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Ludo (film)

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2020 film by Anurag Basu

Ludo
Official release poster
Directed byAnurag Basu
Written byAnurag Basu
Produced by
StarringAbhishek Bachchan
Aditya Roy Kapur
Rajkummar Rao
Pankaj Tripathi
Fatima Sana Shaikh
Sanya Malhotra
Rohit Saraf
Pearle Maaney
CinematographyAnurag Basu
Rajesh Shukla
Edited byAjay Sharma
Music byPritam
Production
companies		T-Series Films
Anurag Basu Productions
Ishana Movies
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • 12 November 2020 (2020-11-12)
Running time150 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Ludo is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime film written and directed by Anurag Basu. It stars an ensemble cast of Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Suresh Saraf, and Pearle Maaney. It was produced by T-Series Films, Anurag Basu Productions and Ishana Movies.

The film was released on 12 November 2020 coinciding with Diwali on Netflix, receiving positive reviews with praise towards its screenplay, cinematography, music, direction, and performances of the cast.

At the 66th Filmfare Awards, Ludo received a leading 16 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Basu), Best Actor, Best Actor (Critics) (both for Rao), Best Actress (Critics) (Malhotra), and Best Supporting Actor (Tripathi), and won Best Music Director (Pritam).

Plot

Sattu, a notorious don has to settle old scores with Bittu, formerly his right-hand man. Sattu is the dice of Ludo; Bittu forms the red side of Ludo. Akash and his girlfriend, Shruti, form the yellow side. They find that someone has recorded and uploaded a video of their affair on the Internet. Then they begin finding the culprit to delete the video. Sheeja Thomas, a Malayali nurse, and Rahul Awasthi, a struggling man from a small town being bullied by his boss, form the blue side. They find Sattu's treasure - two bags full of money - and the gang chases them as they try to escape with said bags. Alu and his sweetheart Pinky form the green side; she seeks Alu's help to save her husband from being suspected in a murder case. These four stories become entangled in a series of events, leading to an engaging climax where all sides are present.

Cast

Production

The film is produced by Anurag Basu, Taani Basu, and Bhushan Kumar and features music by Pritam.

Release

The film was initially scheduled to release on 24 April 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Though there were rumors that the film would be released on Amazon Prime Video, the release rights were sold to Netflix. The film was to release on 13 November but then was pushed forward by one day to avoid a clash with Amazon Prime Video's Chhalaang. The film was finally released on 12 November on Netflix.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 80% of 15 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The film critics largely gave the film positive ratings. Anupama Chopra, Editor-in-Chief of Film Companion, wrote, "Whatever faults you might find with an Anurag Basu film, lack of invention isn’t one of them. The director creates worlds filled with whimsy and wonder, set to Pritam’s pulsating soundscape." Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express wrote, "Still, in this time of corona, the virus finding an honourable mention in the movie, we could do with some fun and games, even if it slackens in bits," praising Basu for using "perky musical interludes" to narrate the story. India Today reviewed the movie positively, calling it 'naram-garam and delicious' which is "out-of-the-box while staying firmly in the box." A review by the Hindustan Times said, "despite its missteps, keeps it breezy, with its cast helping it to stay the course." The Hindu film critic found "the structure of Ludo written with careful precision and the construct is cleaner," which makes the film 'largely entertaining'. While, The Wire's Tanul Thakur felt that Ludo 'suffers' because Basu is "more interested in the mechanics of this tapestry, the many ways in which the disparate stories intersect and inform each other, as opposed to the tapestry itself: its overarching meaning, its dramatic power, its psychological portraits." Critic associated with the Deccan Herald received the movie as "a big disappointment". The Quint's review of the film said that "the screenplay steers clear of extravagance, which works in its favor." "While the setting may seem fable-like, the emotions they evoke in us are authentic. It might take some time to get used to, but once we understand the spirit of the film Ludo can prove to be a lot of fun."

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Filmfare Awards 17 May 2021 Best Film Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar and Anurag Basu Nominated
Best Director Anurag Basu Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated
Best Actor Rajkummar Rao Nominated
Best Actor (Critics) Nominated
Best Actress (Critics) Sanya Malhotra Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Pankaj Tripathi Nominated
Best Music Director Pritam Won
Best Background Score Nominated
Best Lyricist Sayeed Qadri (For the song Humdum Hardam) Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer Arijit Singh (For the song Aabad Barbaad) Nominated
Best Editing Ajay Sharma Nominated
Best Dialogue Samrat Chakraborty Nominated
Best Costume Design Ashish Dwyer Nominated
Best Sound Design Abhishek Nair and Shijin Melvin Hutton Nominated
IIFA Awards 4 June 2022 Best Director Anurag Basu Nominated
Best Story Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Pankaj Tripathi Won
Best Supporting Actress Shalini Vatsa Nominated
Best Music Director Pritam Nominated
Best Male Playback Singer Arijit Singh (For the song Aabad Barbaad) Nominated

Soundtrack

Main article: Ludo (soundtrack)

The film's soundtrack and score is composed by Pritam in his fifth successive collaboration with Anurag Basu after Gangster (2006), Life in a... Metro (2007), Barfi! (2012), and Jagga Jasoos (2017). The soundtrack to Ludo was the "toughest album to be composed" as the storyline is being centred on multiple narratives. Unlike, Basu's earlier films, he wrote the script without the songs coming organically and later incorporated the songs in the screenplay. The album was composed in entirety at Pritam's house in Kolkata during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown in India. In an interview with Grazia India, Basu stated that the song "Hardum Humdum" was originally composed for the sequel of Life in a... Metro titled Metro 2. When the film did not materialise, he decided to use the same track in this film.

The album features four original tunes and three alternates of the original tracks. The lyrics were written by Sayeed Quadri, Sandeep Shrivastava, Shloke Lal, and Swanand Kirkire. The soundtrack album to the film was released on 28 October 2020. Bhushan Kumar, the producer of the film, who also owned the audio rights, promoted the soundtrack as albums for films premiering on digital platforms will not have exposure to the audiences, unlike the soundtracks to the theatrically-released films.

The album received a positive response from critics and audiences, appreciating Pritam for his compositions and Basu for incorporating the placement of the songs that suited the film's narrative. The tracks "Aabaad Barbaad", "Hardum Humdum" and "Meri Tum Ho" topped the music and streaming charts and were chartbusters.

Future

In an interview with PTI in February 2021, Anurag Basu said "the script of Ludo 2 is completely ready" and that he has already discussed it with the film's producer, Bhushan Kumar.

References

  1. ^ "Abhishek, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar, Pankaj Tripathi & others lives go beyond one's understanding". DNA. 19 October 2020. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2020.
  2. "T-Series & Anurag Basu's next titled Ludo starring Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Bhanu Uday Goswami to release on April 24, 2020". Bollywood Hungama. 27 December 2019. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  3. "Ludo first poster: Anurag Basu announces film starring Abhishek Bachchan and Rajkummar Rao". India Today. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  4. "Ludo first look: Rajkummar Rao, Fatima Sana Shaikh walk in with a baby and swag to spare for Netflix release". Hindustan Times. 16 July 2020. Archived from the original on 16 July 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  5. "Ludo". Netflix. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  6. "Ludo". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  7. Chopra, Anupama (12 November 2020). "Ludo Movie Review". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  8. Gupta, Shubhra (13 November 2020). "Ludo review: Hijinks in the time of Corona". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  9. Mukherjee, Nairita (13 November 2020). "Ludo Movie Review: Abhishek Bachchan, Pankaj Tripathi Netflix film is naram-garam and delicious". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  10. "Ludo movie review: Abhishek Bachchan, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi roll the dice in an absurd, whimsical world". Hindustan Times. 12 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  11. S, Srivatsan (12 November 2020). "'Ludo' movie review: Largely entertaining, with an in-form Anurag Basu". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 13 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020 – via www.thehindu.com.
  12. "More Forced Than Felt, 'Ludo' Misses the Film for the Vignettes". thewire.in. Archived from the original on 16 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  13. "'Ludo' movie review: A big disappointment". Deccan Herald. 13 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  14. Ghosh, Stutee (12 November 2020). "Review: Barring the Climax, 'Ludo' is a Unique, Entertaining Film". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 15 November 2020. Retrieved 19 November 2020.
  15. "Nominations For The 66th Vimal Elaichi Filmfare Awards 2021". filmfare.com. Archived from the original on 25 March 2021. Retrieved 25 March 2021.
  16. Hungama, Bollywood (1 April 2022). "IIFA 2022 Nominations: Shershaah takes the lead with 12 Nominations, Ludo and 83 emerge as strong contenders; check out the complete list : Bollywood News - Bollywood Hungama". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 1 April 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  17. "IIFA Awards 2022 complete list of winners: Vicky Kaushal, Kriti Sanon win top acting honours". DNA India. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2022.
  18. ^ "Exclusive: Bhushan Kumar, Anurag Basu and Pritam discuss their journey on Ludo - Times of India". The Times of India. 11 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  19. ^ "Here's why Ludo's next song Hardum Humdum is special for Anurag Basu". Filmfare. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  20. ^ "Pritam works his magic yet again with Ludo". Mumbai Mirror. 28 October 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  21. "Audience applauds Ludo's storytelling and music". Mumbai Mirror. 18 November 2020. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  22. "Ludo turns 1: Here's how Pritam's music became the highlight of Abhishek Bachchan & Rajkummar Rao starrer". PINKVILLA. 11 November 2021. Archived from the original on 25 December 2021. Retrieved 25 December 2021.
  23. "Script of Ludo 2 ready, but won't begin filming immediately: Anurag Basu". The Indian Express. 26 February 2021. Archived from the original on 24 June 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.

External links

Anurag Basu
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