Efforts are made to keep the fervour level hitting the ceiling, and it possibly even means well, but ultimately ‘Ladoo’ ends up a film that doesn’t deserve any hate, but is hard to like as well.
The anticipatory bail that a film be viewed as a mere entertainer and nothing else, could be seen as a forewarning that connoisseurs of serious cinema should probably step to a side. Arungeorge K David’s ‘Ladoo’ that comes with a comparable declaration is on retrospect exactly what it claims to be, nothing more, nothing less.
If you ask me, the best thing about ‘Ladoo’ is its running time, and at one hundred and twenty one minutes, it doesn’t torment you. On many levels, it’s a film that plays safe, a film that repeatedly ascertains that it has nothing to proffer beyond the moments that you watch on screen, a film that makes no qualms of the fact that it has zilch intention of laying itself out as a cult classic.
That said, ‘Ladoo’ is all about SK (Shabareesh Verma) who lends an ear to an old friend Vinu’s (Vinay Fort) woes and agrees to offer a helping hand to steer the latter’s love tale towards Destination Joy. Vinu’s object of love is Angeline (Soorya Gayathri) who appears to be a girl with some extra mettle up her sleeve, and ‘Ladoo’ talks of love, accomplished.
There is without doubt an inconsistence in tone that becomes evident in ‘Ladoo’, that proves to be a major detriment. The humour that is very obviously its strong point waxes and wanes, which is why it never really lives up to its unstated, but very explicable promise of being a hilarious entertainer that would keep you in splits.
When it comes to the humour, a lot depends on how inextricably linked the situations are to the laughter that is generated. ‘Ladoo’ does not seem to be much concerned, and sets itself to the task of pumping out some amusement, using strategies that turn out to be functional and unproductive by turns.
Despite its comparatively sufferable running time, ‘Ladoo’ does leave around the feeling that still less could have even been better. This is because its content and the theme that it hopes to build on does not qualify for a feature length running time, and when it tries to stretch it beyond its limitations, the narrative seems as if it might just snap.
There is a clear cut audience that the film has in mind, and probably it does cater to its share of spectators. But for the ones who are the lookout for something slightly deeper, ‘Ladoo’ is a tenor shifting adolescent rom-com that tries really hard to keep its viewers amused, and brings out every trick in the trade to achieve its purpose.
The performances in ‘Ladoo’ are competent; and a huge reason why it emerges as a nontoxic watch. Even while there are no reasons in the script to be ecstatic about, almost all the young actors, be it Shabareesh or Vinay, Soorya Gayatri or Balu Varghese, Bobby Simha or Gayatri Ashok, deliver the goods without fail. There is a noteworthy cameo from none other than Dileesh Pothen that is one of the highlights of the film.
Character development could very well go take a walk here, and it should be futile to expect something of the sort in the given state of affairs. Efforts are also made to keep the fervour level hitting the ceiling, and it possibly even means well, but ultimately ‘Ladoo’ ends up a film that doesn’t deserve any hate, but is hard to like as well.
Verdict: Average