Yudhra movie review: Siddhant Chaturvedi and Raghav Juyal are the only saving grace in this predictable actioner
Yudhra
It’s a film about one man’s quest to survival while tracing the killers of his parents and tackling the challenging ups and downs
When you have the best names in business coming together for an out and out action flick, one is bound to expect the skies as the ultimate outcome. And since action films are being welcomed with open arms (like the recent ‘Kill’), action films are becoming the call of the day. The Siddhant Chaturvedi starrer Yudhra also falls under the same category. Will the 142 minute long out and out action flick impress the audience or does it turn out to be a case of ‘anything in excess…’, let's analyse!
The film starts off with a shootout of Yudhra (Siddhant Chaturvedi), who then takes us through a flashback of events which has led to today’s situation wherein he is drowning in water with blood all over the sea water. The flashback states that his parents (father was an outright and honest police inspector and mother a dutiful housewife) pass away in a freak accident when a massive truck dashes against their car.
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Even though doctors fail to save his parents, baby Yudhra survives. And since he did not get blood supply for five full minutes before his delivery, he became a victim of extreme anger issues, which became the cause of many fights with Inspector Kartik, who had adopted him at birth.
In order to control and channelise his anger issues, Yudhra is sent to NCTA (National Cadet Training Academy, Pune), where he meets his childhood friend Nikhat (Malavika Mohanan) and romance happens between them.
But, one day, a random fight with a stranger resulted in him being court martialed and jailed for nine months, on the basis of disciplinary grounds. It is here he meets Inspector (Ram Kapoor) who tells him to channelise all his anger for the right causes and be an undercover agent for the police department.
Thereafter, Yudhra starts sneaking into all the nefarious activities and keeps on updating Ram Kapoor ‘through a website’. And one day, Yudhra comes face to face with the man who was responsible for the death of his parents. After he kills that person, he gets to know that the kingpin is someone else and that the game is bigger than he thought or assumed.
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Amidst all this, on one hand, he has to find the mastermind who orchestrated the killings of his parents along with the reason behind the same, on the other hand, he has to save his ladylove Nikhat (Malavika Mohanan) from the hands of dangerous gang which is led by the character played by Raghav Juyal. Does Yudhra succeed in all his missions is what forms the rest of the story!
First things first. For all those who are expecting the heavens out of this film, let us tell you that you will be sorely disappointed. The film has been directed by Ravi Udyawar, the very man who had directed the legendary actress Sridevi in the film Mom. Even though the film has ample amount of action (loads of them), drama, suspense, emotions and romance (in that order). But the problem that the film suffers is that, all of these elements have been scattered all over the narrative, which becomes the root cause for the film to become boring and predictable at regular intervals.
Speaking about ‘interval’, by the time the film’s intermission comes in, one feels that the film is over. But the fact remains that the film is far from being over during the interval. What is really surprising and even shocking to see is that, despite being a ‘normal man’, Yudhra’s ability to take on the villains and escape bullets can put any of the ‘man’ like Superman, Batman, Spiderman and others to utter shame and also give them a major inferiority complex. The film lacks an on-point screenplay and narrative.
Due to this lack, the film runs all over the place like a headless chicken! Amidst all the other departments, the one that really shines through is the cinematography and also the VFX (in that order!). Also, there is not even a single funny moment in the film. The makers of the film seemed to have forcibly infused the humour element by playing a couple of lines from Gully Boy’s hit track ‘Teri Galli Mein’ in the backdrop. But sadly, before you can even realise the funny element, action takes over.
As for the performances, the film looks like Siddhant Chaturvedi’s launchpad into the world of action heroes. It's not wrong for a hero to try action in films. But the progress should have been gradual, which is not the case here. No doubts about the fact that he is shouldering the entire film on his shoulders and does a good job at that. But it’s the screenplay (Sriram Raghavan) that fails him miserably.
On the other hand, there is Malavika Mohanan who tries too hard to be peppy in her role. But, more than her peppy-ness, it’s her action sequences which remain in your mind. However, the onscreen chemistry between Malavika Mohanan and Siddhant Chaturvedi is just about okay.
The hidden gem of the package is, however, Raghav Juyal, who is only getting ‘more wicked’ with each passing film, considering the conviction with which he does negative roles. It will not be wrong to call Raghav as the new age Ajit, for swiftly and stylishly executing his negative roles.
Besides the trio, there is Gajraj Rao, Ram Kapoor, Raj Arjun, Raghav Juyal, Shilpa Shukla who help the film in moving forward. Here again, it’s the faltering screenplay which does not allow them to rise above the script, despite being stellar performers. The film’s songs are totally passe (lyrics by Javed Akhtar and music by Shankar Ehsaan Loy) but the background music is apt. Editing of the film definitely could have been more watertight. Not even a single dialogue (Farhan Akhtar) is clap-worthy.
Special brownie points to the film’s action director for devising well-choreographed stunts, which emits the aroma of international techniques. All in all, Yudhra is a diamond in a coal mine. Which only means, if you really are hell bent on getting the diamond, only then, you will not mind about your hands getting dirty. The diamond which is being referred to here is undoubtedly the new action hero of Bollywood - Siddhant Chaturvedi! Watch it if you are his fan. That way, you will just not be disappointed!