Sanya Malhotra shared how Anurag Basu and co-star Aditya Roy Kapur made shooting for Ludo, a fun experience. She told indianexpress.com, "We both bonded over being clueless (laughs). We used to have random conversations, and the set’s environment helped to break the ice. It was a very relaxed space. Dada and Adi should get the credit for making me feel so comfortable. And of course, the nice environment, which helped bring out the characters’ true side to screen. The characters that Aditya and I play are very free-flowing, so that helped matters."
Rohit Saraf plays a homeless man working at a shopping mall who finds a suitcase full of cash. Speaking about Ludo, Rohit shared, "I was pretty insecure in the beginning. For an actor who hadn’t done too much work, who’s aspiring to be big, when you get to know you’re in a film which has eight other massive names alongside you, you tend to get nervous. It starts to become a more daunting experience than an enjoyable one. That’s what happened in the beginning."
This is not the first time that Anurag Basu is helming an anthology. His directorial Life in a Metro was also an anthology.
Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota director Vasan Bala tweeted, "What the madness unfold, romance PT and watch @TripathiiPankaj romance... Then @juniorbachchan holding the bag and looking at his little girl. Heart exploded in a million pieces. pause here cry buckets....resume Ludo! #Ludo @NetflixIndia @basuanurag"
Anurag Basu recalled an incident in which a huge ruckus interrupted the filming of Ludo. He said, 'To shoot for one of the scenes in the film, we went to Kolkata. The connection that Abhishek Bachchan has with this city is surprisingly unique - they call him 'Nathi' as his mother, the legendary Jaya Bachchan is Bengali and the fan following he has here is massive. We reached to shoot and when we stepped out, there was a huge crowd that had gathered, screaming out his name. I was stunned. We tried to shoot for three whole days and everytime we stepped out, we encountered the same thing. Eventually, I gave up -- Abhishek's fan following triumphed and we had to pack up and leave the city because shooting there was impossible.”
Talking about how he came up with the title, Anurag Basu said, “Before we started making Ludo, I had close to four-five scripts ready and I had to make the difficult choice of which to go ahead with. Tani and Pritam da pushed me towards this script and that’s how it came together. Regarding the name, throughout my last film, Jagga Jasoos, we all used to play Ludo on the set; actually not just on set, but even while travelling on long drives, the game of Ludo never ended. And just like this is a story of four different journeys coming together, the name Ludo fell in place.”
Indian Express film critic Shubhra Gupta wrote in her review, "This is the kind of film where you are meant to expect the unexpected, bizarre twists segueing into crazy turns. And there are several spots which do the needful: of special note is the go-bananas sequence in which a ‘epicentre of local crime’ blows up and the consequences of the blast ripple out; a fairly sharp comic set with takedowns of ‘godi’ media, and the conjugating of cows and votes; and an absolute corker which involves a crane and a hospital bed. I won’t give anything more away but someone in the writer’s team, re the last bit, has clearly read their Modesty Blaise."
Read the full review here
Metro was a fine film, which engaged ably with the anthology form whilst giving us the experience of watching a complete feature. Perhaps the most admirable thing about the film was the way it connected the dots and explored the talents’ full potential within a limited time frame.
Before you watch Ludo, revisit Anurag Basu's previous anthology film, Life in a Metro.
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Speaking about the special bond between Abhishek Bachchan and his co-star Inayat Verma, director Anurag Basu, said, "Abhishek and Inayat bonded from the first day of the shoot. Abhishek is an incredible human being and loves children. He always ensured Inayat’s comfort. Inayat is also a very warm and friendly child, along with being an incredibly talented actor. I was surprised to see them bonding so well and that helped me in capturing all the beautiful moments between them."
Speaking on working on an anthology film vis-à-vis a regular movie, Sanya Malhotra told indianexpress.com, "It is different. But not because of the form, but because of Anurag Basu. His whole system and set is drastically different from anything I have worked on before. At the same time, it is so exciting to work on such a set and with such a great cast — Pankaj Tripathi, Rajkummar Rao, Abhishek Bachchan and others."
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Anurag Basu said, "Raj is a very versatile actor. The story of his character is actually pretty funny - we had a look test with him for which he donned the look of the legendary Mithun Chakraborty. He liked this avatar so much that he said we should just go ahead with this. When he did his first scene in character, it came out really well. Working with him has been fun - there is a Ram Leela scene in the film, which was written initially without any fight. While we were on set, Raj shows me this video on his phone where a fight breaks out during the Ram Leela and we just incorporated that into our film too!"
Sumit Kadel tweeted, "#LudoReview -FUNTASTIC 5 Divergent stories beautifully embedded into a single narrative. @TripathiiPankaj & @RajkummarRao are SHOWSTOPPERS, their comic timing & dialogue delivery is IMPECCABLE. @basuanurag Spellbinding writing & masterful direction is the HERO of #Ludo. Entire star cast @fattysanashaikh @sanyamalhotra07 @juniorbachchan #AdtiyaRoyKapoor did a splendid job. Ludo is crazy roller coaster ride blended with fantastic thrills & comical sequences. Exemplary cinematography & top notch scrpit are the major plus. The only little drawback was long duration & Abhishek’s story which fails to create required impact in the narrative. Ludo is a MAGIC only Anuragh Basu can create, it’s his best work after life in a metro & barfi. Theatrically ludo would've been a BIG HIT. MUST WATCH"
Director Anurag Basu said, "Everyone -- from the cast to the crew -- on Ludo was my first choice. I approached each of these actors and all of them said yes. I feel lucky that there was no adjustment to be made. I saw all of these actors and they fit the roles I wrote for them perfectly and it all fell into place."
The cast of Ludo has been promoting the film on social media full throttle.
Director Anurag Basu recalled an incident when Rajkummar Rao and Fatima Sana Shaikh gatecrashed a baraat and began dancing along. He said, "There was some issue with the costumes so the shoot was stalled for a while. Everyone was feeling low, which is when we saw a baarat passing by. Rajkummar and Fatima wanted to uplift the mood on set, so they started dancing in the baarat and one by one, everyone else joined in too, leaving the real baraatis stunned. I loved the scene so much that next day we created a ‘baarat’ and incorporated it in a scene for Ludo."
Netflix India shared a fun video featuring Ludo director Anurag Basu.
Bhushan Kumar of T-Series said, "Ludo takes you on multiple journeys in the course of a couple of hours, introducing you to characters that will stay with you long after the film is over. Each actor in the film has brought a unique flavor to his or her story, which I don't think anyone else could have done justice to. Working with Dada (Anurag Basu) is a process I enjoy thoroughly. I’m eager for audiences across the world to watch this fun-filled caper on Netflix, our incredible partner in this journey."
Speaking about his latest release, director Anurag Basu said, "Ludo is unlike any film I’ve made before. It's been an adventure. It was fantastic working with such a talented ensemble - where each actor brought a unique vision and craft. Pritam, one of my closest collaborators, who I have worked with on so many projects, worked closely with me to bring this film to life and I am so grateful to him. T Series have been fantastic partners through this process and I’m excited that Ludo is getting a global audience with Netflix and hope that they enjoy this Diwali entertainer with their families."
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap tweeted, "Ludo” is so much fun .. Dada in full form as writer, actor, cinematographer and director. Super writing and performances all over .. so funny and expect the unexpected. Some insane gems scattered throughout."