Film: Laddu Babu
Rating: 2/5
Banner: Maharadhi Films
Cast: Allari Naresh, Bhoomika, Poorna, Kota Srinivasa Rao and others
Music: Chakri
Dialogues: Nivas
Cinematographer: N Sudhakar Reddy
Editor: Marthand K Venkatesh
Story, Direction: Ravi Babu
Producer: Tripuraneni Rajendra
Release Date: April 18th, 2014
Allari was the debut film for Ravi Babu as a director and Naresh as a hero. The film became a hit and both of them went on to have successful careers. While Naresh made his mark as a comedy hero, Ravi Babu established himself with his brand of small films. However, they couldn’t repeat their hit formula after Allari. So, after a very long time, they have once again come together for Laddu Babu.
Let’s check out how the film has shaped up...
Story:
After a bite from a strange mosquito, a slim Laddu Babu (Allari Naresh) bloats to a humongous 280 kilos. But he dreams of marrying a beautiful girl. However, his father (Kota Srinivas Rao) wants to get him married to any girl so that he can usurp the property on Laddu Babu’s name. Meanwhile, Laddu Babu becomes acquainted with a widow Madhuri played by Bhumika. He also falls in love with Maya (Purna). From here, his life takes a turn and this forms the rest of the story.
Artistes’ Performance:
More than concentrating on his performance, Naresh would have spent more time in getting his make-up right for the title character. And under all the flab, all his expressions go missing. While his effort to carry off such a role is laudable, it also saddens you that so much effort has gone waste due to wafer-thin script.
Bhumika plays a role in keeping with her age and performs well. Kota Srinivas Rao does not need any special introduction. But the director and writer fail him as his miserly character fails to evoke laughs. Purna is a blink-and-miss girl.
There is nothing much to write about the rest of the cast.
Technical Excellence:
Music by Chakri is a huge drawback. Though director Ravi Babu tries to retain his unique style during song picturisation, the songs by Chakri are disappointing. The same can be said about the background score.
Coming to cinematography, Sudhakar Reddy puts in a decent effort.
But all credit goes to the make-up artists of Naresh for transforming an ultra-thin Naresh into a believably fat Laddu Babu.
Once again, the editing team leaves a lot to be desired. Though there is a lot that could have been chopped off, the editor appears to have kept them out of solidarity with the director.
Coming to director Ravi Babu, it is well-known that his work swings between extremes. He either makes very good films or very bad films. Despite trying his best to evoke laughter, he fails miserably due to silly script. While the film appeared to be promising before its release, it turns out to be yet another dud in Ravi Babu’s kitty.
Highlights:
- Laddu Babu’s get-up
Drawbacks:
- Ravi Babu script
Analysis:
Now, whenever there is a film on ‘fat’ people, usually all jokes are centered around that character. While it does work well for a while, this tried and tested formula tends to get tedious after a point.
Unfortunately, not only do they crack jokes on ‘fat’ people, but they also make fun of people with various disabilities which is in bad taste. They also try to make fun of inseparable twins which is quite gross.
And even if one were to set apart the above-mentioned scenes, the rest of the film has nothing much to hold the attention of the audience.
For most part, the film shows how Laddu Babu is rejected by people. And once the main story begins, the audiences are already aware of what is to come. So, there is no curiosity element to hold their attention.
One cannot help but notice Ravi Babu’s lack of seriousness from the way he shows Laddu Babu losing oodles of fat and putting it on almost immediately. With one surgery Laddu Babu loses all his fat and immediately afterwards, he drinks a bottle of ghee and he gets back to his old, ‘fat’ self.
Interestingly, in the entire film, the only interesting scene is labeled ‘deleted’ and shown along with the credits. Actually, the director who is known to experiment with his films should have tried it the other way round. He should have retained that one interesting scene, and labeled the rest of the film as ‘deleted’ and run it along with rolling titles.
Well, the film tries to drive home the message that when hit by bad times, one must remember all the good times that life had offered. So, one tip for all those planning to watch Laddu Babu is – Go into the theatre, close your eyes and remember any comic film of Naresh and come out. And those wanting to give it a miss in theatres, then wait for it to be telecast on the small screen. You have nothing to miss!
Bottomline: Really Boring Babu!
(Venkat can be reached at [email protected] or https://twitter.com/greatandhranews)
