Ludo review: Broad Games
Life is Ludo and Ludo is life, says a character in Anurag Basu’s absurd tragic-comedy film titled 'Ludo’, which compels the viewer to read between the lines… or makes them take a step back and view the film plays out just like the game of ludo.
Anurag Basu successfully connects life with the game of ludo and leaves you with the question- “What is the point of this?”, which perhaps is the point of this bizarre film. Right from its beginning, the film suspends your belief and logic, to narrate the fictional world of its characters and their rash decisions which lead to severe consequences.
The film revolves around four stories, whose characters cross paths at some point, having one common link in between them.
The writing is inspiring, as the absurdity gets more absurd as the film goes, giving you unexpected and bizarre scenarios, and non-sensical twists. There are some clever digs on the current state of media and politics. But just like the game of ludo, the film overstays its welcome. Clocking at over 2 hours 30 minutes, with so much happening onscreen, the viewing gets laboured even though you care for the characters involved. Pritam’s music is good and so is the cinematography.
The stories are helmed by Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapoor & Sanya Malhotra, Rajkummar Rao & Fatima Sana Sheikh, Rohit Saraf & Shreeja Thomas. These have some common characters like Pankaj Tripathi's robust gangster and Ishtiyak Khan as an exasperated Inspector. All the actors bring their A-game and Basu gives each character their moment of glory.
The performances are to-the-point, be it Pankaj Tripathi’s over-the-top act, Rohit and Shreeja’s uneasiness, Abhishek Bachchan’s measured poise, or Aditya and Sanya’s free-spirited quirky romance. Anurag Basu also appears in an extended cameo to make some sense of the chaos.
The film suffers from the small-screen viewing and could do away with its length.
WATCH OR NOT:
Anurag Basu’s Ludo, streaming on Netflix, is not for everyone and mucks around various questions of life. A highly-polarizing film that is absurd, weird, and zany enough to give it a try.