Oh Betaji!(starring Bhagwan) is just not going to leave my
brain anytime soon. And it wont leave yours either if you watch this fun ride
called Ludo. It is a roller coaster of silly antics and dark humor and improbable
coincidences. A heist movie and a gansta flick all rolled into one. Anurag Basu
leads us on a merry caper and I for one did not want to get off. He has gone
back to interwoven stories, just like Life in a Metro, and of course there is
an underlying weave of love and emotions that is well integrated into the main
plot, whatever there is of it.
I quite enjoyed it and will certain revisit it.
First off let me start with the theme itself, it is rare in
hindi cinema to have such a well-etched theme. Here the colors of the Ludo ki
gittis are assigned to each story and the art director has even customized the
license plates of vehicles to spell out the word. Also, Anurag Basu himself
plays Yama and the narrator, and you are always aware that people are going to
be dying like mosquitoes in a mortein chamber! It was rather a nice touch to explain
how good and evil are perceived and identified!
This is one of those ensemble casts where everyone is given a
definite framework and knows what is expected of them. The director makes them
play off each other and it works rather well. I found it difficult to fault any
one of them and would rather tell you what they did well. The dialogue is well written
and as crisp as an aaloo tikki off a street vendor’s cart.
First off – Pankaj Tripathi, he plays, oh yes! yet another Don,
but this is one he hasn’t done before and for me he was what I kept waiting to
see. What a fun character he gets to play! He is the most unlikely Rahul you
will ever see in Hindi cinema. He has quite the comedic flair as we all already
know and in this one, he couples it with a meanness that is a pleasure to
watch. He is paired with Shalini Vatsa and she is a good foil to him.
Rajkumar Rao is so good, and so lovable as a Mithun
impersonator, that each time that his heart breaks you hear it loud and clear. Watch
him pull off romance with a baby bottle sticking out of his shirt pocket and be
smitten. He is paired with Fatima Sana Shaikh, and they are a good pairing. Also,
good together are, Aditya Roy Kapur and Sanaya Malhotra. It is only she who
with her elegant countenance can ask a suitor his annual income and not come off
as mercenary. Pearl Manney is in there too with Rohit Saraf and they join the
fun wholeheartedly.
I have always thought that the weight of his father’s
success has been a terrible cross for Abhishek Bachchan to carry and I am so
happy to see him finally carving out a niche for himself. He was quite good in Breathe
and am eagerly awaiting his Big Bull. In this one he is reminiscent of Lallan
from Yuva and carries his air of tragedy well. He ekes out a man who has lost
everything very well.
The background music is very good and I will be listening to
these tracks repeatedly.
You will have fun too, if you watch this one.
Go for it!
#MiniasReviews
#AllLives Matter
P.S: Chhalang has released ahead of schedule and is
already live on Amazon Prime, so see you on the other side of that one.
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