{"id":6869,"date":"2016-04-09T09:12:26","date_gmt":"2016-04-09T03:42:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869"},"modified":"2016-04-09T09:12:26","modified_gmt":"2016-04-09T03:42:26","slug":"ludo-review-anurag-basu-loses-the-game-and-the-plot-in-his-new-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=6869","title":{"rendered":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<span class=\"dropcap\">B<\/span>y now, certain motifs have become synonymous with an Anurag Basu movie. Basu \u2013 arguably the most \u201cvisual\u201d filmmaker of his generation \u2013 is known for invention that broadens the scope of storytelling on the big screen. If his last two outings (<em>Barfi!<\/em>, <em>Jagga Jasoos<\/em>) are any proof, it\u2019s clear that the filmmaker painstakingly builds a universe \u2013 through colours, pockets of silence, musicality, and melancholy. You don\u2019t just see an Anurag Basu film; you deeply feel each frame, digging for clues and searching for meaning. In many ways, you appreciate an Anurag Basu outing for its sheer attempt. The problem with <em>Ludo<\/em>, his first film since the career-threatening debacle of <em>Jagga Jasoos<\/em> (2017), is that the filmmaker squanders that very reputation.\n\nA multi-narrative film, <em>Ludo<\/em> follows four lives that intersect to ultimately disastrous consequences, essentially becoming the real-world manifestation of four tokens scurrying across a ludo board. (\u201cWhat are human beings? Just different coloured tokens on the board of life,\u201d states the unnamed narrator, played by Basu himself, in the film\u2019s opening scene).\n\nSattu Bhaiyya (Pankaj Tripathi), the eccentric local decides the extent of misfortune that befalls each player in the game. This is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time, translating in earnest the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method to madness by way of four different genres. But even though <em>Ludo<\/em> might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, at least in its world-building and stakes, its undoing remains that it is his most chaotic film.\n\n<strong>A metaphor taken too far<\/strong>\n\nFor one, <em>Ludo<\/em>\u2019s premise, built on the metaphor of the board game, where a single roll of the dice by one person has a ripple effect on the others, stops being compelling after the first hour. Individually, the parallel storylines \u2013 a promiscuous young woman becoming the victim of revenge porn; two misfits who don\u2019t speak the same language on an adventure together; a pained criminal yearning to be reunited with his family; and a timid, emasculated man still hoping for a happily-ever-after with the girl of his dreams even after she marries someone else \u2013 don\u2019t have much bite.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>With every plot escalation, it becomes clear that <em>Ludo<\/em> is the kind of film invested in the eventual destination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nAnd yet, Basu can\u2019t help but indulge himself: Every moment is crammed with a lifetime worth of backstory, references (a reference to Coronavirus is made early on in the film for no reason other than it can be made), and unnecessary complications that derail from the purpose of the film. With every plot escalation, it becomes clear that <em>Ludo<\/em> is the kind of film invested in the eventual destination, a climactic moment where these protagonists will convene under one roof and face their conscience by confronting each other.\n\nTheir journeys, excessively labyrinthian and sluggish, feel like a means to an end. It\u2019s difficult to not get the sense that Basu (credited for story, screenplay, cinematography, and production design) worked backwards to serve the film\u2019s ending, ensuring that the pieces of the puzzle fit. The lack of interest shows in the narrative where events occur, but don\u2019t drive the plot.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t help that Basu falls back on his trusted storytelling device of the voiceover to compensate for characterisation, explaining emotions rather than their origins. This puts the viewer at a considerable distance from not only the proceedings but also the protagonists.\n\n<strong>Riddled with imperfections<\/strong>\n\nEssayed by an eclectic ensemble cast of Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan, Sanya Malhotra, Fatima Sana Sheikh, Aditya Roy Kapur, the film is marked with inconsistent performances that draw a blank for the most part, with the exception of Rao and Tripathi (both of whom have played similar characters in the past) whose physically alert turns offer a peek into the film that <em>Ludo<\/em> could have been.\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>The lack of interest shows in the narrative where events occur, but don\u2019t drive the plot.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\nEven when Basu\u2019s films have been riddled with imperfections, there has always been a distinct energy in the filmmaking that is difficult not to be swayed by. <em>Ludo<\/em> feels like a step down in that direction. The writing consistently devolves into cliches. For instance, Basu\u2019s interpretation of one-sided love feels like it is in need of an update, as does his idea of violence (subdued women suddenly take to guns right during the climax).\n\nThe moments in the film, which runs at a sluggish 159 minutes, that really sing \u2013 a suspicious wife following her husband wearing a nightie, or an old, injured don being shut into submission by the aggression of an otherwise caring nurse \u2013 are few and far between. At one point, Basu as the film\u2019s narrator, tells his much-younger companion matter-of-factly, \u201cDo you want a straight answer for a tricky question?\u201d That pretty much sums up the film\u2019s intentions. Yet, you can\u2019t help but wish Anurag Basu didn\u2019t make every question look trickier than it should be.\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":103,"featured_media":6870,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3114],"tags":[1990,3397,10893,10894,2152,1511,10758],"class_list":["post-6869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bollywood","tag-anurag-basu","tag-ludo","tag-ludo-netflix","tag-ludo-review","tag-pankaj-tripathi","tag-rajkummar-rao","tag-streaming-now"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Arr\u00e9\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1520\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:description\" content=\"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Poulomi Das\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"headline\":\"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869\"},\"wordCount\":858,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1605169539.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Anurag Basu\",\"Ludo\",\"Ludo netflix\",\"Ludo review\",\"Pankaj Tripathi\",\"Rajkummar Rao\",\"streaming now\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Bollywood\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869\",\"name\":\"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1605169539.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\"},\"description\":\"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1605169539.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/07\\\/1605169539.jpg\",\"width\":1520,\"height\":850},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?p=6869#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/\",\"name\":\"Arr\u00e9\",\"description\":\"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.201.39.237\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679\",\"name\":\"Poulomi Das\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Poulomi Das\"},\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/13.207.105.184\\\/?author=103\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film","description":"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film","og_description":"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.","og_url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869","og_site_name":"Arr\u00e9","article_published_time":"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1520,"height":850,"url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Poulomi Das","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film","twitter_description":"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Poulomi Das","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869"},"author":{"name":"Poulomi Das","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"headline":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film","datePublished":"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869"},"wordCount":858,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","keywords":["Anurag Basu","Ludo","Ludo netflix","Ludo review","Pankaj Tripathi","Rajkummar Rao","streaming now"],"articleSection":["Bollywood"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869","name":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","datePublished":"2016-04-09T03:42:26+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679"},"description":"Anurag Basu\u2019s Ludo is a film about life and death that wants to be meaningful and meaningless at the same time. It translates the futility of finding logic in unpredictability and the method in the madness by way of four different genres. It might come across as the filmmaker\u2019s most structured outing, but it is his most chaotic film.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=6869#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ludo Review: Anurag Basu Loses the Game and the Plot in His New Film"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/7cc6b159b4669ddf75eae5f2b536d679","name":"Poulomi Das","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9cf0b507b562a532eccd19be07aac58ddce2a6079eb4ea28e6afef54b07f4cf9?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Poulomi Das"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=103"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1605169539.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6869","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/103"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6869"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6869\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6870"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6869"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6869"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6869"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}