Ladki Movie Review: Ladki is supposed to be a tribute to the late Bruce Lee. In actuality, it is merely Ram Gopal Varma celebrating every curve on a female anatomy. It is nothing less than fascinating to see how RGV, who was once heralded as the 'Martin Scorsese' of Indian cinema is now happy making films that almost aim to impress the purveyors of Russ Meyer and Jess Franco cinema. As someone who lived through the '90s and have seen the rise and fall of RGV as a filmmaker, I could write realms and realms on his downslide of a journey. But as of now, let me put aside his works on Satya, Jungle, Company, Raat as some distant pleasant memories and write about his latest voyeur-fest Ladki. Ladki Song Love: Pooja Bhalekar in Bikini Romances Her Man, Flaunts Her Flexibility on Beach in This Raunchy Number From Ram Gopal Varma’s Next (Watch Video).

Alternatively titled as Enter the Girl Dragon, Ladki is an action movie all right. I mean it has scenes of karate, no... I am sorry, 'Jeet Kune Do' a form of martial arts the late Bruce Lee had founded. The movie is supposed to be a tribute to the legend, and nearly every scene - save for the beach songs - has either a picture of Bruce Lee or a statue. If neither is available, then we have the feisty heroine Pooja (Pooja Bhalekar) keep reiterating how much she is in love with Bruce Lee.

Look, my expertise about any kind of martial arts can hardly fill my thumbnail, so woefully ignorant I am. I can hardly tell the difference between karate, judo, jujitsu, and Jeet Kune Do. However, some of Bruce Lee's movies, especially Enter the Dragon (from where Ladki derives its subtitle from), have been a fun part of my childhood, and I am pretty sure Lee must be rolling in his grave with the kind of cringe tribute RGV has made for him. Ram Gopal Varma Birthday Special: 5 Masterpieces the Film-Maker Gave Bollywood That Make Us Wish for His Return to His Golden Form Soon!

Despite my scant knowledge of Jeet Kune Do, I can say that the female lead is quite good when it comes to delivering the kicks. It is just that the director and his camera have other ideas about her. So while she do all her chops and kicks, the camera tries to find every opportunity to explore every bit of skin on her body that the Censor Board can allow to pass. This strange union of voyeurism and martial arts is something only RGV can concoct.

Watch the Trailer:

So we have Pooja do her exercises in the bikini, she models in bikini, she dances and sings in bikini, and there is also a fight scene on the beach where she beats up a bunch of baddies in... well, you guessed right, a bikini! Irony is that Ladki begins with the protagonist taking down some goons for leering at women, and the movie ends up doing exactly that to her. RGV might call it as a celebration of female sensuality, but he keeps forgetting that he did it far better in films like Rangeela, Daud and Naach without looking sleazy.

The plot? Well, there is something of a love story between Pooja and a photographer, played by Parth Suri, which for a change, always has the damsel always come in rescue of the dude. Also, there is a plotline about her martial arts academy being eyed by a couple of baddies, played by Rajpal Yadav (in a ridiculous South Indian getup) and Abhimanyu Singh, both actors who have seen better days in cinema and now end up here hamming up to the hilt. Ram Gopal Varma Birthday Special: From Satya to Sarkar, 11 Memorable Death Sequences Crafted by the Filmmaker Taken From His Bollywood Filmography.

Anyway, the plot is merely an excuse to stitch one action sequence to another, one excuse to show the actress in the skimpiest outfits to another, while replete with bad editing, poor performances and some very censored dialogues. Not to mention some very energetic camerawork, including a scene where the camera went on a relentless spin around a group of actors, that I ended up seeing stars in the end. Ladki is ultimately a letdown in both action and the sex aspects, but scores high on sleaze. Now when I come to think of it, even the subtitle 'Enter The Girl Dragon' sounds perverse!

Yay!

- Bhalekar is Quite Good When It Comes to Martial Arts

Nay!

- Just About Everything Else

Final Thoughts

Ram Gopal Varma claims that Ladki is seeing a wide release in China, which I want to believe is the director's way of pranking the country for putting the world in pandemic. What's sacrilegious is involving the spirit of Bruce Lee here, and borrowing the title of what was an absolute masterpiece. Ladki is yet another unfortunate example of the once-brilliant filmmaker's persistent efforts to make unpalatable, sleazy films, this time under the pretext of an action movie.

Rating:1.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 15, 2022 05:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).