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There’s at all times one thing universally attractive a couple of well-executed heist. Whether or not it is robbing a vault, scamming a billionaire, or pulling off an not possible con in broad daylight, it’s the form of cinematic fantasy that hits tougher than a plot twist at midnight.
And Indian audiences? Oh, we eat it up. Give us some disguises, a contact of swag, a morally gray hero with killer charisma – and we’ll journey shotgun for the entire journey. From Akshay Kumar’s Particular 26 to Dhoom franchise, Aankhen to even the chaotic brilliance of Joyful New 12 months, we’ve seen that when a desi-heist thriller leans into its drama and desi-ness, it’s gold. Or diamonds. Or each.
Additionally, there’s no denying that there’s a sure magic in watching a heist unfold on display screen. A misfit crew, a high-stakes plan, a goal too dangerous to disregard, and a payoff that guarantees freedom (or revenge, or closure). It is intense, intelligent, and filled with surprises.
Tamil filmmaker Nalan Kumarasamy, who directed the 2013 movie Soodhu Kavvum starring Vijay Sethupathi, admitted that the success of such movies largely depends upon their characters. “Having characters who make the not possible appear attainable is what makes these movies so gratifying, as a result of we don’t encounter such folks in actual life,” he mentioned.
However why are we so obsessive about heist tales? Why do filmmakers throughout cultures, budgets, and streaming platforms proceed to experiment with it? And why has this style change into a world phenomenon? We focus on all of this on this week’s Cinematic Saturday.
A SAFE SPACE FOR FANTASY AND REBELLION
In actual life, robbing a financial institution is a horrible thought. However in fiction? It’s intoxicating. Actor Gagan Arora, just lately seen as Avi Roy in ‘Jewel Thief’ (2025) alongside Saif Ali Khan, spoke to India At this time and shared why the style is interesting to viewers.
He mentioned, “I feel the explanation the thriller style is so interesting to the Indian viewers is as a result of, largely, we’re not that adventurous in life. We’re all tax-paying, easy individuals who like to save cash, and we do not do too many adventurous issues – not less than most of us. After which abruptly, out of the blue, we see someone looting a financial institution – the identical financial institution that fees us lots on our mortgage EMIs.”
He continued, “So what occurs is, it form of provides us a thrill that we do not expertise in our personal lives. Possibly it is as a result of it is a bit of out of our consolation zone. We might by no means do one thing like this in actual life, so it at all times appears to be like wonderful to observe.”
THE HEIST EFFECT
The factor a couple of good heist film is – it makes you are feeling such as you’re in it. You are not simply watching a theft occur; you are a part of the plan. The strain pulls you in, the stakes hold you locked, and when the large reveal drops, it feels such as you pulled it off too. It is cinematic adrenaline, wearing type and served with swagger and a form of fantasy which you can’t resist.
Actor Vivaan Shah, who performed an important function in Farah Khan’s Joyful New 12 months, mentioned, “I feel the style actually takes us again to a number of the enjoyable of the kids’s video games that we used to play, like ‘chor-police’ and ‘cops and robbers’.”
“There may be an virtually primal fascination with the entire enterprise of a theft or a theft. An exhilaration too! It is without doubt one of the most involving of genres which provides us a way of the fugitive expertise,” he informed India At this time.
That’s the explanation classics like director Neeraj Pandey’s 2013 drama Particular 26 nonetheless maintain up. The cons weren’t simply intelligent – they have been rooted in one thing actual. The movie made you are feeling prefer it might occur. It felt homegrown and sharp, with sufficient emotional depth to make the payoff hit tougher. That con job wasn’t simply cool – it was private.
Watch a clip from Particular 26 right here:
Gagan, whereas talking to us, defined, “I feel a very powerful factor concerning the script of such a movie is that it should not be too alienated from logic. The nearer the heist feels to being attainable, the extra enjoyable and gratifying it turns into for the viewers. The issue begins when illogical issues start to occur on display screen. And I feel these are ok components.”
Moreover, heist thrillers give us permission to root for rule-breakers – particularly after they’re taking over corrupt programs (Cash Heist, Particular 26), grasping firms (The Italian Job), and even time (Tenet [elements of heist]). These tales faucet right into a primal want: to outwit authority and win huge.
“Folks like legislation and order,” mentioned director Kumaraswamy. He added, “Common folks like us don’t go towards the system. So, when someone goes towards it, we prefer to see it.”
A BLUEPRINT BUILT FOR TENSION AND PAY OFF
At its core, the heist style is structured like a rollercoaster: Assembling the workforce, the plan, the execution and the twist.
Each heist begins by bringing collectively a various crew, every with a particular talent. And it’s like watching a dream workforce being fashioned for an not possible mission – and we’re already intrigued.
The plan is the place all of the enjoyable occurs. The viewers will get a peek on the workforce’s genius (and often over-complicated) plan, which builds suspense. However right here’s the catch: whereas it appears foolproof, we all know bother’s lurking across the nook.
The Execution – The heist is lastly taking place, and it’s intense. The plan is put into motion, and issues often begin going sideways. Take the 2001 multi-starrer Ocean’s Eleven, for instance. That is the place the crew confronted shut calls with safety or surprising glitches of their plan. The chaos is what stored us on the sting of our seats.
No heist film is full with no twist. Simply once we assume every little thing goes easily, one thing surprising occurs – a betrayal, a double-cross, or a reveal that modifications every little thing.
Gagan believes that “the success of Indian heist movies lies extra within the plot twists”. He added, “And I feel that applies to virtually all types of scripts – it completely depends upon how a script is written, how the plot twist performs out. The characters, in fact, are essential, however I feel it is the plot twist that the Indian viewers actually loves.”
The finale is the place we see whether or not the crew succeeds or fails. The payoff is usually bittersweet – typically they get away with it, typically they don’t. The strain that’s constructed up all through the film will get resolved in a remaining, satisfying (or stunning) means.
And why does this blueprint work? As a result of it faucets into the core of what makes thrillers so partaking: suspense, excessive stakes, and surprises. This method additionally works as a result of it’s designed to maintain us hooked. We’re at all times a couple of steps behind or forward of the plan, guessing what is going to go improper, or being floored by a reveal that turns the entire plot the wrong way up.
HEISTS ARE ABOUT TEAMS – AND WE LOVE FOUND FAMILIES
Heist films or exhibits thrive on discovered households. One more reason why this style works – the crew.
The “assembling the workforce” montage is now iconic. It creates a vibe of camaraderie, variety, and banter-filled chaos that fashionable audiences love. These crews usually resemble discovered households, the place outcasts unite for a shared mission. It’s Quick and Livid however with blueprints as an alternative of nitrous.
Take, as an illustration, the workforce from Farah Khan’s iconic Joyful New 12 months (2014): a road boxer with a troubled previous, a hard-of-hearing strongman, a seizure-prone safecracker, a grasp hacker, and a bar dancer. Collectively, this unlikely crew managed to tug off a daring diamond heist from some of the safe vaults – the Shalimar.
Gen Z particularly connects with these tales of loyalty, talent, and self-made justice. The characters really feel actual, layered, and infrequently anti-heroic – extra flawed than good.
A VISUALLY AND STRUCTURALLY FLEXIBLE GENRE
One of many main causes heist thrillers are so beloved by filmmakers is their flexibility. The style permits for a ton of artistic freedom, each visually and structurally, making it a perfect playground for administrators, writers, and producers. Whether or not they need to make a slick, trendy crime drama or a fast-paced motion journey, the style has the room to adapt to varied tones, settings, and constructions.
One other issue that serves effectively with the style is having a number of views. For instance, Kaleidoscope, a 2023 Netflix collection, actually permits you to watch the episodes in any order, providing a recent perspective on a well-known heist.
This nonlinear method retains the story dynamic and interesting, because the viewers sees totally different sides of the identical crime, with every episode revealing new twists and insights into the characters and their motives.
One other cool factor about heist movies is that they aren’t sure to only one style – they usually combine seamlessly with different genres. A heist story generally is a thriller, a comedy, a romance, or perhaps a sci-fi epic. This flexibility permits filmmakers to get artistic and mess around with totally different tones, pacing, and themes.
THE POPULARISATION OF THE ANTI-HERO TROPE
Maybe essentially the most attention-grabbing half? Heist thrillers play with morality. Such movies enable characters to be morally advanced. You’re rooting for individuals who break the legislation, lie, steal, and typically even harm others, but you join with them as a result of they’re usually portrayed as underdogs or folks preventing a system.
Echoing the same thought, Gagan, who performed the righteous brother of a morally gray Saif Ali Khan in Jewel Thief, mentioned, “These movies carry a robust ethical undertone as a result of they are not meant to encourage real-life heists. Whereas the characters could seem heroic and their world appears to be like glamorous, the fact may be very totally different—everybody finally will get caught. It is essential to go away the viewers with the message that wrongdoing at all times comes with penalties.”
Whereas watching such movies, the audiences root for thieves and why. As a result of usually, the “unhealthy guys” are extra principled than the system they’re stealing from. They’re intelligent, charming, and filled with function. The folks in energy, in the meantime, are grasping, violent, or detached.
Vignesh, a self-proclaimed cinemaholic with a thirst for edge-of-the-seat thrillers, shared why he eagerly appears to be like ahead to a well-made heist drama. Talking to India At this time, he mentioned, “I feel heist films are interesting to me as a result of our favorite actors are enjoying anti-hero roles, and it is refreshing to see them channel their inside villains.”
He continued to clarify, “One in every of my favorite heist films needs to be Ocean’s Eleven, which has change into an iconic film through the years and bloomed into top-of-the-line franchise films. A star-studded forged that comes collectively to do a on line casino heist is extra relatable than a bunch of Avengers coming collectively to avoid wasting Earth.”
WHAT ABOUT THE LATEST RELEASE, JEWEL THIEF?
This ideological edge provides the style weight and relevance past its leisure. And which is why the most recent movie, Jewel Thief – a Netflix launch, with the irresistible duo of Saif Ali Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat – felt prefer it ought to’ve been a slam dunk. However as an alternative of thrilling, it tripped. As an alternative of dazzling, it dulled. And as an alternative of stealing the present, it barely left a fingerprint.
Issues have been totally different with this movie. Saif regarded the half – easy, mysterious, layered. Ahlawat introduced his normal depth. The cinematography was moody, the places slick, the vibes immaculate. And but, one thing was off.
The issue? It was all floor, no soul.
Watch the trailer of Jewel Thief right here:
Regardless of the title, the movie wasn’t a religious cousin of the 1967 Dev Anand basic. It was extra like a pale imitation of Western noir thrillers in fancy packaging. The characters regarded like they’d deep secrets and techniques, however you didn’t care sufficient to dig. The twists got here, positive – however they felt extra like mechanical whiplash than emotional gut-punches. You realize that second when a film throws a reveal at you, and also you go “…okay?” as an alternative of “NO WAY”?
And pacing? Don’t even get us began. For a thriller, the movie crawled. Scenes dragged, pressure evaporated, and the large reveals felt much less like mic drops and extra like damp fireworks. A style that’s constructed on timing, urgency, and razor-sharp momentum ended up feeling prefer it was on cruise management.
Which is such a waste, as a result of India has at all times had a aptitude for the heist style – once we do it our means.
INDIANS’ LOVE FOR DESI HEIST FILMS
Take Aankhen (2002), for instance. It was loud, dramatic, and totally bonkers. A revenge heist with three blind males robbing a financial institution? It appears like satire, but it surely labored. Why? As a result of it had coronary heart. It had stakes. It wasn’t nearly pulling off the job – it was about why the job mattered. That’s the emotional engine that Jewel Thief by no means fairly revved.
Sharing his tackle Indian heist thrillers, Vivaan informed us, “Our crime movies and our heist movies have a definite aesthetic which, though influenced by the cinema of different international locations, is wholly authentic and distinctive. Indian Cinema introduced vitality and an electrical energy to the style.”
Which brings us to a bigger fact: Indian audiences don’t simply need sleekness. We would like connection.
We don’t simply need to watch a con – we need to be emotionally invested in it. The characters have to be messy, flawed, humorous, tragic. We would like jugaadu plans, emotional motives, over-the-top dangers, and not less than one heartstring-pulling backstory. Heist thrillers are enjoyable, positive, however the nice ones additionally depart you considering. Or, on the very least, gasping.
And let’s be actual – a part of the enchantment is that these tales provide rebel with glamour. Anti-heroes who don’t use weapons or gore, however allure and brains? That’s a fantasy we like to root for.
Hrithik Roshan in Dhoom 2 wasn’t only a thief – he was a vogue icon, a parkour grasp, and by some means emotionally susceptible underneath all that perfection. We knew he was breaking the legislation, and we didn’t care. If something, we have been cheering him on.
That’s what Jewel Thief missed. It didn’t give us anybody to cheer for. Or worry. Or really feel betrayed by. It simply unfolded like a intelligent PowerPoint presentation, ticking off style packing containers with out ever giving us an actual hook. And no quantity of slow-motion photographs or suave fits can repair that.
As a result of on the finish of the day, an excellent heist movie is concerning the why, not simply the how. Why does this character threat all of it? Why is the plan so pressing? Why ought to we care if it really works? When these questions are answered effectively, the style thrives. Once they’re not, we scroll again to outdated consolation watches and neglect what we simply noticed.
Look, we’re not saying don’t make trendy, bold, experimental thrillers. Please do. However don’t neglect your viewers. We’re sharp. We love twists. However we additionally love emotion, masala, and motives that hit nearer to dwelling than a European artwork gallery heist. Probably the most profitable desi thrillers work as a result of they steadiness pressure with custom, spectacle with sentiment. And when that steadiness is off, it exhibits.
So right here’s hoping the following huge heist flick doesn’t simply steal diamonds – but additionally steals our hearts.
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