Chhalaang and Ludo – Movie Reviews

Advertised as more of a realistic take on the genre, Chhalaang, directed by Hansal Mehta and featuring Rajkummar Rao and Nushrat Bharucha in the lead roles, debuted on Amazon Prime Video on the occasion of Diwali on November 12th, 2020. More on the practical approach of Chhalaang towards its genre, although there’s a ton of drama involved in terms of screenplay and dialogues but, something that remained realistic were the performances from the whole cast.

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Rajkummar Rao already proved that he is an actor who can handle every genre and every role. In Chhalaang, he plays the character of Montu, a PTI (Physical Training Instructor) who goes through circumstances in life that make him serious about the job he does, and he did a fantastic job inside and out.

Nushrat Bharucha played the role of a computer teacher, Neelu. She indeed portrayed the character well. However, her role did not have much prominence in the storytelling except for the decent screen space. Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is a very promising actor in the industry, an actor who can handle every role convincingly. The role of Inder Mohan Singh was safe in his hands.

The show-stealers of Chhalaang, at least for me, were Saurabh Shukla, Satish Kaushik, and Baljinder Kaur. Their effortless expressions, reactions, and dialogue delivery did not fail to bring a smile to my face. And every actor who played the school kids also did a promising job.

The background music and songs by Hitesh Sonik, Guru Randhawa, Yo Yo Honey Singh, and Vishal-Shekhar did not grab my attention. But at the same time, it did not feel out of place or disturbing as well, the title track is a comparatively catchy song, yet it could have had more effect according to me.

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Chhalaang’s first half was highly average, and the second half of the film had me focusing a bit on the screen. There were no unexpected twists or excitement in the storytelling or even in the sports scenes. While the story at least had a few twists, it was an expected one after all. Chhalaang is a one time watch, but don’t watch it with any expectations because that’s probably a mistake I often tend to do, by looking at the trailer and the team.

Chhalaang Rating – 2.5/5 | Grade – C+

Written by Nandana Reviews (IG – Click Here)

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“Ludo is life, life is Ludo.” I never thought I’d be comparing my entire life to a board game like Ludo. Anurag Basu, as a director, is known for his eccentric portrayal of characters and storylines. He has one of the most unique worldviews and presents some intriguing cinema. Ludo is a film where four stories of crime, greed, money, and love overlap, all leading up to one wild climax.

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Films like Ludo are the toughest to put together. There have been countless times when filmmakers fail to present two parallel stories, let alone four. In terms of the number of cast members, Ludo was an ambitious project. Despite that, this film delivers due to its multi-talented cast.

Pankaj Tripathi seems like he has become the supremo of online cinema. There is not one role he cannot pull off, and he delivers yet another dynamic and powerful performance. It is time we put some respect on Abhishek Bachchan’s name and stop disregarding his acting credentials because of his father’s sheer influence on the industry. Abhishek Bachchan showed to us his acting depth, especially in scenes requiring emotion.

Sanya Malhotra and Fatima Sana Shaikh, the ‘Dangal’ girls, once again prove they are dynamic performers and don’t mind taking adventurous roles. However, the performance that stole the show was by Rajkummar Rao playing a roadside Romeo or someone who fits into any situation and will do anything for his love. A scene where he narrates an entire Indian food menu is hilarious. A special mention also goes to Rohit Suresh Saraf as Rahul, a sales employee who gets dragged into a murder mystery.

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The only major downside to this otherwise joy ride of a film is that there is too much going on. Since the narratives keep switching between 4 different stories, you never manage to fully connect to any one story and hence the screenplay feels disjointed. All in all, Ludo is different, quirky, eccentric, and dark. It succeeds because of Anurag Basu’s worldview and a stellar ensemble cast.

Ludo Rating – 3.5/5 | Grade – B+

Written by The Indian Movie Buff (IG – Click Here)

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