Rajkummar Rao

Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Aditya Roy Kapur, Rajkummar Rao, Pankaj Tripathi, Fatima Sana Shaikh, Sanya Malhotra, Rohit Suresh Saraf, Pearle Maaney

Directed by : Anurag Basu

Produced by : Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anurag Basu, Tani Basu, Deepshika Bose

Music by : Pritam

Cinematography : Anurag Basu, Rajesh Shukla

Edited by : Ajay Sharma

So, continuing the series of reviewing OTT shows and films, our today’s pick is the Hindi film Ludo. The film is available on Netflix and let’s see how it is.

Story :

Sattu Bhaiyya(Pankaj Tripathi) is a dreaded gangster who kills a builder and hell breaks out loose. Four different characters with names Bittu Tiwari(Abhishek Bachchan) Akash(Aditya Roy Kapur) Aalu(Rajkummar Rao)and Shruti (Sanya Malhotra) get entangled in this murder without their knowledge. How one murder changes things for these characters forms the story of Ludo.

What’s Good

With each passing film, Pankaj Tripathi is getting solid roles and he is the best part in Ludo as well. He has the best role and delivers a solid performance. His expressions and comedy timing in a few scenes are to die for. Next in line is Rajkumar Rao who is superb. His take on Mithun Chakraborthy in all his dialogues and the fun factor he brings was amazing.

Aditya Roy is just about okay in his role and plays his part well. Abhishek Bachchan is also neat but he is getting repetitive in his roles. Sanya Malhotra looks beautiful and is good in her small role. The backstories and characters of each of the actors are nicely written and have been set up well in the plot.

The dialogues are amazing and evoke witty humor. The production design and camerawork are good. But the BGM was even better. The humor angle in the film is good and makes the dull scenes active.

What’s Bad

Though the backstories are written well, director Anurag Basu takes a lot of time to establish them. Because of this, the length of the film becomes long and some parts drag for no reason. The screenplay is a bit wayward as many things happen in the pot and the normal audience can get confused a bit with what is happening in the plot. The film has way too many characters and it is hard to keep track of some in crucial scenes.

Verdict :

On the whole, Ludo is a film that has a very interesting backdrop. The film is filled with noted Bollywood stars and the performances they give and their weird characters make things interesting. If you ignore the length and slightly complex narration, this film ends up as a decent watch.

Rating: 3/5

Starring : Rajkummar Rao, Nushrat Bharucha, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Saurabh Shukla

Directed by : Hansal Mehta

Produced by : Ajay Devgn, Luv Ranjan, Ankur Garg, Bhushan Kumar

Music by : Hitesh Sonik

Cinematography : Eeshit Narain

Edited by : Akiv Ali, Chetan Solanki

So, continuing the series of reviewing OTT shows and films, our today’s pick is the Hindi film Chhalaang. The series is available on Amazon Prime and let’s see how it is.

Story :

Montu(Raj Kumar Rao) is a lazy fellow who gets the job of a PT teacher only because of his dad’s recommendation. He does not take his life seriously and is always after the computer teacher of the school (Nusrat Barucha). Things change when the principal appoints a better PT teacher(Zeeshan Siddique). This changes the popularity of Montu in his school who now wants to pin down the new PT teacher. So he takes him head-on with three deadly tasks. Will Montu be able to win a life-changing competition is the story.

What’s Good

Roles like these are a cakewalk for Rajkumar Rao. He as the witty PT teacher does well. His simple look, comic timing, and negative shades in his character have nicely been exploited in the film,. Rajkumar also shares good chemistry with Nusrat. The noted heroine does not have much to do but impresses in a few scenes.

The supporting characters played by Satish Kaushik and Saubah Shukla are superb. The seasoned actors bring a lot of depth to the film. The writing is good as the small town mentalities have been nicely showcased. How small-time petty issues become big in schools is dealt with nicely. The music is okay but the BGM was good.

What’s Bad

The climax could have been even more engaging. There are no major twists and turns in this film as the story is simple and on point. The sports activities showed should have been planned well. The romantic angle is quite weak and disturbs the flow of the film. The main character Zeeshan is not given much weight and this makes the conflict point dull in many scenes.

Verdict :

On the whole, Chhalaang is a routine sports drama that has nothing new to showcase. But the solid performance of Rajkumar Rao and the decent narration makes things interesting. If you like stories set up in small towns with earthy emotions, give this film a shot. Rest can take it easy.

Rating: 2.75/5

Reviewed by 123telugu Team/5

OTT Review : Ludo – Hindi film on Netflix

OTT Review : Chhalaang – Hindi film on Amazon Prime