| Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins | |
|---|---|
 Official release poster | |
| Directed by |
|
| Screenplay by | David Logan |
| Dialogues by | Sumit Arora |
| Produced by | Siddharth Anand Mamta Anand |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Jishnu Bhattacharjee |
| Edited by | Aarif Sheikh |
| Music by | Score: Shezan Shaikh Songs: Sachin–Jigar OAFF–Savera Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri |
Production company | Marflix Pictures |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
|
Running time | 118 minutes[1] |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins is a 2025 IndianHindi-languageheistaction thriller film directed by Kookie Gulati and Robbie Grewal.[2] Produced by Marflix Pictures, it starsSaif Ali Khan,Jaideep Ahlawat,Nikita Dutta andKunal Kapoor.[3] The film was premiered onNetflix on 25 April 2025.[4]
Netflix’s Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins starringSaif Ali Khan andNikita Dutta is making waves globally, earning the No. 3 spot in the streaming platform’s Global Top 10 Films (Non-English) list. Just days after its premiere, the high-stakes heist thriller is trending across 56 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Greece, Thailand, UAE, and more.It becomes only highest grossing Indian show inNetflix of that year.[5]
Rehan Roy is an infamous jewel thief, known across the globe for pulling off high-profile heists. Currently inBudapest, he is under constant surveillance by two Indian Secret Service agents who report to Officer Vikram Patel, determined to uncover Rehan’s next move. Rehan's life takes a sharp turn when his younger brother, Avi Roy, arrives with troubling news. Back in India, their father, renowned doctor Jayant Roy—who had expelled Rehan from the family years ago for his criminal activities—is now in grave danger. A powerful art collector, Rajan Aulakh, has framed both Avi and Dr. Roy in a money laundering scandal involving terrorist-linked funds, as blackmail to force Rehan into stealing a priceless gem called the Red Sun, currently displayed at an exhibition in Mumbai by the wealthy Prince Gamunu.
Determined to save his father, Rehan surrenders to the Indian agents in Budapest and requests extradition to India. En route, he drugs the agents and assumes one of their identities to travel unnoticed toMumbai. There, he meets Rajan, who hosts him in his opulent mansion and lays out the details of the heist. Rehan also encounters Farah, Rajan’s partner, and quickly notices she’s a victim of Rajan’s abuse. A quiet romance begins to bloom between them.
Meanwhile, Rajan secretly reconnects with Moosa, a gangster with whom he shares a rocky past. The two agree to work together, planning to eliminate Rehan after the heist and split the proceeds. Rehan, unaware of their betrayal, begins scouting the museum. But when he senses Officer Vikram’s presence during the attempted heist, he aborts and escapes.
Despite Rajan’s fury, Rehan persuades him to try again. However, Prince Gamunu, learning of the theft attempt, decides to leave India immediately—with the Red Sun—on a commercial flight due to technical issues on his private jet. Rehan proposes the heist take place mid-air. Boarding the same flight with Rajan, Farah, and Rajan’s henchman Salim, Rehan stages the next phase. Farah poisons the prince to create chaos, and Rehan, posing as a doctor, convinces the flight crew to take him to the cockpit. There, he threatens the pilot—whose family he claims to have kidnapped—and orders an emergency landing in Istanbul’s Central Park, where a secret makeshift runway awaits. While in flight, Rehan and Rajan break into the cargo hold and retrieve the locked case containing the gem. Rehan succeeds in accessing the Red Sun, just as the plane lands on the grassy runway. They escape through underground tunnels moments before the police, led by Vikram, arrive.
At Rajan’s Istanbul hideout, Rehan hands over the gem, which Rajan quickly sends to Moosa. Moosa then orders Rehan's execution. During a final meeting under the guise of celebrating success, Rehan poisons Salim and confronts Rajan with shocking revelations: every twist in the plan was orchestrated by Rehan—sabotaging the prince’s jet, tipping off Vikram, and even planting the fake gem. The real Red Sun, Rehan reveals, was hidden in another passenger’s luggage during the flight and swapped out at the last moment. Rehan incapacitates Rajan, ties him up, opens a gas valve in the kitchen, tosses him a cigarette, and leaves with documents that clear his father’s name. Later, Moosa who discovered that the gem is fake, arrives to confront Rajan. As tempers flare, Rajan, still bound, asks for a final cigarette. When Moosa lights it for him, the mansion explodes, killing them both.
The film ends with Rehan in possession of the real Red Sun, reuniting with Farah as they plan their next thrilling heist. Vikram continues his pursuit, but Rehan once again vanishes into the shadows—leaving behind a trail of deception and a teaser for a sequel: The Heist Continues.
The film was announced in February 2024, starringSaif Ali Khan andJaideep Ahlawat.[6]
However, on 28 May 2024, the official title of the film was announced Jewel Thief – The Red Sun Chapter.[7]
Principal photography began in March 2024.[8] The filming took place inMumbai andBudapest beforewrapping up in May 2024.[9][10]
In November 2024, Kookie Gulati was brought in for reshoots.[11] The reshoot was completed in December 2024.[12]
| Jewel Thief – The Heist Begins | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Sachin–Jigar, OAFF–Savera and Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri | |||||
| Released | 23 April 2025 | ||||
| Recorded | 2024–2025 | ||||
| Genre | Feature film soundtrack | ||||
| Length | 10:47 | ||||
| Language | Hindi | ||||
| Label | T-Series | ||||
| |||||
The music of the film is composed bySachin–Jigar, OAFF–Savera and Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri while lyrics are written byKumaar and Soundtrek–Anis Ali.[13] The first single titled "Jaadu" was released on 9 April 2025.[14] The second single titled "Ilzaam" was released on 17 April 2025.[15]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Jaadu" | Kumaar | OAFF–Savera | Raghav Chaitanya | 2:32 |
| 2. | "Lootera" | Kumaar | Sachin–Jigar | Neuman Pinto,Shilpa Rao, Sachin–Jigar | 3:29 |
| 3. | "Ilzaam" | Kumaar | Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri | Vishal Mishra, Shilpa Rao | 2:26 |
| 4. | "Jewel Thief - Title Track" | Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri | Soundtrek–Anis Ali Sabri | Shilpa Rao, Raghav Chaitanya | 2:20 |
| Total length: | 10:47 | ||||
The teaser was released on 3 February 2025[16] and the trailer was released on 14 April 2025.[17]
In February 2025,Netflix revealed its slate lineup for 2025, and the film was re-titled asJewel Thief: The Heist Begins.[18]
The film was made available for streaming onNetflix on 25 April 2025.[19]The series was trending in 52 countries. It dethroned Animal and gained a viewership of 16.1 million climbing to #3 among top 10 shows inNetflix ,also becoming highest grossing Indian show inNetflix.[20][21]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 5% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.8/10.[22] Vimala Mangat fromGazettely gave a rating of 7/10 stars.[23]Kathy Gibson from website Access Bollywood rates it 3 out of 4 stars.[24]Darren Lucas of the websiteMovie Reviews rating it 3/5 stars writing it a Fun Heist Movie.[25]Rishabh Suri writing forHindustan Times gave the film 1 out of 5 stars.[26]Shubhra Gupta fromThe Indian Express rated the film 1/5 stars.[27]Sukanya Verma ofRediff awarded the film2+1⁄2 out of 5 stars.[28] A critic fromThe Hindu reviewed the film.[29]
