Yudhra review: Action sequences save this Siddhant Chaturvedi film which takes forever to find its groove

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Yudhra movie review: Action films are made by the dozen today, but good ones are far and few between. Yudhra, starring Siddhant Chaturvedi, is another addition to the genre. Is it good? Well, I have my reservations.

The plot

The story revolves around Yudhra, played by Siddhant. A boy orphaned at birth, he has anger issues. Doctors had told Rehman and Karthick (played by Ram Kapoor and Gajraj Rao), friends of his deceased father, a cop, that since the mother died before giving birth, the blood supply was cut off for five minutes. This could lead to some issues later in life. They bring him up. Later, he is court martialled as a cadet due to engaging in violence, and appointed as an undercover agent by Rehman to bust a drug cartel. There’s also a romantic track between Yudhra and Nikhat (Malavika Mohanan), who happens to be Rehman's daughter. But things go haywire fast, and this forms the rest of the plot.

The film begins on a very promising note. A good backstory always helps in making the characters believable, and Yudhra ticks that off the list.

What works and what doesn't

Next comes the action itself. Slick and fresh sequences are ideally supposed to enhance an already good story. The problem here is that the fights are the only saving grace. I was left wondering: has action as a genre been overdone so much, that there's no effort put in to come up with interesting stories? Are brains put into only making the action bigger and better now?

Double crossing, most unlikely person turning out to be the party pooper, a loved one’s life at stake, drugs, mafia… there’s nothing original here in Yudhra (written by Sridhar Raghavan, Farhan Akhtar, Akshay Ghildial).The editing department has also let down the film. Yudhra could have easily been atleast 15 mins shorter, because by the end of it, I could see people getting restless in their seats.

One gets to enjoy only when the hand to hand combats begin. And that is where the film shines. Action director Federico Cueva uses anything and everything to design some pretty nice shots- from a sewing machine, to a flute, to even a lollipop!

The performances

As for the performances, Siddhant too shines in bits and pieces, especially the action. The guy’s a natural, and makes it believable. I can’t say the same for the emotional sequences though, where there was scope for a more nuanced performance, given the range of emotions he needs to feel. Raghav Juyal as Shafiq takes some time to find his groove, but he thankfully does in an elaborate sequence where he goes hand to hand with Yudhra. I would have loved to see more of him on screen. Malavika Mohanan tries, but there’s not much chemistry between her and Siddhant. She does get to kick some a** though.

Gajraj Rao does justice to his job, so does Ram Kapoor. But those who don’t, are shockingly Shankar Ehsaan Loy, the composers for the film (except Sohni Lagdi). Saathiya and Aane De Hawa, instead of aiding the film, act as loo breaks.