Movie: Laddu Babu
Director: Ravi Babu
Cast: Allari Naresh, Poorna, Bhumika Chawla, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Giri Babu and Ravi Babu
Rating: *1/2
Laddu Babu makes a viewer feel as if being obese is indeed a sin. It is meant to fill you with disgust about their appearance, even if the obvious sugar-coatings tell you to look beyond them. Allari Naresh in his mid 20′s weighs a hefty 268 kg. That very fact is enough to ruin his life, at least the people surrounding him tirelessly suggest it. He is not even fit to find a girl for himself they say in their constant abuse-fest that includes of he being an object of utter ridicule with explicit comparisons to animals. The owners at his workplaces beat him up with a cane. He tolerates it all without an option. This is pulled off as a possible comedy by Ravi Babu who also feeds you with worse turnarounds later.
The movie is never constant in its tone. It initially tries to be a nonsensical science-fiction tale where it justifies the genuine reason behind Laddu Babu’s weight issues. Then it switches to overweight mockeries. Later, it is about emotional solace that the lead character unexpectedly finds. It obviously struggles to end with all the contrasting turns on display, but more than these, the silliness of the complete exercise is enough to doze you off. Making matters worse, it moves at a snail-pace, that even when the genuine laughs come in, you are tired to appreciate their worth.
The first half has sequences where the director pokes fun of his own creations. Kota Srinivasa Rao who plays Allari Naresh’s father in the same is desperate to get his son married for the property that his wife is destined to get. Understanding that he should be ‘practical’ enough to find a compromised match for his son, he invites the proposals of conjoined-twins, transgenders, bald women and dwarfs. Here, the maker treats such cases as opportunities for humor. This is the quality of entertainment that Ravi Babu reduces himself to, almost continuously.
In this effort, the children act as over-matured manifestations and adults,the opposite. If its the case of the former, for an example,Master Pavan Sriram thinks about his widowed mother’s need for a companion. He voices feelings and thoughts beyond his age. But, they aren’t a pain when you compare him to the so-called experienced beings. A tiffin-center owner remarks when he hears a random complaint from his customer about a breakfast item, “Samantha can’t dance for the five rupees that you pay for an Idli.â€�. Hope that explains enough about the other lines that get muttered.
The climax is a shocker for you are never prepared for the doses of melodrama. The character turns thin and his metabolism is so different that even an ounce of fat could get him back to his previous state of affairs. What are we supposed to take out of this ? The parody undertones, the contradictions of science or the lack of ideas to put a happy-ending tag ? Actors of repute like Allari Naresh, Bhumika, Kota Srinivasa Rao, Giri Babu in addition to Poorna are made to surrender to the pointlessness which too isn’t consistent enough. Chakri has become an official name to borrow musical references from Hindi cinema and make small-time variations, both in his background score and the compositions. The title cards that help the film commence well, the one of a kind song picturisation in-spite of the underplayed production values intermittently create hopes. Films like Laddu Babu are only diminishing the already limited avenues of a Telugu cinema-goer whose choices are obligatorily restricted to a bunch of select directors, who are busy doling out films with star-kids. Easily Ravi Babu’s worst work in his directorial career.
Review by Srivathsan N. First published for Cinegoer.net
