Ludo

<p>Sattu, a notorious don has to settle old scores with Bittu, formerly his right-hand man. Sattu is the of ; 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. The film was initially scheduled to release on 24 April 2020 but was postponed due to the . Though there were rumors that the film would be released on , the release rights were sold to . The film was to release on 13 November but then was pushed forward by one day to avoid a clash with ‘s . The film was finally released on 12 November on . On the website , 80% of 15 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10. The film critics largely gave the film positive ratings. , 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 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. 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 said, “despite its missteps, keeps it breezy, with its cast helping it to stay the course.” film critic found “the structure of Ludo written with careful precision and the construct is cleaner,” which makes the film ‘largely entertaining’. While, Tanul Thakur felt that ‘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 received the movie as “a big disappointment”. 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.” The film’s soundtrack and score is composed by in his fifth successive collaboration with after (2006), (2007), (2012), and (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 . In an interview with Grazia India, Basu stated that the song “Hardum Humdum” was originally composed for the sequel of titled . 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 , Sandeep Shrivastava, Shloke Lal, and . 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. In an interview with in February 2021, said “the script of Ludo 2 is completely ready” and that he has already discussed it with the film’s producer, .</p>