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A film made in about Rs. five million has incredibly grossed over Rs. 12 billion — and counting! — in Gujarati. At a time when a small film like Mahavatar Narsimha has made a pan-Indian blitz, this “small wonder”, made at one-eightieth of the cost of that Telugu film, has done a quarter of that film’s business at least! And I do not blame the producers and directors that they have decided to present Laalo—Krishna Sada Sahaayate in Hindi for a pan-Indian audience. They even have ambitions of showing this movie abroad. And they should.
The power of Laalo lies in the innate simplicity of the film’s core idea and the wonderfully heartfelt execution sans stars or gimmickry. Bearing a mild thematic resemblance to the OMG franchise, what Laalo lacks is star-power. But as seen with the Telugu film mentioned above and past wonders like Rattan (1944) and Jai Santoshi Maa (1975), and the current attitude of the paying audience, it is content that powers the business, not stars at all! So, if Laalo is enriching for the viewer’s soul, it is clearly very enriching for the team and the bank accounts of all concerned!
It has been postulated lately that devotionals are the flavors of the season, and Mahavatar Narsimha as well as Kantara: Chapter 1—The Legends are cited as examples. But I disagree!
I disagree because all so-called trends are set by movies, but not the reverse! Get me? In 2025, for example, horror dramas came croppers or did tepid business, but they were similarly hyped in 2024 as “top-favorite genres” thanks to Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, Munjya and Stree 2!
Told with incredible compassion and warmth, Laalo (the name applies to both the main male characters) is a simple tale of decline, facing internal demons and redemption, with the pivotal emotion being complete faith in the Power Above, represented here by Lord Krishna.
Lalji Parmar, known as Laalo (Karan Joshi), is a rickshaw-plier living in Junagadh with his wife Tulsi and daughter Khushi. Once an ideal boyfriend and later husband (they have married against the wishes of their parents), Laalo is now under heavy debt (after Khushi’s accident caused by his apathy that led him to take an exorbitant loan from a private source for her treatment). Thanks to bad company, he has also taken to drink. Then net result is an arrogant man who does not heed the advice of the neighborhood maasi (aunt), who treats the couple like her own, and has disagreements with Tulsi.
Laalo has creditors galore and his only source of income being his rickshaw, he is happy when a passenger (who later calls himself Laalo) promises him the Rs. 1500 Laalo has asked for and a bonus for a day tour of Junagadh. But when he receives the promised sum, he squanders it and later has a fight with his wife.
The next day, a chain of circumstances that must be watched rather than described shows that Laalo, succumbing to the temptation of lucre, finds himself trapped in a farmhouse sans food or water—for days! His distraught wife files a police complaint that he is missing as he has left his phone at home. The isolated farmhouse just has one electronically-operated door and grilled windows, and has a catch of divine idols that Laalo does not know have been stolen. Suddenly, Laalo, his passenger, appears in front of him! They have conversations through the window as he too does not have the key to the lock. Mystified, Laalo asks him who he is, and Laalo, the passenger, tells him that he is God.
The story of how God sets everything right for Laalo and his family in the right way (and at the right time for all) and shows that karma is supreme makes for a completely involving watch after a rather extended first half (the few needless sequences are indicators that a regional audience thrives on such aspects as they relate to heightened emotional graphs). The film is anointed with melodious songs by Smmit Jay, and the Hindi lyrics are beautifully done, some maintaining a smattering of the original Gujarati phrases.
A nitpick: we are not told, in the credit titles or otherwise, the names of the Hindi dialogue writer and the lyricist. Both deserve applause, and Smmit Jay’s background score is perfect.
The technical side is well done, as this is not a “spectacle” kind of film, and Ankit Rekhaben Sakhiya’s direction is so heartfelt that one feels that someone close to him must have undergone this experience—the narration is almost personal!
And Karan Joshi as Laalo is superlative, his expressions incredibly nuanced in all moods—joy, sorrow, anger, grief, frustration, bewilderment and helplessness are all perfectly represented. And Karan is a debutant film actor! Shruhad Goswami as the other Laalo / God / Shri Krishna is well-cast, and his angelic smiles do the needful for his essay of a divine young man. Reeva Rachh gets a shade stereotypical but is effective all the same, the stereotypical element coming as a regional necessity, I guess. She is the only melodramatic aspect of the film, and very thankfully, a negligibly minor one.
The supporting cast does well, especially Anshu Joshi as Dhansukh Parmar, Lalji’s father, and the unknown actors who play the Maasi and Laalo’s booze company.
This is a film that is a must-watch, and in these days when stars cannot guarantee any success, it can be called, perhaps, a harbinger of non-South films that could and should be presented in Hindi.
Rating: ****
Manifest Films’, R.D Brothers Movies’, Soul Sutra’s, Jay Vyas Productions’ & Neem Tree Entertainment’s Laalo—Krishna Sada Sadaayate Produced by: Produced by Manasi Parekh, Parthiv Gohil, Manifest Films, & Ajay Balvant Padariya Directed by: Ankit Sakhiya Written by: Krushansh Vaja, Vicky Poornima & Ankit Sakhiya Music: Smmit Jay Starring: Reeva Rachh, Karan Joshi, Shruhad Goswami, Mishty Kadecha, Anshu Joshi, Kinnal Nayak, Parul Rajyaguru, Jaydeep Timaniya & others
