Three women lose quite a bit of money (and pride) to a dashing chameleon con artist in the Bollywood confection "Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl," a colorfully busy splash of romantic comedy nonsense that won't fool any seasoned moviegoer with its bad-boy-taming schematics.

The title is something of a head-scratcher, because we don't learn hunky star Ranveer Singh's character's real name until the last moments, after he's played a variety of swindling smooth talkers under various names, opposite a wealthy party girl (Parineeti Chopra), a chic executive (Dipannita Sharma) and a widowed fabric shop owner (Aditi Sharma).

When the vengeance-minded women find one another, they track down Singh's scammer to a beach resort in Goa, where they attempt to get their cash back with an elaborate scam using a fast-talking saleswoman (Anushka Sharma) as beautiful bait.

One's diminishing interest in the nuts and bolts of cheating a cheat can be forgiven when the sheer star wattage of the peppy cast is in close-up overdrive. Combined with the usual bursts of candy-colored song and dance, director Maneesh Sharma has made a glossy magazine spread come to life more than an original tale of girl retribution. But there are worse ways to pass the time than reveling in the leisure antics of deliriously attractive people.