A fast-paced thriller, Johnny Gaddaar is ample testimony that you can make a gripping Bollywood movie without any of the big names.

Also, as long as you have a decent story you don't have to go gallivanting around the globe filming in locales like Namibia, Australia, Switzerland or Brazil.

Without doubt, Johnny Gaddaar comes with a nice story and a tight script. No meandering or sloppy detours here.

Most Bollywood movies are unwatchable despite the presence of big name heroes and sultry sirens because of the wafer-thin stories. That is when our Bollywood bozos are not shamelessly stealing from Hollywood. Fortunately, Johnny Gaddaar is different.

In the late British author James Hadley Chase tradition of providing a strong protagonist who is usually a criminal but not really a completely evil or loathsome figure, Johnny Gaddar offers us the criminal Vikram. Bad but not repulsive and carried along mostly by the tide, Vikram holds our attention throughout the movie.

Johnny Gaddar packs all the ingredients of a fine thriller - love, crime, sexy girls, action, unexpected twists and betrayal.

Newcomer Neil Nitin Mukesh (grandson of the famous singer Mukesh) does a decent job as the young lad Vikram in a haste to get rich. Only in one crucial scene featuring a confrontation with Dharmendra does Neil Nitin Mukesh falter and fails to deliver the goods.

Besides Neil Nitin Mukesh, Dharmendra, Zakir Hussain, Vinay Pathak and Ashwini Kalsekar deliver solid performances too. Even that Bollywood clown Rimi Sen has thrown in an acceptable performance here.

The story centers around a gang of five criminals headed by Seshadri (Dharmendra) who embark on an assignment that is supposed to net them a hefty profit in just a few days.

But one member of the gang has other ideas.

He wants all the money for himself so that he can make a new beginning in a far off place with his girl friend Mini (Rimi Sen). So the double crosser sets in motion a train of events with deadly consequences for the others.

Johnny Gaddaar is easily one of the best Bollywood movies we've seen in this year.

10/10