'Ludo' movie review: A big disappointment

Director: Anurag Basu

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Pearle Maaney, Aditya Roy Kapur and Abhishek Bachchan

Rating: 2/5

Director Anurag Basu's latest movie Ludo, which released on Netflix on Thursday (November 12), is a half-baked and mediocre attempt at storytelling that fails to deliver the goods. The crime-comedy revolves around what happens when the destinies of people from different walks of life get intertwined following a twist of fate.

The basic storyline has potential but it fails to reach its full potential due to the dull screenplay. The narrative lacks a sense of urgency, moving at its own pace. Ludo relies more on 'telling' rather than 'showing', making it difficult for the viewer to care for the onscreen action. Most of the tracks/subplots have not been fleshed out and make a limited impact. The 'hyperlink' format of storytelling does not help the viewing experience whatsoever.

The film also feels a bit predictable at times.

The scenes featuring Rajkummar Rao, however, hit the right notes with their simplicity. The track might appeal to the 'Gen Y' audience. The sequences featuring Abhishek Bachchan sadly get lost in the mix, Similarly, the climax is not as good as expected and comes across as rushed.

Some of the comic punches/scenes manage to tickle the funny bone but do not really make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

Coming to the performances, Rajkummar is the heart and soul of Ludo and strikes a chord with his 'desi' swag. His scenes with Fatima Sana Shaikh have come out well. AB Jr does not get much scope to showcase his abilities. Pankaj Tripathi just justice to a character that might superficially remind fans of the one played by him in this Amazon Prime Video original Mirzapur. Mollywood actor Pearle Maaney makes her presence felt despite being burdened with a generic character.

Aditya Roy Kapur is sincere, making up for his lacklustre performance in Sadak 2. The rest of the cast is decent.

The background is strictly and makes a limited impact. Most of the songs are hummable with Betaji being the pick of the lot. The placement of some of the numbers, however, is not as good as expected. Editing is not up to the mark as some of the scenes drag.

The other technical aspects have been handled competently.