Filmmakers Abbas-Mustan, known for making fast-paced action thrillers, are set to entertain their fans with another lean and mean heist flick, "Players", that releases Friday.

Co-produced by Viacom 18 and Abbas-Mustan, the film is the official remake of Hollywood movie "Italian Job" and stars Abhishek Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Bobby Deol, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Sikander Kher and Omi Vaidya in prominent roles.

Abhishek plays Charlie Mascarenhas, a chartered accounted by day and a master thief in the night. He's got razor sharp intelligence, is an expert in conning people and loves to call himself an artist.

Naina (Sonam) is an expert in ethical hacking. A beautiful girl who did everything right in her academic life but for personal reasons decides to be a part of the heist.

Riya (Bipasha) is known to charm her way into the hearts of rich and famous men and later into their safety vaults. She has been Charlie's longstanding partner-in-crime and is also an automobile expert.

Ronnie (Bobby) has no experience in the game of conning people, but is a master of illusions. He was one of the most popular illutionists in the country, but abruptly switched tracks at the peak of his career.

Bilal (Sikander), having worked in the secret services, has strong contacts all over the world and is fluent in several languages. He also has had a thing for home-made bombs.

Spider (Neil), a quintessential computer geek and a master hacker, has robbed millions from banks all over the world. Sunny Mehra (Omi) is an aspiring Bollywood star, but when rejected by all the producers, he goes on to become a face-changing expert -- a prosthetics expert.

All of them come together and plan to pull off the heist of their lives by creating the largest traffic jam ever.

"People love the commotion in such films. The way actors escape through tunnels and drainage pipes makes the film interesting. The double crossing, scheming and plotting are something that keeps people glued to the screens," said Abbas-Mustan.

The makers started shooting in Goa and then embarked on a journey to places like Wellington and Auckland in New Zealand, Siberia and St Petersburg in Russia, as well as the North Pole to make the backdrop as thrilling as possible.

"Shooting in foreign locations isn't new, but we chose locations that are different from the rest. We even shot a part of the film at the North Pole. It has been the best experience for us. We knew we couldn't go in the winter as it is dark all day," said Abbas- Mustan.

Neil was left battered and bruised while doing stunts in the film. Sonam is getting rave reviews for her cool and glamorous look in the film. "Players" found itself in trouble after the censor board raised objections over her middle finger act in the film.

"Players" is the first big release of 2012 and many hope it will ring in profits in the new year.