Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Sex and violence in stylish Bollywood action comedy.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Ludo
What's the Story?
In LUDO, various stories intertwine, seemingly connected by an eccentric and vicious gangster who miraculously defies death at every turn. A voiceover artist and ventriloquist learns that a sex tape made with an ex-girlfriend some time ago is beginning to spread on the internet, and he must find a way to stop the spread while informing his ex, who is about to get married. A henchman who has just gotten out of prison returns home to discover that his wife has remarried and his daughter doesn't know that he's her real father, and when the stepfather gets kidnapped by the gangster because he owes him money, the henchman (with help from his resourceful daughter) uses the opportunity to reconnect with her. A flamboyant and hopelessly romantic cafe owner will do anything for the woman he loves, a married woman who has discovered that her husband has been having an affair. A bullied young department store employee inadvertently becomes ensnared in the world of the gangster, finds bags of money, and tries to flee with the money with the help of a young nurse who is also bullied at her workplace. Together, these stories explore themes of true love, infidelity, fate, sin, and virtue.
Is It Any Good?
Ludo is a stylized Bollywood dark action comedy that is a frenzied and anarchic exploration of, among other things, fate and love, sin and virtue. The chaos of these interconnected stories overwhelms at first, and initially seems like it could be another movie that is derivative of all things action-comedy-noir since the 1990s, but it soon takes on a life and energy of its own. It can be a challenge trying to keep all the stories straight, but once that happens, the frenzy is pure entertainment in a way we've come to expect from Bollywood. It's overblown and bombastic, and that's actually not a bad thing in this case, as the movie never loses sight of the relationships between the characters.
The filmmakers stay focused on basic human expressions and desire for love as the reason for all the stylish turmoil in the story, characters, and aesthetic. It doesn't always work, but the energy carries it through to the end. It's entertainment as a form of temporary escape from reality, something we need now more than ever. It's not for everybody, but for those willing to play along, Ludo is as crazed as it is thoughtful, and really stands out among so many movies that are drab in style and paint-by-numbers in comparison.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the different stories that comprise this movie. How do these stories connect, through the actual story, and through themes? What would be the challenges in interweaving stories like this into a coherent movie? How is the Ludo game an attempt to connect them?
How does the movie use color to define characters and create style? Does the style make it a better movie, or does it distract? Can a movie have a flashy and distinctive style and still not be good? Why or why not?
Did the sex and violence help to heighten the story and the themes, or did it seem gratuitous?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : November 12, 2020
- Cast : Pankaj Tripathi , Abhishek Bachchan , Rajkummar Rao
- Director : Anurag Basu
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Comedy
- Run time : 149 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : August 2, 2022
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