'Jewel Thief' review: Saif Ali Khan and Jaideep Ahlawat just about enliven dull heist thriller

When did stealing diamonds get so lacklustre? The Netflix release Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins runs out of spark and sparkle far too early in the game.

Directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal and written by David Logan, the Hindi film stars a pair of actors who are up for much more than what is on offer. Saif Ali Khan, a shoo-in for the role of a master thief, and Jaideep Ahlawat, radiating nastiness despite gaudy styling, are poorly served by a movie stuffed with exceedingly silly plot turns.

Rehan (Khan) is forced out of retirement by Rajan (Ahlawat) to steal Africa’s version of the Kohinoor. The Red Sun stone will be on display in Mumbai. Rehan has a foolproof plan to steal a bauble worth Rs 500 crore, a plan that police officer Vikram (Kunal Kapoor) is determined to foil.

Vikram is the kind of movie cop destined to land up at the scene after the criminal has bolted. Reduced to futile swearing and saddled with a colleague who is visibly unfit to give chase, Vikram somehow manages to cotton on to Rehan’s big scheme.

In between, Rehan locks eyes with Rajan’s girlfriend Farah (Nikita Dutta). This sub-plot is as pointless in Jewel Thief as are comparisons with...