unlike many women in these kinds of films, who are little more than stunning set pieces or prop-up queens for the hero, Dutta is active, engaged, and essential to the plot. She’s part of the chaos, the scheming, and the romance. She looks stunning, of course, and acts as a proper love interest, but she also does things. Sure, we wish the film gave a montage to explain her connection with Ahlawat’s character, but hey — progress.
Kunal Kapoor steps in as the token police officer, bringing with him a measured presence, some dry logic, and a little less to chew on than one would hope. His character feels more functional than memorable, and compared to the dynamism around him, his arc-free, straight-and-narrow portrayal feels like the one piece of the film playing it a bit too safe.
And then — of course — we come to Saif Ali Khan.
This is his playground. His domain. His crown remains firmly unchallenged. Saif in campy thrillers is a cinematic delight we didn’t know we missed until he’s back doing what he does best — walking into chaos like he owns it, oozing charm, flipping moralities like poker chips, and delivering suave dialogue with that iconic half-smirk. We saw glimpses of this persona in Race and Race 2, and it feels almost poetic that with Race 4 in the works, this film serves as a pitch-perfect refresher of just how much fun Khan can be when let loose in a world of fast cars, expensive suits, shady deals, and sultry glances. It’s not easy to upstage Jaideep Ahlawat, but when it comes to this genre — this vibe — Saif understandably takes the crown.
In the end, just like the rom-com, the well-done campy heist thriller is a dying breed. Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins is a shining example of OTT indulgence done right — a film that begs to be consumed with snacks in hand, drinks at the ready, and expectations kept deliciously low. It’s fun. It’s frolicsome. It’s ludicrous and thrilling and unashamedly stylish. And let’s be honest — we’ve had our fair share of intense, brooding drama thrillers lately. Isn’t it time we brought back the joy of unapologetic, escapist cinema?
Let’s just admit it — sometimes, all we want is a little chaos, a little gloss, and a lot of fun. This one delivers.
