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Join UsStar Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Suresh Saraf, Pearle Maaney, Inayat Verma
Director: Anurag Basu
What’s Good: Performances, writing, music, cinematography, editing – pick anything you want, everything works in making this a complete package
What’s Bad: The fact that we won’t be able to enjoy this rollercoaster ride of emotions in cinema-halls
Loo Break: Not even for a game of Ludo!
Watch or Not?: There’s not a single reading to why you shouldn’t, but the next 1000 words will only convince you why you should!
User Rating:
Basu welcomes you to his world, and he takes just a half of second for the same. Two people discussing random things about life & death on a hill that’s apparently a ‘watchkeeping’ point for a mafia’s adda. Mafia in the question being Sattu Bhaiya (Pankaj Tripathi) who believes he’s not killing people but setting them free from their pain. Every story in the film is highlighted by Ludo’s four colours.
Sattu Bhaiya is the rolling dice of this game, and he is linked with each character in the film (indirectly, if not directly). Bittu (Abishek Bachchan) serves his time in jail and gets out only to face the harsh reality of his shattered life. Aalu’s (Rajkummar Rao) eternal love Pinky (Fatima Sana Shaikh) asks his help to settle down a crime against her husband.
Akash (Aditya Roy Kapur) and Shruti (Sanya Malhotra) are in this chaos to get their leaked MMS cleared from the internet. Whereas, Rahul (Rohit Suresh Saraf) and Sheeja (Pearle Maaney) are those pieces of your game, who always take time to get out the house but the proves to be the fastest of all.
Ludo Movie Review: Script Analysis
Anurag Basu, with a script so magnificently packaged, proves once again why he’s the most underrated director of our time. The way he bombards the narrative with his exhilarating playing 11, he doesn’t take much time to draw a line between all of them. He throws in little things for you to grab at the time, but you’ll leave many of them to be only surprised when Basu reveals. The mantra ‘Ludo Is Life’ gets into your system as the story proceeds, and because of the way it has been narrated, you’ll soon start drawing parallels with the game.
The inclusion of ‘Juhi Chawal Laa’ in Rajkummar’s smartly-penned monologue, in which he recites dishes having Bollywood inspired names, indicates how smart the dialogues of this film will be. Basu’s mastery of creating multiple, different worlds in one film has been the most polished in this one. Things do get crazy as routine Basu films, but even the batsh*t fantastic sequences come in as a complete package.
Ludo Movie Review: Star Performance
Abhishek Bachchan is the character holding the emotional connect with the film. His track with Inayat Verma remains to be the soul of the film. Basu gets the best out of Abhishek & gifts us a side of him we probably only had a hint of. First Kashyap (Manmarziyaan) and now Basu, Anurags continue to be his lucky charm.
Though every character is equally important and everyone are connected like a beautifully built Lego piece. If I’ve to chose my favourite, it has to be Pankaj Tripathi. In our recent viv, he explained to me about how ‘truth’ is different for everyone. But, in this film, Pankaj is the truth believed by everyone. He brings the house down yet again his remarkable performance.
Can someone compile a video having Aditya Roy Kapur smiling in awkward situations from the film? It’ll go viral on YouTube if you can tackle a copyright case. Despite playing not a very different character, Aditya manages to make it come across as new and fresh. Post the credits roll for the third time for me, Rajkummar Rao’s track remains to be the one you think about the most. Raj delivers an earnest performance as Aalu leaving a substantial effect.
Fatima Sana Shaikh ends up being the weak one among such a powerhouse of talents. She needs to subtle, and she is, but that’s about it. Noticed one strangely good thing about Sanya Malhotra – she does ‘drunk acting’ so good, or maybe she wasn’t acting at all. She’s delightful in the film.
Rohit Suresh Saraf with just a couple of dialogues, manages to make a safe space for himself because of his impactful acting. Pearle Maaney charms her way owing an electrifying presence in the narrative. Little kid Inayat Verma is my biggest takeaway from the film. She has every trait to be a very successful actor in the near future.
Ludo Movie Review: Direction, Music
Along with his signature cinematography & otherworldly music, Anurag Basu adds yet another masterpiece to his filmography. With every film, Basu is moving towards the ‘nirvana’ level of filmmaking. This is a perfect example of “what if Andhadhun was directed Anurag Basu?” Ludo has shades of Martin Scorsese’s violence and picture-accuracy of Wes Anderson.
You can’t have anyone but Pritam by your side if you’re planning a film like Ludo. He treats this as a giant canvas and fills it with some experimental colours (read: songs). Apart from a routine Meri Tum Ho, tracks such as Aabad Barbaad, Hardum Humdum, Life Ke Ludo & Kyun Aise Hua Pyaar come across as a breeze of melodious air. Pritam Da goes with Beethoven redux as one of his background score pieces. He adds his touch to the 5th Symphony, and it’s sick (in a right way)!
Ludo Movie Review: The Last Word
All said and done, Ludo gets closest to the definition of a ‘perfect film’. A crazy ride of entertainment filled with characters you’ll still keep thinking about way after the end credits roll. A must watch!
Four stars!
Ludo Trailer
Ludo releases on 12th November, 2020.
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