Aahana Swrup
Netflix’s ‘Jewel Thief: The Heist Begins’ is an action-packed heist film that centers around a pair of criminals—an art collector with deadly business practices and a butter-fingered robber—who share one very lucrative goal. The Red Sun, a crowning jewel of an African royal family, is set to arrive in Mumbai for a museum showcase. As it catches the attention of one Rajan Aulakh, he pulls every string to get hold of Rehan Roy, who is notorious for pulling off dangerous heists and getting his hands on the most coveted gems. As a result, a reluctant partnership strikes up between the two. However, as the wheels continue to turn in this precarious game, the two soon realize that trust and loyalty are fickle things. This Hindi-language diamond-caper remains saturated with sharp twists and turns that bring the tale to an exciting end. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Jewel Thief Plot Synopsis
Rajan Aulakh has long abandoned his petty gangster days and has transitioned into the realm of expensive crime as an art collector. Nonetheless, even now, his violent streak easily comes out, especially if he’s wronged. He’s also not above committing a more risky crime if the occasion calls for it. Inevitably, as he learns about King Gamunu bringing his previous Red Sun diamond to a Mumbai art center, he’s eager to get his hands on the jewel. Rajan knows he needs only the best in the game to carry out such a heist, which brings him to Rehan Roy. The latter is an infamous thief who has snagged many precious stones in his time. Nonetheless, tracking him down is no easy feat, as proven by the years-long efforts of the local authorities.
Still, Rajan has an easier way to bring Rehan to his doorstep. The businessman targets the thief’s family in India and sows the seeds to frame his father for accepting black money for his charity hospital. Once his goons threaten the younger son, Avi, with this plan, it isn’t long before the news reaches Rehan. Even though the criminal’s charitable father had disowned him years ago after learning of his profession, he can’t condemn his family to the fate Rajan has planned for them. Therefore, he manages to return to India, duping a pair of police officers on his tail in order to get into the country without detection. However, this also alerts Vikram, the officer who has sworn to catch him red-handed, to his whereabouts. Thus, Rehan pays Rajan a visit and learns all about his plan to use him to steal the Red Sun.
Although Rehan agrees to do the job for him, he demands an equal partnership to pocket half of the lucrative profit. Thus, while he devises the perfect crime, Rajan works on striking a deal with Moosa, the only underworld boss with the ability to facilitate the sale of such a diamond. Meanwhile, Rehan’s obligatory stay at the businessman’s villa brings her to Farrah, the latter’s wife. It’s evident that the pair’s marriage is an abusive one, with some ambiguous helplessness compelling her to stay with the man. Thus, it’s only a matter of time before she falls into an affair with Rehan, who vows to steal her and the Red Sun right from under Rajan’s nose.
As it turns out, both men are already making preparations to stab each other in the back. With the help of a hacker friend, Rehan is able to pull off an intentionally failing heist at the art center, which pushes Gamunu to pack up his diamond and fly away to London. From here, the thief sabotages his private jet, forcing the king to fly on a commercial airline, where the actual heist takes place. Meanwhile, Rajan schemes to clear Rehan from the board in the aftermath of the robbery to cut him off from the profits. In the end, the heist ends with a forced landing at a park in Istanbul and the Red Sun stolen from a high-security vault on the plane. Predictably, while Moonsa takes the diamond to the buyer, Rajan finally makes a move to have Rehan killed. Nonetheless, the latter reveals that he has been one step ahead of the other man this entire time. Ultimately, following a climactic fistfight between the two, Rehan leaves Rajan chained up and condemned to a fatal death.
Jewel Thief Ending: What Happens to Rajan? Why Does He Blow Up The Safe House?
From the start, Rajan and Rehan’s partnership is merely for show, bound to come falling down in time. Even though the latter agrees to become a part of the heist, the danger that looms over his family because of the businessman casts an obvious shadow over his motives. Additionally, his affair with Farrah and her longstanding abuse under Rajan’s thumb serve as another reason for Rehan to take the other man down. Meanwhile, the art collector himself was never going to follow through on the deal he had struck. He only wanted the thief to carry out the heist for him, after which he would become disposable for all intents and purposes. When the time actually comes around for a final confrontation between the duo, Rehan ultimately emerges victorious.
From the day Rehan decides to return to Mumbai, he knows he’s walking into a lion’s den. He never trusts Rajan to take his foot off his family’s necks. Therefore, his plan always consisted of a bitter end for the businessman. Rehan orchestrates every step of the robbery, from its early failures to forcing Rajan into working with Moosa, who already wants him dead due to a previous deal gone wrong. From there, he ensured that the heist’s end brings them to Istanbul, Moosa’s base of operations, where the influence of the Mumbai-based crime boss would be subdued. Lastly, he also pulls a nifty swap, leaving Moosa with a fake Red Sun diamond.
Thus, in the last leg, Rajan ill-advisedly lets his guard down under the assumption that the Red Sun is already with Moosa. In the aftermath of their violent altercation, Rehan ties the man up to a pillar and prepares to bolt away to safety while Moosa returns for Rajan’s head. Yet, before escaping, he leaves one lifeline that can at least salvage the businessman’s dignity in death. Rehan gives one lone cigarette to the man and busts open the gas pipes in the room before leaving him to Moosa’s non-existent mercy.
Rajan has already left Moosa high and dry in a high-stakes deal once before. That time, he had barely escaped with his life and had made an enemy for life. Consequently, there’s no doubt that this time around his mistakes will cost him his life. As such, from the moment Moosa finds him chained to a pillar, the man knows he’s as good as dead. Yet, instead of surrendering to his enemy’s cruelties, he can take charge of the way he goes out and take Moosa out with him simply to satisfy his downfall. For the same reason, once Rajan realizes the truth about the gas pipes, he uses his dying wish to light his cigarette, which he then uses to blow up the entire place. Although his close proximity to the blast points towards an end for the character, there’s still a small chance that he might survive the ordeal. Despite the rather tragic conclusion to his narrative, Rajan has always been a sharp-witted character. Thus, there’s always a possibility that the crime boss might emerge from the ashes in a potential sequel, looking to exact his revenge on the man who condemned him to the flames.
Does Rehan’s Father Forgive Him?
The emotional center of Rehan’s narrative emerges from his frayed relationship with his father. The older man has always lived a moralistic life, known for running a vehemently low-cost charity hospital for the public. He devoted his life to helping others and remained on the same path even after losing his wife to a tragic illness. However, in the wake of his mother’s death, Rehan grew embittered. He convinced himself that his mother could’ve been saved if only his family had more money and access to better healthcare. For the same reason, he decided to never resort to poverty or even mediocrity in his adult life. This brought him to stealing jewels for a living.
Once Rehan’s father discovered the truth about his son, he decided to disown him entirely. As a result, things remain tense between the father-son duo for years to come. Still, when the older man’s life is put in danger, Rehan can’t turn a blind eye to the situation. Thus, he ends up getting entangled in a dangerous game with Rajan, all to save his father’s life and reputation. Nonetheless, since the latter remains oblivious to the entire debacle, he refuses to let his son back into his life at all. Even so, the truth only stays hidden for so long. The authorities unearth Rajan’s underworld connections once the news of his death arrives. Consequently, the father discovers the reality of the danger he was in and everything his son had done to save him. Although there’s no on-screen reconciliation between the pair, the revelation of Rehan’s selfless actions is bound to thaw his father’s heart, which could lead to a possible reunion in the future.
Does Vikram Give Up on His Hunt For Rehan?
Even though the central narrative revolves around the rivalry between Rehan and Rajan, a third player remains in the game: Vikram. Vikram has been vying for the thief’s arrest for years and has even come close to it in the past. Therefore, he scrutinizes his every move and is able to keep pace with him. Nonetheless, even he isn’t impervious to Rehan’s mind tricks and manipulations. Most of the time, Vikram ends up being a pawn in the other man’s plans, unwittingly pushing things forward for him. He plays right into Rehan’s hands in Mumbai by foiling his initial plans and inadvertently helps him out on the plane to London as well.
Even the introductory raid Vikram leads on Batliwala is a part of Rehan’s master plan. Thus, by the end, when he makes his escape, Vikram realizes the truth about how his sworn enemy had used him to his own advantage. Yet, the officer is nothing if not tenacious. Where Rajan no longer poses a threat to Rehan on account of his death, Vikram plans to remain a pebble in the thief’s shoe until the end. For the same reason, the story’s end finds the officer once again on Rehan’s tail, while he hides out in a foreign country with Farah. Even though he manages to escape from under his nose, the scene establishes the continued rivalry between the police officer and the robber.
Where is the Real Red Sun? How Did Rehan Pull Off the Heist?
In the unraveling of the confrontation between Rehan and Rajan, the Red Sun and its fate get phased out of the narrative focus for a while. On the plane, the former pulls off an early heist by momentarily hiding in the cargo hold. Before embarking on the mission, Rehan and his hacker friend planted a Red Sun dupe in the luggage of one of the passengers on the flight, Simon Jarvis. During his time in the cargo hold, the thief expertly takes out this same fake and swaps it out for the real diamond inside the high-security vault. As such, the real diamond never really comes into the hands of either Rajan or Moosa.
In the end, once the duo is dead, all that’s left is for Rehan to extract the Red Sun from its inconspicuous hiding place: Simon’s luggage. As a result, in the aftermath of the explosion that kills Rajan and Moosa, the other man simply escapes to London with Farah. There, another low-stakes burglary into oblivious Simon’s house brings the precious diamond back into Rehan’s possession. However, even this monumental win doesn’t sate his desire for the thrill of a heist. In fact, he has already started looking into his next target, something that Faraah effortlessly calls him out on. Ultimately, it seems the thief is prepared to take on another risky job, this time with his new partner by his side.
Read More: Jewel Thief: Is the Red Sun a Real Diamond? Is Gamunu Based on a Real African King?
