Jewel Thief Review: Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat’s Heist Film Is A Product Of Lazy Writing, Lack Of Imagination!
Saif Ali Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat starrer Jewel Heist is directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal. Read our review here.
1.5 / 5
After a long time, a Bollywood heist film titled Jewel Thief has been released on Netflix. The film stars Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Kunal Kapoor and Nikita Dutta in the lead roles. It’s directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal, and backed by Siddharth Anand’s Marflix Pictures. The film created a buzz around Jaideep Ahlawat’s cool moves in the song ‘Jaadu’. And finally, the movie has been watched too! However, I am sad to report that Jewel Thief is yet again a product of some stale tropes, boring characters, predictable plot, and there’s nothing fresh about it, not even the punchlines. The few silver linings that I could find will be discussed in detail here. Read on, also it’s spoiler-free.
Plot
Rajan Aulakh (Jaideep Ahlawat) is a merciless gangster who doesn’t think twice before brutally killing people. Yes, no points for guessing that this character ticks all the stereotypes of being a villain, like he has a questionable business, in this one Rajan is an art collector, he kills people and animals to set an example of his cruelty and scare others, abusive (of course), and he blackmails the protagonist into a getting his job done by being a threat to his family. And..that brings me to the hero, Rehan Roy (Saif Ali Khan), also known as Jewel Thief because he has made some biggest and most difficult thefts worldwide. Rajan blackmails Rehan into stealing a precious diamond known as the Red Sun. Kunal Kapoor plays the cop Vikram Patel (of course, the one who is good for nothing). Vikram is constantly behind Rehan to catch him red-handed, but is he successful in doing that?
Farah (Nikita Dutta) is a painter and is in an unhappy, abusive marriage with Rajan. Farah meets Rehan and they fall in love. Now, the story progresses to show Rehan’s honest attempts to steal the Red Sun and eventually get rid of Rajan.
Story And Screenplay
Jewel Thief not only has stereotypical characters to build this heist action film, but also follows a done-and-dusted method of storytelling, in which the lead character is just so smart that everyone around him ends up looking dumb, at some point or the other. Starting with the story, the film does not have many fresh, new or out-of-the-box elements that we are bound to expect in 2025. The story brings no thrill, anticipation or unpredictability because it follows the same storytelling pattern that many 2000s films like Dhoom offered to us way back. By which we mean, the cold and heartless gangster personality is behind this protagonist, and the hero explains his plan for the heist like it’s a piece of cake. And to add the emotional bit, the hero comes with a troubled past; in this one, Rehan has been abandoned by his father because he is a thief. And to top it all, there is the powerless and helpless female lead, Farah, who cannot come out of an abusive marriage and is only dependent on the hero to save her. To be precise, it’s another illogical and mindless drama we are too old for!
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Characters
Okay, the film does not even compensate through the characters. With their lives explained earlier, I am sure they don’t sound interesting at all. Rajan Aulakh is not an antagonist who doesn’t get an equal field to play with the protagonist because one is not intimidated by the character’s efforts to make itself look scary. Even the dialogues are so 90s coded that I could not help but roll my eyes all the time.
Rehan Roy is a cool, chill guy who vanishes in the blink of an eye. He is a techy, hacker, fighter and well, has all the qualities to be called a Jewel Thief. That’s also his phone’s password. LOL! But Rehan has got some unfunny punchlines in the film that make you say, WHY, each time he comes up with one. Again, imagine SRK’s character in Happy New Year or Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom and many others, but all in one!
I was disappointed with the only female character in the film. We wanted so much more from this instead of just being another helpless character stuck in the same old male saviour trope!
Kunal Kapoor’s Vikram Patel, I felt sad for him throughout. His character, like many other cops in the heist film, was just there to make the audience understand how the protagonist was planning and working. But honestly, we figured that out way before him!
Performances!
Saif Ali Khan as Rehan Roy is charming to watch. He plays the character with so much ease. It’s no doubt a delight to watch him in this heist film, but then again, how much can one do with a character who was not quite interesting? Saif Ali Khan also nails the action sequences and chasing scenes.
We see Jaideep Ahlawat in a different light altogether. While the actor does a decent job in making his character bearable with the swag, style, body language, and dialogue delivery, the character itself lacks any kind of imagination and is restricted to following the old villain checklist!
Kunal Kapoor and Divya Dutta do justice to their characters, too!
Also Read: From The Thieves To Master, 5 Korean Heist Movies You Need To Check Out!
Direction
Even in terms of direction by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal, and cinematography, the film falls flat. Except, a few action sequences, which were not really creative but were shot and choreographed well. Or at least, it is the silver lining we were talking about. In fact, in many moments, the film looked too dramatic and soap opera-inspired. Especially with the background score, random zoomed-in shots and the slow emotional bits forced randomly anywhere into this plot.
Jewel Thief starring Saif Ali Khan, Jaideep Ahlawat, Kunal Kapoor and Nikita Dutta does not satisfy the curiosity and hunger of a good, intriguing heist film despite some good lead actors. It stuck with a stale, overdone formula which lacks creativity, and has lazy writing too. The film is currently streaming on Netflix.
First Published: April 25, 2025 12:53 PM
