Crew: A Heist Comedy Soaring to Success Rajesh A Krishnan's "Crew," a 2024 Hindi-language heist comedy, has proven a box office triumph, grossing over 157.08 crore globally. The film, written by Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri and produced by a consortium including Ekta Kapoor and Anil Kapoor, stars Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, and Kriti Sanon in lead roles, with Diljit Dosanjh and Kapil Sharma providing supporting performances. The plot centers on three air hostesses unexpectedly embroiled in a gold smuggling operation, a narrative reportedly drawing parallels to the defunct Kingfisher Airlines. Production, under Balaji Motion Pictures and Anil Kapoor Films & Communication Network, spanned from March 2023 to February 2024. The film's theatrical release on March 29, 2024, was met with generally positive critical reception. Its commercial success solidified its position as the sixth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2024, demonstrating audience appreciation for its comedic heist premise and star-studded cast. The film's success showcases the enduring appeal of the Bollywood comedy genre and the box-office pull of its leading actresses.

Three women, struggling to keep their heads above stormy waters, shucking and jiving and diving, while keeping it all fleet-footed AND having fun, and making sure we do, too? Take all my money now.

Geeta Sethi (Tabu), Jasmine Bajwa (Kareena Kapoor Khan) and Divya Rana (Kriti Sanon) are part of the crew at Kohinoor Airlines, a thinly-veiled stand-in for the now-defunct real-life Kingfisher Airlines, whose chairman (Saswata Chatterjee), is an even thinner-veiled stand-in for the ‘bhagoda’ billionaire Vijay Mallya. The film’s writers, Nidhi Mehra and Mehul Suri, don’t bother too much about doing any hiding, calling their character, Vijay Walia, who does a runner, declaring bankruptcy, leaving thousands of employees in the lurch.

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As befits a caper-cum-heist, an array of characters show up as and when required. That goes for the men who sportingly bring up the rear, leaving the ladies to forge ahead. Arun Sethi (Kapil Sharma) is a home-chef, whose dream is to have his own restaurant in Goa. Jasmine is girl who always wants more, keeping a covetous eye on that LV bag and the Beemer, even as her beloved grandpa (Kulbhushan Kharbanda) rumbles on about the things that really matter. And ‘Divya Rana from Haryana’, as the smitten customs officer Jaiveer (Diljit Dosanjh) calls her, is a liar but nice with it. Both Sharma, who has shown that he can be a fine actor, and Dosanjh, oozing his brand of grounded sexiness, are real assets: they know their place.

When it’s a question of suitcases full of gold bars, and fully illegal activities in a glitzy place called Al Burj which feels like a stand-in splashy Dubai (why not just call it that, or is even that not allowed now?), our trio jumps right in. And of course, sooner vs later, they are up against the long arm of the law. What now? Jail not bail, right?

The writers keep everything brisk and snappy and, in places, sitcom-y, not giving us a chance to dwell on the frequent contrivances, and convenient loops the characters are made to jump through. The touchy-feely moments which give the film an emotional core are not overdone: an air-hostess (Pooja Bhamrrah) who loses all hope of getting her pending money from the absconding Mallya, oops Walia, helped by his complicit right hand man (Rajesh Sharma), has had to face the ignominy of her child being chucked out of school.

But, for the love of everything that’s holy, why so many annoying product placements? They make things clunky and fake, and you feel like screaming, especially in a film where everything is going along so swimmingly. Big bummer; dear producers, please don’t. Also, what a ruination of that raunchy classic: the ‘choli ke peeche’ reprise is a bore.

Fortunately, our ladies are to the rescue: Tabu, so comfortable in her older woman avatar as the senior-most of the crew, and Khan, treading the thin line between greed and need with ease, are a riot; Sanon, in their company, is boosted, and manages to hold her own. These actors have a lived-in feel, as if they really have done dozens of flights together: they bicker and banter, unafraid of speaking their minds, fully owning their age (cue ‘layers of foundation not hiding the years’ jokes), as well as their bawdiness and vulnerabilities, channelling both glamour and grime, and are the kind of women our movies need more of.

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Net net, watching these three air hostesses with the mostest, in an easy breezy comedy, with plenty of self-aware chuckles strewn about, is the most fun I’ve had at the movies recently. Just what I needed to blow away the dispiriting clouds of recent Bollywood duds.

Crew movie cast: Tabu, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Kriti Sanon, Diljit Dosanjh, Rajesh Sharma, Saswata Chatterjee, Kapil Sharma, Pooja Bhamrrah, Kulbhushan Kharbanda
Crew movie director: Rajesh Krishnan
Crew movie rating: 3.5 stars