Over the past few years Indian cinema hasn't generally been able to cut it for me, perhaps because I've watched too much of it in my formative years and the tropes and the plots do not hold my attention anymore. I tried to force fit a few masala movies into my viewing schedule and apart from being something to laugh along with these movies rarely lack the intellectual meat or pure enjoyment that current and past catalogues of World Cinema have to offer. At its core the biggest problem I have with Indian cinema in general is the laziness with which the whole process is carried out, there's rarely a good shot or a directorial choice that stirs you up to take notice. Going forward, I'd only devote time to Indian movies in highly curated film festival or choose from the end of the year best of lists – my patience is wearing thin if I watch everything otherwise.
Anurag Basu's latest Netflix release Ludo is a case of Bollywood romanticism done right. It is a reflection of what it means to be Indian, from the narrative of the ideal husband drilled into women to the spiritual lens through which the country comforts itself. A game of ludo that the characters populate, color coded and navigating through the game with pure chance.
If you have seen Anurag Basu's Barfi! you know what you're in for. Basu's uses his directorial powers with a lot of responsibility, there is never a moment where your brain is not figuring out the permutations that the scene has to offer. The kitsch involving the child actress is forgiven by the meta-narrative which further liberates the movie from any narrative misgivings. Discussing the meta-narrative would mean divulging spoilers but it relies on classical Indian philosophical inquiry to push the story forward.
Take the case of Ugly, another film that runs on the plot line of interwoven stories revolving around a missing child, the police and opportunistic people that try to profit from the proceedings. The film by Anurag Kashyap has irredeemable characters populating a story with no hope. The discretion of the meta-narrative is dependent on the viewer. The judgement of the characters is upon the viewer's discretion. Ludo's meta-narrative solves this problem making the story palatable and approachable for subsequent viewings.
Throughout Ludo I was wondering how much of a delight it would've been to watch it in the kinos, it's the kind of of film that warrants buying popcorn and dream about movies in themselves. It is sad that the colloquial paisa vasool (“bang for the buck”) has to happen over a Netflix subscription over the box office. Talking about meta-narratives and then Covid.. the picture goes on.
