Finally, some good news to share. The footfalls have shown an escalation at cineplexes. First HOUSE FULL, now BADMAASH COMPANY have lured audiences back to theatres, thus ending the dry spell at the box-office. Now let's hope the forthcoming biggies [KITES, RAAJNEETI, RAAVAN] infuse oxygen in the lungs of an ailing industry.

Shahid Kapoor starrers have consistently opened well, but for some strange reason, the media never acknowledges it. KISMAT KONNECTION started very well, KAMINEY started with a bang, now BADMAASH COMPANY has proved that all he needs is the right project to hit a boundary.

He has had the audiences as well as critics raving about his performance in 'Badmash Company' as the street smart Karan, who can do a con Job with a finesse and who changes disguises at the drop of a hat.

For the Bollywood heartthrob Shahid Kapoor, wearing so many disguises for his role in the Parmeet Sethi-directed film was an exciting experience.'The disguises are the best part of the film. I had so much fun doing them,'' says Shahid, who has appeared in several disguises in the film, where he plays a con operator.

After a spate of non-performers from Dil Bole Hadippa to Pyaar Impossible , Yash Raj Films finally have a reason to smile with Badmaash Company .

Parmeet Sethi has directed an entertaining fare and with the holiday season in full swing, the film has opened to a thunderous response. The film opened very well on Friday and the business was good over Saturday and Sunday.

Set in the 90s, Badmaash Company simply put is a the story of 4 youngsters Karan (Shahid Kapoor), Bulbul (Anushka Sharmar), Chandu (Vir Das) and Zing (Meiyang Chang) who want to make it big in life and they want to do it quick. Thus begins their journey of hustling and working the streets.

With one big deal that allows them to sell imported products in India, Karan masterminds their success and surely enough he money comes their way.

Imagine a crime caper sans any guns and gore. Not all films of the genre need to be dark and Badmaash Company is just that lighthearted change. The colleagues in this company use wits over weapons to win in the same way like director Parmeet Sethi employs cleverness over clichés to come up with engaging entertainment.

The story opens in mid 90s when an ordinary middleclass graduate Karan (Shahid Kapoor), who aspires to make it big in short time, devices a smart import business where they can evade custom duty and sell foreign goods at low prices to Indians yearning for imported items. With the help of his friends Chandu (Vir Das), Zing (Meiyang Chang) and Bulbul (Anushka Sharma) they find a way to beat the system and make it big. But when the import duty on foreign items is drastically cut down by the government, their flourishing Bangkok business flops.

After HOUSE FULL opened to an excellent start last week, it was the turn of BADMAASH COMPANY to open to a heartening start at the box-office. Shahid Kapoor's last major release CHANCE PE DANCE [not counting PAATHSHAALA] had fetched a below average start, so it was imperative that BADMAASH COMPANY fetch a good start at the ticket window.

The opening numbers of BADMAASH COMPANY were an impressive 80% to 90% at places, while at places it ranged from 45% to 75%, which only improved towards the evening shows.

Actor turned debutante director Parmeet Sethi made a startling confession on my show, a few days ago. He said, he had completed the entire script, with dialogue, in six days flat. I was apprehensive initially, but not once does BADMAASH COMPANY give you the feeling that it's a hurried job or the debutante writer-director, in a bid to start his first film, had left blanks incomplete.

The earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need, but not every man's greed. The adage holds true for the youth of today, who wish to attain the riches overnight and take an easy route/shortcut to climb the ladder of success. Just when you start thinking that you've conquered it all, that you're God, a stroke of bad luck brings you back to Ground Zero, to experience the harsh realities of life.

Bottom line for Badmaash Company - go watch it. Your money’s worth guaranteed. It’s fun, zippy and racy and only occasionally takes itself too seriously. That much we can forgive, given the love we Indians harbour for a ‘moral of the story’ sorta thing.

Crime never pays, sure we all know that. But then films like Ocean’s Eleven (Twelve and Thirteen) and directors like Guy Ritchie and Steven Soderbergh have shown us that crime and con can be a cool thing as long as you are not ripping out people’s innards or leaving them to die on a highway with a slit throat.

Karan, the co-proprietor of Badmaash Company, who arrives in the theatres today, takes us back to the swinging ’90s when matinee idols like the Bollywood Khans, Aamir, Shah Rukh and Salman, ruled the marquee. “They still do,” Shahid Kapoor is quick to point out.

A few weeks ago, Parmeet Sethi, the director of Badmaash Company, had admitted that his elder son had come expecting to be bored through 18 reels of a typical Hindi potboiler. Instead, he had been surprised by a slick flick that was as much cool Hollwood as it was commercial Bollywood.

Shahid Kapoor tells this correspondent that he is happy that Paathshaala, which he did not do for commercial reasons, has recovered its cost at the box office.

Is Badmaash Company a film on scam jobs?
At the face of it, it may seem to be a film on a con job scam, where the protagonists do wrong things in the right way, but in effect it is actually a journey of four different friends. It is about their coming of age, their relationship, their understanding of life etc.

He played a bad guy in dark thriller Kaminey and will now be seen as a conman in Badmaash Company. Shahid Kapoor says playing characters with a negative streak is an "escape route" from his good-boy image in real life.

"I think I always wanted to be a good boy, but I think inherently I have a badmaash (naughty) streak in me. That's why I love doing this role. This is my escape route. What I couldn't do in my childhood, (I'm) doing it in films," Shahid told IANS in an interview.

And there he walks in with a huge smile. In his trademark blue denims and a blue printed tee, Shahid looked like one naughty kid entering a press conference. Now a man, and a bad one too (looking by his released films titled Kaminey and Badmaash Company), Kapoor is seen deeply sucked into the world of films.

He has slight stubble which he confessed he has grown for one of the many look tests he is undergoing for his father's directorial debut Mausam. He walks a few strides and then turns the chair around and sits with his legs widely stretched. That's comfort for Shahid.

Unperturbed by box office duds post Kaminey, Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor is looking forward to the release of Badmash Company and his father Pankaj
Kapoor's directorial debut Mausam.

"If an actor keeps thinking about flops, he may not be able to give positivity to his next project which could turn out to be a bigger hit," Shahid told PTI.