Players is a 2012 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by the duo Abbas–Mustan and jointly produced by Viacom 18 Motion Pictures and Burmawala Partners. The film features an ensemble cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Bobby Deol, Vinod Khanna, Sonam Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sikandar Kher and Omi Vaidya, while Aftab Shivdasani appears in a cameo. The theatrical trailer premiered on 3 November 2011, and the film was released on 6 January 2012. It is an official remake of the 2003 American film The Italian Job, which itself is a remake of the 1969 British film of the same name. Players employs the same plot as the 2003 version, while making the characters and incidents completely different. The story follows a team of players, consisting of a con-man, an automobile expert who doubles up as a seductress, an illusionist, an explosives expert, an expert hacker and an actor turned prosthetic makeup artist, who plan to steal gold worth from a moving train. During the robbery they are double crossed by members of their own team. Players was named one of the most anticipated Bollywood films of 2012, as it received hype ever since it was announced to be a remake of The Italian Job, was made on a huge budget, had a multistar cast, was filmed in foreign locations as New Zealand, Russia and even the North Pole—which was a first for a Bollywood film— and was heavily promoted. Upon release the film received mixed reviews from critics. Many praised the action sequences and the performances of Neil Nitin Mukesh, Omi Vaidya, and Bipasha Basu, but also criticized the screenplay, length, pace, music, and Sonam Kapoor and Abhishek Bachchan's performances. It opened to a poor response at the box office, despite having a wide release. The shocking failure of the film led to many trade industry analysts reinstating the belief of a jinx in Bollywood that the first-released film of the year always fails at the box office, which happened to the films Halla Bol and My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves (2008), Chandni Chowk to China (2009), Dulha Mil Gaya and Pyaar Impossible! (2010). Plot Mastermind Charlie Mascarenhas (Abhishek Bachchan) and his accomplice Riya (Bipasha Basu) are one of the greatest pairs of thieves in India. Charlie's friend, Raj (Aftab Shivdasani), is killed by the Russian mafia. At Raj's funeral, his wife Shayla hands Charlie a CD containing information