Yudhra review: A relentless pursuit of nothing but tactful gore violence

Starring Siddhant Chaturvedi as the angry lone wolf, Yudhra is a half baked idea that has one set piece action after another without any emotional depth!  

It’s a no-brainer that an action film, filled with tactfully choreographed fights and a hero-vs-villain dynamic, enhanced by a thundering background score usually, is a formulaic approach that makes up for an entertaining time, even if it's cliché. However, while Yudhra follows this blueprint to a T, it only becomes mildly engaging and entertaining as everything is dialed up to high-octane drama without much narrative development.

The film’s story is as old as time! Yudhra (Siddhant Chaturvedi), an angry young orphan whose parents died in a tragic accident before his birth, is raised by his father’s two colleagues: Kartik Rathore (Gajraj Rao) and Rehman Siddiqui (Ram Kapoor). His anger issues are seeded early on as he naturally grows up to become a deviant badass who has no control over his anger that often puts him in jeopardy. But gradually he learns to channel his anger for good, going undercover into the drug trade for Rehman. This kicks off his one-man army journey, as he takes on maniacal drug lords, Feroz (Raj Arjun) and his spoiled son, Shafiq (Raghav Juyal).

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To be fair, Ravi Udyawar’s film hits the beats of a solid action thriller. It has betrayal, sacrifice, revenge, moral dilemmas, transformation, and even a tragic love story with a childhood friend—all the necessary ingredients. But Sridhar Raghavan's writing leaves little breathing space to connect with the characters or the unfolding events happening to them. This in contrast to the well-choreographed, gore-filled but stunning action scenes, paired with thundering music and Jay Oza’s cinematography, which makes you feel every punch - eventually lose their impact. After the umpteenth dramatic entrance by Siddhant, I found myself more exhausted than in awe, despite his attitude being spot on.

That madness that is visibile in the conceptualisation of actions scenes and the film's stylization seems to be missing in writing, with all its twists and turns which is middlingly pale in comparison. The result is a visually stunning experience that feels too loosely dangling and overdone. Every frame is meticulously crafted for shock value, but it becomes clear that beauty is no substitute for substance and the film seems to be hiding its narrative flaws by bombarding the viewer with over-stylized visuals, which sometimes work but often don’t.

Siddhant Chaturvedi, though brimming with potential, looks a little too young and is perhaps trying too hard to establish himself as an action hero, a dream of many actors. Meanwhile, Malavika Mohanan, who exudes shades of Deepika Padukone, has some surprising and impressive moments in her Bollywood debut though she lacks to leave a solid impact. While Raghav Juyal seems typecast in his role from Kill and brings a certain effect, just like Gajraj Rao, Ram Kapoor, and Raj Arjun, he feels like wasted potential.

I do appreciate the film’s refreshing approach in wrapping a cliché story in a video game aesthetic, where the hero essentially battles his way from one level to the next. But after nearly two and a half hours of watching Siddhant Chaturvedi fight inside a jail, a mansion, shipyards, on water, and on roads, exhaustion set in. Yudhra has what it takes but needs proper structure and guidance, but right now, it feels like an undercooked effort that was in too much of a hurry to say a lot of things. This is something I don't usually expect from an Excel Media film whose credit has Farhan Akhtar as one of their dialogues writers. And I cannot get over the placement of the extremely unmemorable songs composed by Shankar Ehsaan Loy and lyrics by Javed Akhtar!

This felt like even more of a missed opportunity as the theatre was packed even on a Friday afternoon since it was Cinema Day and tickets were being sold at INR 99!

Yudhra is currently playing at a theatre near you!

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