Badmaash Company

About the film

Badmaash Company (transl. Illicit Company) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language crime comedy drama film written and directed by Parmeet Sethi in his directorial debut, and produced by Aditya Chopra under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Meiyang Chang, and Vir Das, and follows four young friends from middle-class backgrounds in Mumbai who form an illicit business venture that quickly escalates into a high-stakes international con operation.

Principal photography took place in locations across India, Thailand, and the United States.

Plot

1994 Bombay, Karan Kapoor, a middle-class college graduate, dreams of starting his own business, much to the disapproval of his father, Sajjan Kapoor, who insists he pursue an MBA. While on a trip to Bangkok with his friends Zing and Chandu, Karan meets Bulbul Singh, an aspiring model. Encouraged by her belief in big ideas over big money, Karan returns to India with a renewed drive to succeed.

When Sajjan suffers a heart attack and the family struggles with medical expenses, Karan is motivated to change his fortunes. He devises a smuggling operation for imported goods that avoids customs duties by exploiting loopholes. Along with Zing, Chandu, and Bulbul, he establishes a venture called "Friends and Company." The group becomes wealthy by repeating similar schemes.

After a confrontation with his father over the illegal nature of his work, Karan moves in with Bulbul and expands their operations to the United States, aided by his uncle Jazz. There, the group continues their exploits through real estate scams and high-end goods arbitrage. However, their success breeds excess. Zing's drinking leads to domestic violence on his girlfriend Linda and fight with Chandu. Karan, meanwhile, enters a fraudulent marriage for a green card, leading Bulbul to leave him. The group disbands amid personal rifts.

Production

Badmaash Company marked the directorial debut of Parmeet Sethi, who also wrote the screenplay. Sethi reportedly completed the script in just six days, drawing inspiration from real-life individuals for the film's four main characters. He later stated that he was disillusioned with television and eager to transition into filmmaking.

Principal photography took place across various international and domestic locations, including New York City, Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Bangkok, Mumbai, and Hyderabad.

Reception

Badmaash Company opened to decent collections despite facing stiff competition from the multi-starrer Housefull. It earned approximately ₹208.4 million by the end of its first week. The film continued to perform steadily in domestic markets and ultimately grossed ₹529.8 million at the end of its theatrical run, emerging as a commercial success.

Badmaash Company received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics, with praise for its entertainment value and performances but criticism directed at its predictability and narrative.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3 out of 5, calling it "a watchable experience" that "offers solid entertainment but doesn't insult your intelligence." Gaurav Malani of Indiatimes gave it 3.5 out of 5, praising Shahid Kapoor and calling the film “a good entertainer. Worth a watch!” Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated it 3 out of 5, noting that while it had "riveting scenes," the plot followed a predictable arc of crime and redemption.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Badmaash Company was composed by Pritam, with lyrics written by Anvita Dutt Guptan. The film score was composed by Julius Packiam.

Key details